Chapter 5 - Beneath the Water
The world above faded into a muffled, echoey hum as Ethan plunged straight toward the bottom of the pool. The clear blue water burned his eyes, but he refused to close them. He kicked hard, descending eight feet down to the bottom drain.
He reached out and grabbed the metal intake grate. Tangled tightly around the screws was the thin gold chain with the horseshoe charm.
Ethan’s heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. Clara hadn't lost this necklace on a business trip, as Evelyn had suggested months ago. It had been pulled off right here.
Ethan pushed himself closer to the rear wall of the deep end. The pool had been completely resurfaced and renovated by a contractor Evelyn had personally recommended just three weeks after Clara disappeared. Evelyn had insisted that the old pool was leaking and needed an immediate, complete overhaul.
Inspecting the wall underwater, Ethan saw what his grief-blinded eyes had missed for a year. The pool’s concrete lining had been built outward by nearly three feet on the far side, cutting off access to the old subterranean maintenance cellar—an abandoned concrete bunker beneath the house that housed the original 1950s filtration pumps.
The contractor hadn't just repaired the pool. They had walled off the cellar entrance behind a thick layer of waterproof sealant, reinforced fiberglass, and concrete tiles.
Ethan ran his fingers along the edge of the tile grid. A fine hairline crack ran along the mortar, where the shifting ground had begun to compromise the seal. A tiny stream of air bubbles was escaping from behind the wall.
There was hollow air behind the concrete.
Ethan swam to the surface, breaking through the water with a violent gasp for air. He gripped the edge of the pool deck, his chest heaving, his face pale as marble.
The guests crowded around the edge, confused and anxious. Evelyn stood at the front, her fingers clutching her silk dress so tightly the fabric was tearing.
"Ethan!" Evelyn called out, her voice straining to maintain a tone of gentle concern. "What are you doing down there? You're scaring everyone. Please, come out of the water."
Ethan wiped the water from his eyes and looked up at her. He raised his right hand, revealing the gold horseshoe necklace dripping in his palm.
"Where did you get this, Evelyn?" Ethan’s voice was low, terrifyingly calm, carrying across the quiet yard.
May you like
Evelyn’s breath hitched. "I... I don't know what that is. It looks like old costume jewelry—"
"It's Clara's," Ethan interrupted, his voice breaking with a sudden, agonizing wave of realization. "You told me she took it with her when she walked out on us."
