—I said no. The basement is full of boxes and tools. It could be dangerous.
—Then you can stay here with Sofia while I go downstairs.
Vanessa grabbed her wrist.
—Mateo, please.
He looked at her hand on his arm.
—Why are you trembling?
Vanessa let it go.
Sofia started crying again.
—Daddy, I’m scared.
Mateo bent down and hugged her.
—I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.
When he got up, the blows returned.
This time they were stronger.
Three impacts that made the door vibrate.
Then two more.
And from the depths came a barely audible female voice.
—¿Mateo?
He remained motionless.
I knew that voice.
He had heard her whisper in his ear for entire nights, sing to his daughter before she went to sleep, and call him from the garden when he forgot his keys.
It was Elena’s voice.
“Elena?” he murmured.
Vanessa backed up until she hit the wall.
Mateo pulled on the padlock. The wood creaked under his hands.
—Elena! It’s me! Are you okay?
A desperate blow came from below.
Then, a phrase that chilled her blood.
—Matthew, don’t let her in.
He turned slowly towards Vanessa.
She was crying.
“What did you do?” he asked.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” she replied. “You don’t know what she’s going to tell you.”
Mateo took the keys from the table in the hallway.
—I’m going to call the police.
Vanessa lunged at him, trying to snatch the phone away.
—No! If you call them, it’s all over!
Mateo pulled her aside and dialed the emergency number.
While waiting for a response, Sofia pointed to the padlock.
—Dad, the key isn’t there.
Mateo looked at the keyring he was holding in his hand.
-What do you mean?
The girl pointed to Vanessa’s pants pocket.
—I saw her put it there when she thought I was asleep.
Vanessa stopped crying.
Mateo didn’t take his eyes off Vanessa.
She stood against the wall, her hands pressed against her abdomen, her breathing ragged. The light from the hallway accentuated the shadows beneath her eyes.
A voice came from the phone.
—Emergencies, what is your situation?
Mateo answered without taking his eyes off his partner.
“I’m Mateo Reyes. I think my wife is locked in the basement of my house. There’s a padlock on the door, and I just heard her calling for help.”
Vanessa shook her head frantically.
—Don’t say that! You don’t know who’s down there!
Mateo brought the phone to his ear.
—I need you to send someone. Now.
The operator began asking him questions. Mateo gave his address and explained that there was a young girl in the house.
Sofia hid behind his leg.
—Daddy, is Mommy hurt?
He bent down and held her face in his hands.
—I don’t know, Princess. But I’ll find out.
Vanessa let out a short, broken laugh.
—Are you going to find out? After all this time? How convenient.
Mateo got up.
-Be quiet.
She blinked, surprised by the tone of his voice.
—You’ve never spoken to me like that before.
—I had never heard my wife asking me for help from a locked basement.
Vanessa looked at the door.
—She is not the woman you remember.
—Then open the door and let him speak.
—¡No!
The scream was so sudden that Sofia began to sob.
Mateo took a deep breath to contain his anger.
—Vanessa, you have two options. You can give me the key or wait for the police to arrive and give it to them.
She put her hand in her pocket, but didn’t take anything out.
-Can’t.
-Because?
Vanessa looked at Sofia.
—Because your daughter shouldn’t hear what’s behind that door.
Mateo was frozen.
—What does that mean?
A bang came from the basement.
Three.
Break.
Of the.
Then a faint voice.
—Mateo, please. Don’t let him deceive you.
Mateo’s throat closed up.
—Elena, is that you?
-Yeah.
He placed both hands on the door.
—How long have you been there?
There was a long silence. Then the voice replied:
—I don’t know. I lost count of the days.
Sofia let out a stifled scream.
—¡Mami!
He knelt in front of the door and pressed his palms against the wood.
—It’s me! It’s Sofi!
A sob was heard from the other side.
—My little girl… my little one…
Sofia started crying so hard that Mateo had to pick her up in his arms.
—Mommy, I have your doll. I still sleep with your blanket!
—I know, sweetheart. I know.
Matthew felt like the world was bowing down beneath his feet.
For months he had explained Elena’s absence with carefully chosen words. He had told Sofia that her mother was working, that she needed time, that perhaps she would call next weekend.
Vanessa had always been there to reinforce that story.
And he had allowed his daughter to grow up thinking that her mother had abandoned her.
“Elena,” he said, approaching the door again, “I’m going to get you out of there. I promise.”
—Mateo, listen. Vanessa has the key, but she’s not the only one who knows what happened.
He looked at the woman.
—What are you talking about?
Vanessa began to shake her head.
—Don’t listen to her.
“Shut up!” Mateo shouted.
The house fell silent.
The phone remained connected to emergency services. The operator advised her to keep her distance if someone posed a threat and not to attempt to enter a potentially dangerous area without assistance.
Mateo clenched his jaw.
—Elena, I need you to tell me something. Why did Vanessa lock you up?
A trembling breath came from below.
—Because I discovered what he did with your documents.
Mateo frowned.
—What documents?
—The house papers. The insurance. The papers you signed when you were sick last year.
He felt a void in his stomach.
The previous year he had spent several days in the hospital with a serious infection. Vanessa had taken care of the payments and some of the paperwork while he tried to recover.
“What do those documents contain?” he asked.
Vanessa moved towards him.
—She’s lying! She’s always been a manipulator!
Elena’s voice sounded again.
—Mateo, check the red folder you keep on your desk. You didn’t sign what she told you to sign.
Mateo looked at Vanessa.
Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes were fixed on him.
“Did you change my documents?” he asked.
—I did what I had to do.
—What did you do?
“You were never here!” Vanessa burst out. “I was the one taking care of Sofia!”
