ROOM SEVENTEEN
The voice was barely audible.
Marcus and Daniel descended the stairs.
Step by step.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
At the bottom was a long corridor.
Old lights flickered overhead.
There were doors on both sides.
Most had no numbers.
Then Marcus saw one.
17.
He pushed it open.
Inside was a room filled with boxes.
Old files.
Photographs.
Medical records.
And dozens of handwritten journals.
Daniel picked up one.
“What is this?”
Marcus opened it.
The first page contained a list of names.
Women.
All of them had been residents of Saint Clare’s Convent.
Some had died.
Others had disappeared.
Daniel turned another page.
His expression changed.
“Doctor…”
Marcus looked.
At the bottom of the page was Sister Mary’s name.
Beside it was a date.
Six months earlier.
And one word:
DISCOVERED.
Marcus felt a chill.
“She found something.”
Daniel continued searching.
Then he found a photograph.
It showed Sister Mary standing beside another young nun.
The woman had a familiar face.
Marcus looked at the date.
Twenty years earlier.
“That can’t be.”
“What?”
Marcus pointed.
The woman beside Mary was supposed to have died twenty years ago.
Daniel stared.
“Who is she?”
Marcus read the name beneath the photograph.
Sister Rebecca.
Then they heard footsteps.
Both men turned.
Someone was walking down the corridor.
Marcus switched off his flashlight.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then a voice whispered:
“Marcus?”
He knew the voice.
Father Gabriel.
Marcus stepped into the hallway.
The priest stood at the far end.
His clothes were covered in dirt.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Gabriel said.
Marcus stared at him.
“Where is Sister Mary?”
The priest looked down.
Then said something Marcus would never forget.
“She isn’t dead.”
Daniel’s breath caught.
Marcus stared at him.
“What?”
Gabriel’s face was full of fear.
“She was alive when they brought her to you.”
Marcus felt the blood leave his face.
“Then why did her heart stop?”
Gabriel looked toward the darkness behind him.
“Because they needed everyone to believe she was dead.”
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