Before I could process her words, the heavy iron door at the top of the cellar stairs banged open.

Marcus, my heavy-duty guard, stood in the doorway with his weapon drawn.

Daniel, my tactical personal guard, was right behind him with a handheld transceiver.

“Boss, we have a situation,” Marcus called down, his deep voice echoing in the stone vault.

I guided Nora to a stone bench near the wall and walked toward the stairs.

“Speak,” I said.

“Caleb’s SUV just cleared the north gate, but he left Elena behind,” Marcus said.

“We caught her trying to wipe the security grid in the study.”

I climbed the stairs, my mind spinning with the revelation about Lila.

“Where is Elena now?” I asked.

“Daniel has her secured in the kitchen,” Marcus replied, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“She won’t talk, but we found Caleb’s burner phone in her pocket.”

We walked back down into the cellar to keep Nora safe while we secured the estate perimeter.

The concrete walls felt like a tomb closing in on us.

Suddenly, Daniel’s radio crackled with static.

“Boss, Caleb’s primary transponder just pinged near the river bridge,” Daniel said.

I looked at Nora, who was shivering on the bench, clutching her bruised face.

Then, a strange sound cut through the damp silence of the room.

It was a dull, heavy thud.

We all froze in place.

The sound did not come from the stairs or the heavy iron doors.

It came from directly beneath the concrete floorboards.

*Thump.*

*Thump.*

*Thump.*

Three rhythmic knocks vibrated through the solid foundation.

I shone my flashlight down at the gray dust on the floor near the oldest wine rack.

There was a faint outline in the mortar, a straight seam I had never noticed in all my years here.

The knocking came again, louder and more desperate this time.