Chapter 6

Mom gave a satisfied smirk. Picking up a flashlight, she led me down into the warehouse basement.

Even bathed in the beam of light, the underground corridor remained gloomy and terrifying. Remembering Emily's bizarre groans earlier, my pulse pounded wildly in my chest.

The basement had been partitioned into several small, cramped rooms, separated by an extremely narrow passageway.

I glanced into an open room. Two beds stood side by side with rumpled, sweat-stained sheets—clearly where the two hostesses had lain earlier that day, not yet tidied up.

Mom guided me past the room where Emily was locked inside. As we approached, Emily's cries grew louder, accompanied by strange, muffled sounds I had never heard in my life.

Finally, we reached the second subterranean chamber.

This room connected directly to the first; it was the actual warehouse. Hanging from the ceiling were rows upon rows of gowns, each varying in size, length, and shade.

A few silk pieces seemed freshly made and hadn't dried yet, dangling in the damp basement as thick droplets of moisture dripped slowly from their hems.

Yet this wasn't the end. At the far side of the chamber, another staircase descended.

Those steps plunged further down into the earth, like the gaping maw of an abyss.

Stepping onto the sub-basement level, I witnessed a scene that stopped my breath entirely.