We descended the stairs slowly, our footsteps echoing in the narrow, musty corridor.
The deeper we went, the colder it became.
A smell of rust permeated the damp stone walls.
At the end of the staircase, we found an old iron door was slightly ajar.
Qin Yan glanced at me, then pushed the door open and walked in.
The sight in front of us made us freeze in our tracks.
In the corner, a skeleton was chained to the wall by a heavy iron chain. The skeleton was small and curled up.
Next to her, a yellowed piece of paper lay quietly.
I knelt down and picked it up carefully.
The edge of the paper was bitten and stained with mottled stains. Although it was blurry, the handwriting was still recognisable.
I read the contents quietly:
"If anyone finds this letter… my name was Evelyn. I am....was ...the mistress of this mansion."
"I was poisoned that causing my body gradually weakened. I couldn't speak. Couldn't move."
"Laine locked me here. He told the others that I was ill and didn't want to see anyone."
"He said that after he and Vivienne ran away successfully, someone would surely find me. But no one ever came."
"I'm waiting...always waiting."
"I was so hungry I started chewing on the edges of this very paper. I even tried to bite the wood of the chair, the fabric of my clothes— anything I could reach."
"But none of this can save me."
"I am so thirsty."
"So hungry."
"If anyone reads this letter… please remember me."
When I finished, my throat tightened.
Qin Yan stood behind me, silent.
We looked again at the bones.
She has been trapped here all along.
She was not sick.
She was not missing.
But...she was forgotten.
Imprisoned in darkness, starved to death.
"She trusted him," I murmured.
Qin Yan finally spoke.
"And he drove her to her death."
The air in the basement felt heavier than before.
We stood there for a long time.
No one deserved to die like this.
Especially not Evelyn.
And now, finally, we knew the truth.