Elena held the rusted pendant tightly in her hand as they continued deeper into the tunnel.
The air felt heavier here.
Older.
The narrow passage sloped downward, the stone walls slick with moisture. Their footsteps echoed softly, and every sound seemed too loud in the underground silence.
Daniel moved carefully ahead, sweeping the flashlight beam across the tunnel.
Then the light stopped.
"Wait," he whispered.
The tunnel ended.
Not naturally.
A wall of stone had been built across the passage.
The bricks were different from the surrounding rock — newer, rougher, placed deliberately to block the way.
Elena stepped closer.
"This wasn't here originally," she said.
Daniel nodded. "Someone sealed it."
She ran her fingers along the stone.
The mortar was cracked in places, weakened by time and damp air.
"This must be the structure mentioned in the records," Daniel said quietly.
Subterranean structure found unstable.
Access sealed upon mayoral order.
Elena's heart pounded.
"Lucia might be behind this."
Thunder rumbled faintly above them through the layers of earth.
Daniel examined the wall.
"It's old," he said. "But not strong anymore."
He pressed one of the loose bricks.
It shifted slightly.
Dust crumbled down.
Elena felt her stomach twist.
For almost forty years, something had been hidden behind this wall.
Daniel looked at her.
"If we open this… we can't undo it."
Elena thought about the broken bookstore window.
The threats.
The fires.
The lies printed in newspapers.
She tightened her grip on the pendant.
"Open it."
Daniel pulled one loose stone free.
Then another.
The gap slowly widened.
Cold air seeped through the opening.
Different air.
Stale.
Forgotten.
Finally, Daniel pushed the last stone aside.
The flashlight beam slipped through the opening and illuminated the hidden chamber beyond.
Elena stepped forward slowly.
And then she saw it.
In the center of the small underground room—
A wooden chair.
Rotting with age.
Ropes still tied around the arms.
Elena felt the blood drain from her face.
Lucia hadn't fallen.
She hadn't run away.
She had been held here.