CHAPTER 2 — THE BASEMENT KEY
CHAPTER 2 — THE BASEMENT KEY
Arthur appeared in the doorway, silhouetted by the dim hallway light.
“You’re up late,” he said softly.
Too softly.
Claire turned the laptop toward him.
“What is this?”
His eyes flicked to the screen.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Then he smiled.
A small, controlled smile.
“I was wondering when you’d find it.”
The words didn’t land like confession.
They landed like confirmation.
Claire stood slowly.
“You recorded me?”
Arthur exhaled, almost disappointed.
“Not you,” he corrected. “Your episodes.”
“My what?”
He stepped into the kitchen now, calm as ever, hands in his pockets.
“Six weeks ago, you started sleepwalking again. But this time… it wasn’t just sleepwalking.”
Claire felt a flicker of dizziness.
“That’s impossible.”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Is it?”
He reached into his pocket and placed a small brass key on the table.
“I didn’t want you going down there.”
Claire stared at it.
Her basement key.
The one she never gave him.
“You took it,” she whispered.
“I copied it,” he said. “For your safety.”
The word safety made her stomach turn.
“You should hear the rest of the recordings,” he added gently. “Especially the last one.”
Her hand moved before she could stop herself.
Clicked.
The audio filled the room again.
But this time, it wasn’t just her voice.
There was another voice in the background.
Arthur’s voice.
Calm.
Guiding.
“Tell me again,” the recording said.
Claire’s recorded voice responded faintly.
“I need to finish the basement… I need to move the shelf…”
The same shelf.
The same night.
Her breath stopped.
Arthur watched her carefully.
“You were building a space down there,” he said. “Something you didn’t remember in the morning.”
Claire shook her head, backing away.
“No. I would never—”
But even as she said it, doubt cracked through her certainty.
Because she had never questioned the basement before.
Never really looked at it.
Never really remembered what she had done there.
Arthur stepped closer.
“You need rest,” he said. “Let me help you.”
May you like
But Claire was already moving.
Toward the basement.
