Chapter 2: The Rug That Held a Secret
Lila’s first instinct was to run, but she couldn’t leave the little girl alone with the woman. She stepped back, her hand brushing the edge of the woven rug that covered the center of the dining room floor. She’d noticed the rug earlier, its faded floral pattern frayed at the corners, and she’d thought it was just a worn-out decorative piece. But as she stepped back, her heel caught on a loose thread, and she nearly tripped. When she bent down to fix it, she felt a small, hard object tucked under the edge of the rug. She pulled it out, and her heart skipped a beat: it was a silver locket, engraved with a little girl’s name: Mia. The same name the little girl had told her earlier, when she’d asked what her name was.
Lila looked up at the woman, who was now standing directly in front of her, the knife glinting in the firelight. “You think that’s going to help you?” the woman said, her voice cold. “That’s just a trinket I left for the next poor soul who gets in my way.” Lila clutched the locket tighter, her hands sweating. She could hear Mia’s quiet sobs behind her, and she knew she had to do something fast. She glanced around the dining room again, looking for an escape route, but the only windows were covered with heavy wooden shutters, and the back door was locked from the outside. The woman was blocking the front door, and there was nowhere else to go.
The woman took another step forward, and Lila backed up until she was pressed against the bar. “Please,” Lila said, her voice breaking. “Just let the girl go. I won’t tell anyone what happened here. I promise.” The woman laughed, a harsh, barking sound that made Lila’s skin crawl. “You think I’m going to let you walk away from this?” she said, shaking her head. “You saw my face. You know what I look like. I can’t let you live.” Lila’s blood ran cold. She knew then that the woman was telling the truth. She wasn’t going to let them leave the restaurant alive.
She reached up and grabbed the nearest bar stool, heaving it over her head. The woman tensed, her knife raised, ready to strike. But before Lila could swing the stool, the woman lunged forward, slashing the knife across Lila’s forearm. Lila cried out, dropping the stool, and blood soaked through her waitress uniform. Mia screamed, rushing forward to grab Lila’s hand. “Lila!” she cried. “Don’t let her hurt you!” The woman turned her attention to Mia, and Lila saw her chance. She grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the bar and sprayed it directly into the woman’s face. The woman stumbled back, coughing and sputtering, and Lila grabbed Mia’s hand, pulling her toward the back door.
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But just as they reached the door, the woman recovered. She tackled Lila to the floor, and the two of them rolled across the woven rug, sending plates and glasses crashing off the bar. Lila felt the woman’s hands around her throat, squeezing tighter and tighter, and she could feel her vision starting to fade. She reached up, grabbing the loose thread on the rug again, and pulled as hard as she could. The entire rug lifted up, revealing a hidden trapdoor underneath it. Lila and the woman fell through the trapdoor, tumbling down a narrow staircase into a dark basement. Lila hit her head on the concrete floor, and for a moment, she saw stars. When she opened her eyes, the woman was standing over her, the knife in her hand, ready to strike.
