Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN BELOW
Michael called emergency services.
Vanessa begged him not to.
That made him call faster.
Firefighters opened more of the floor.
The old house had a shallow crawlspace beneath the living room.
Not deep enough to stand.
Just enough for pipes, wiring, and old ductwork.
A woman lay inside.
Dehydrated.
Weak.
Alive.
Her name was Natalie Reed.
Michael knew the name.
Vanessa’s younger sister.
The woman Vanessa said had disappeared eight months earlier after “another relapse.”
Natalie had struggled with addiction in her twenties.
The family story was simple.
She borrowed money.
Missed appointments.
Broke promises.
Then vanished.
Vanessa said Natalie left a note.
Wanted no contact.
Michael believed her.
Now Natalie was being lifted out from under his floor.
Emily cried in Michael’s arms.
Vanessa stood against the wall while paramedics worked.
Michael looked at her.
“How long?”
Vanessa shook her head.
Michael stepped closer.
“How long has she been under there?”
“I didn’t put her there.”
“What does that mean?”
Natalie heard him.
From the stretcher she whispered:
“She locked the panel.”
Michael turned.
“What panel?”
A firefighter found it twenty minutes later.
Behind the old built-in cabinet in the dining alcove was a narrow service hatch leading into the crawlspace.
The latch could be secured from outside.
It had been covered by a removable decorative board.
Michael had never noticed.
Vanessa said:
“She went in there herself.”
Natalie closed her eyes.
“Because you told me it was safe.”
Michael’s stomach tightened.
“Safe from what?”
Natalie opened her mouth.
Vanessa shouted:
“She is not reliable!”
Everyone looked at her.
Natalie flinched.
Michael saw it.
The reaction of someone used to that sentence.
The paramedics took Natalie away.
Police separated Michael and Vanessa for statements.
Emily refused to let go of Michael.
Later that night, after Vanessa was escorted elsewhere temporarily, Michael found something beneath the loose floorboard.
A small plastic bottle cap.
Blue.
He recognized the pharmacy logo.
Natalie had prescriptions.
But the date printed on the cap was recent.
Two weeks old.
Michael stared at it.
May you like
If Natalie had been “missing” for eight months—
who had been filling her medication?
