Chapter 22 - The Hidden Floorboard**
Ethan stared at the antique brass key in his hand, feeling a strange, familiar cold chill return to his chest.
"Daddy, what's that key for?" Maya asked, holding up her drawing of their new ocean cottage.
"It's something your mommy left for us, sweetheart," Ethan answered softly, trying to hide the sudden anxiety in his voice.
He called Detective Sarah Jenkins immediately, placing the call on speaker as he paced across the kitchen floor.
"Ethan, I thought you were enjoying your retirement in Maine," Jenkins said with a warm chuckle.
"Jenkins, Sarah left a letter mentioning a secondary protocol beneath our old house in Ohio," Ethan revealed.
The line went dead silent for five long seconds before Jenkins let out a low, heavy sigh.
"Ethan... the federal forensic team cleared that house two months ago," Jenkins noted, her tone instantly becoming serious.
"Did they search beneath the concrete slab in the wine cellar?" Ethan asked, remembering his late wife's secret renovation project in 2021.
May you like
"I'm calling the local team to re-examine the foundation right now," Jenkins promised.
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