The woman told me to run away quickly, or I’d be the next one locked up in here. But when she saw my boyfriend, she threw herself at him. Not in hysterical anger, nor in timid pleading. Instead, she kissed him. So passionately, so tenderly. It made my skin crawl and my breath stop. 0A skeletal woman was chained up in the basement. Her cheeks were sunken, her body covered in bruises. An iron chain around her neck kept her tethered like a dog in the dark, sunless space. I stood on the stairs, our eyes meeting. My breathing quickened for no apparent reason. She seemed surprised to see me there. I told her my boyfriend had brought me to his hometown to meet his parents. Just as I was about to ask who she was, she suddenly became hysterical upon hearing this. She shouted at me: “Run! Get out of here now!” Her sudden outburst startled me. With a trembling voice, I asked her why. But her next words sent chills down my spine. “Because if you don’t leave, you’ll be the next one locked up in here!” 0
I had been dating Lucas for six months and we were planning to get married. He invited me to his hometown to meet his parents. Lucas was considered a good man by everyone, and his parents had always been very caring towards me. Today, because I wasn’t feeling well, I stayed alone at his house. Her words made me uneasy, so I left the basement as quickly as I could. When I came up, I found Lucas had already returned. He handed me a bag of sweet apricots, but I could barely taste them. I tentatively asked, “Have you ever brought other women back here before?” Lucas’s fingers paused for a moment, then he wiped the juice from the corner of my mouth and smiled, “I’ve already told you, I’ve only had two exes.” Lucas had always kept his social circle simple, coming home on time every night. Even when he occasionally went out drinking with friends, they were all people I knew. I knew I shouldn’t doubt my boyfriend. But who was that girl in the basement? I nodded thoughtfully, suddenly remembering something. I probed further, “Was one of your ex-girlfriends… the one with a birthmark on her wrist?” His face instantly darkened, and I felt inexplicably nervous. Lucas demanded to know how I knew about the birthmark. I suppressed the fear in my heart and tried to act calm, telling him he had mentioned it once before and I had remembered. I’ve always been attentive to details, so this explanation should be believable. Lucas stared intently at my expression. I unconsciously swallowed, cold sweat breaking out all over my body. Suddenly, Lucas smiled. He went into the inner room and took out a photo from the drawer, handing it to me. The woman in the photo was clearly the woman in the basement. Next to her stood Lucas and his parents, all smiling at the camera, clearly a family portrait. Lucas pointed to the family photo and explained that the one with the birthmark was actually his sister. His sister had an accident some years ago and became mentally unstable, often running away on the streets. She almost got hit by cars several times, so they had no choice but to keep her locked up at home. I suddenly understood and felt relieved. But then I thought, even if she was his own sister, she shouldn’t be locked in the basement. However, this was their family matter, and I didn’t feel it was my place to ask more questions. As I glanced at the photo again, I couldn’t help but feel that their smiles seemed somewhat forced. 0
In the middle of the night, I was awakened by a nightmare. I looked to the side and found no one there. Feeling uneasy, I decided to go out and take a look. As I passed through the living room, I heard voices. It was Lucas’s voice. What was he doing up at this hour? I quietly hid behind a pillar and saw candles burning in the room, casting Lucas’s shadow on the window. I saw him holding a knife, stabbing downwards quickly. I heard a muffled thud, followed by a splash of blood on the window. A patch of crimson, with a faint smell of blood in the air. In that instant, fear swept over me. The scene from earlier flashed in my mind – Lucas was killing someone! I suppressed the terror in my heart, hiding there not daring to make a sound. Then I saw Lucas hack down again, and another splash of blood spurted out. My heart was pounding violently. I wanted to call the police with my phone, but then remembered I had left it in the bedroom. I was about to sneak back to the room when I turned around and saw his mother standing expressionless behind me, who knows how long she had been watching. “Where are you going, Mia?” 0
I was terrified, my whole body trembling. I managed to force a stiff smile. “Oh, I was just going to the bathroom.” As I said this, I instinctively looked back and saw Lucas’s hawk-like eyes staring at me unblinkingly. I looked at the knife in his hand, my back already damp with cold sweat. I was debating whether to cry for help when Lucas suddenly frowned, quickly walked over and felt my forehead. “You look so pale, are you running a fever?” I swallowed hard, looking at his concerned expression, unable to reconcile it with his actions of killing someone. After hesitating, I finally spoke up. “What were you… doing just now?” Lucas seemed confused for a moment, then took my hand and led me into the room. As soon as we entered, I saw a dead pig tied to a bench, several knife wounds on its body, the air thick with the smell of blood. Even so, I breathed a sigh of relief. I scratched my head awkwardly and asked sheepishly, “Why are you butchering a pig in the middle of the night?” His mother smiled kindly, taking out a piece of pig liver from a basin and handing it to me. “It’s because we saw you weren’t feeling well and thought you needed some nourishment.” I looked at her gnarled hands stained red with blood, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. I realized it was all a misunderstanding. I smiled awkwardly and left, my heart filled with gratitude. I didn’t see the smiles on Lucas and his mother’s faces turn cold the moment I turned my back. 0
Back in the room, I still couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Lucas’s cold expression as he held the knife. The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt. People usually kill pigs with one cut to the throat, but Lucas was torturing it cruelly. After much hesitation, I went back to the basement. His sister seemed to have anticipated my return, sitting on the ground waiting for me even in the middle of the night. I looked at her with pity, but when our eyes met, hers held only coldness. “You don’t believe me.” I smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, she stood up, making the small space feel even more cramped. I looked at her suddenly fierce face in the candlelight, feeling a hint of fear, and unconsciously took a step back. There was a “crack” sound, like I had stepped on something. I looked down and almost screamed – it was a human bone! My breathing instantly became rapid, and my forehead was covered in sweat. When I looked back at his sister, I saw her playing with a leg bone in her hand. I was so scared I nearly fainted, and turned to leave, but she stopped me. She shoved the leg bone into my hands, and I quickly let go as if it were scalding hot. In the darkness, his sister’s smile seemed even more terrifying. She leaned in and whispered, “Well, do you believe me now?” My thoughts were in turmoil. The evidence was right in front of me, no matter how much I wanted to defend Lucas. His sister told me that just because she had witnessed her brother killing someone years ago, he locked her up here and buried that person’s bones in this basement. I listened, horrified, and immediately said I would call the police. His sister quickly tried to stop me when she heard I wanted to call the police. I reassured her, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll make sure justice is served.” But his sister still shook her head in fear. “It’s useless, they all say I’m crazy, no one will believe me… If you want to leave, go find Mrs. Johnson at the edge of town, she can help you.” I looked at this poor woman, touched that she was still trying to help me even in her condition. Early the next morning, I made an excuse to go out for a walk. Lucas insisted on coming along, saying he was worried I might get lost in an unfamiliar place. It was a small town with only about a hundred households, and we soon reached the edge. There was an old house there, its door slightly ajar. While Lucas was smoking, I quietly pushed open the door, but was immediately hit by a terrible stench that made me cough repeatedly. It was very dark inside. After my eyes adjusted, I could make out the scene. On an old bed in front of me was a woman who looked like death, tied up. Around her stood at least four or five half-dressed men. They had eerie smiles on their faces, looking at me with interest like predators eyeing their prey. Goosebumps instantly covered my body. I instinctively took a few steps back, only to bump into something. I turned around to find Lucas blocking the doorway, who knows how long he had been there. His eyes were examining me coldly, sending chills down my spine. “This is the town’s brothel. What are you doing in here?”
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