Inside were stacks of black-and-white photographs. Each one showed a group of children sitting in that same basement, their faces pale and expressionless. None of them smiled. In the background of every picture stood the same figure—a tall man in a dark suit and hat. His face was always turned slightly away from the camera, but somehow, Daniel could feel the man’s eyes watching him through the decades.
Mark urged him to stop, but Daniel’s curiosity wouldn’t let him. He searched around the room and found a small leather notebook hidden beneath the table. The pages were yellowed, most of the writing smeared, but one line was still clear enough to read:
“…the children… the experiments… keep them quiet…”
Daniel’s skin crawled. The single word experiments echoed in his head.
Near the floor, carved deep into the concrete, were the initials E.M. and the date 1952. He whispered the letters under his breath, not realizing they would soon connect him to a horrifying chapter of his home’s history.