The Housekeeper

Mrs. Gable’s yellow raincoat was a beacon of accusation in the gloom. The flashlight beam wavered, then settled directly on Iris’s face.

"I asked you a question, Iris," she said, her voice sharp enough to cut through the rain. "What are you doing down there?"

Iris stood paralyzed in the floodwater, the freezing sludge soaking into her jeans. Behind her, the open door to the hidden room yawned like a black mouth. Inside, Elias—if it was Elias—huddled in silence, a witness she couldn't yet claim.

"The roof leaked," Iris shouted back, her voice sounding thin and desperate. "We're trying to stop the flooding."

Mrs. Gable descended the steps, her boots splashing heavily. She ignored Marcus, who stood with the drill still in his hand, a weapon he didn't know how to hide. Her eyes were fixed on the wine rack. On the gap where the wall used to be.

"You weren't supposed to find this," she said, almost to herself. She reached the bottom step and stopped. The water swirled around her ankles.

"You knew," Iris said. It wasn't a question. "You knew he was down here. All this time. You brought him food."

"I did my job," Mrs. Gable said stiffly. "Mr. Vance pays me to maintain the household. That includes all its occupants."

"He's not an occupant! He's a prisoner!" Iris stepped forward, anger momentarily overriding fear. "And you helped keep him here. For thirty years."

Mrs. Gable’s face hardened. She raised her phone. "Mr. Vance said you were unstable. He said you were having episodes. I see now he was right."

"Don't call him," Marcus said, stepping forward. "Put the phone down."

"Or what?" Mrs. Gable sneered. "You'll drill me too?"

She tapped the screen. "Mr. Vance is on his way. He has an alert on the door sensors. He knows you breached the perimeter."

Iris looked back at the room. The figure inside hadn't moved. He was catatonic with shock, or drugs, or both.

"We need to get him out," Iris said to Marcus. "Before Julian gets here."

"You're not taking him anywhere," Mrs. Gable said. She blocked the stairs, a sturdy, immovable object. "He's sick. He's dangerous. If you let him out, he'll hurt someone. Just like he hurt that girl."

"He didn't hurt anyone!" Iris screamed. "Julian did! And you know it!"

Mrs. Gable’s expression didn't flicker. "Mr. Vance is a great man. He saved this family from ruin. And you... you're just a leech. Trying to bleed the estate dry."

She looked at Iris with a mixture of pity and contempt.

"You should have left well enough alone, Iris. You should have taken the commission and gone."

"I'm not leaving without him."

Mrs. Gable smiled, a cold, knowing smile that chilled Iris more than the water. "You're just like your mother. Nosy. It didn't end well for her."