“Got you!” I scooped Emily up as she hid behind the curtains.
Grace came barreling down the hallway, cheeks flushed with excitement. She grabbed my hand, eyes sparkling.
“Mommy Mia, do you want to meet my real mom? She lives in the basement. We could invite her to play hide-and-seek with us too! She’s really good at it.”
The air left my lungs.
I knelt down, heart hammering. “Sweetheart… what do you mean?”
Grace looked genuinely confused by my reaction. “Mom loved playing hide-and-seek. She’s been waiting for you to come play. Don’t you want to meet her?”
Emily nodded enthusiastically. “She’s downstairs. Daddy says she’s resting, but she’s been there a long time.”
My stomach twisted into knots. I forced a smile. “Girls, your mom is in heaven, remember? She watches over you from there.”
Grace shook her head. “No. She lives in the basement. Daddy takes her food sometimes. I’ve seen him.”
I felt dizzy. The locked door. The strange noises. The way the girls sometimes spoke about “Mommy Claire” in the present tense.
I told the girls to go watch TV and promised them extra ice cream if they stayed quiet for a bit. Then I stood in front of that basement door, staring at the heavy lock.
Daniel had taken the keyring with him to work. But I had always been good with my hands. I grabbed a hairpin from my bathroom drawer, my fingers trembling as I worked the lock. After ten minutes of sweating and whispering curses, the deadbolt clicked open.
The door creaked loudly as I pulled it open. Cold, musty air rushed up the stairs. A single bare bulb hung at the bottom, casting long shadows.
“Mommy Mia?” Grace’s small voice came from behind me. She had followed me. “Be careful. Sometimes Mommy gets mad when she wakes up.”
I should have closed the door. Called Daniel. Called the police. Anything but what I did next.
