There was a door under the stairs.
I used to think it was just a maintenance closet, or a storage space for brooms.
But this morning… the door was slightly open.
Not like before.
Not like it was supposed to be.
I stood frozen for several minutes.
There was something in the darkness — unseen, but felt.
Like a held breath.
Like a secret waiting for me.
I stepped down one stair.
The old wood creaked.
The light from above only reached the first few steps. The rest was pitch black. But there was no musty smell. No dust.
Instead, a strong scent filled the air — like wet earth and rotting flowers all at once.
I turned on my phone's flashlight.
The walls were made of rough stone. The space was narrow, like a hallway that had never been finished.
And at the end of that hallway, there was another door.
An old iron door with a circular carving at its center.
Like a symbol.
Like a seal.
I approached it. The door was cold to the touch.
And when I touched the symbol in the middle… I was thrown into a vision.
Not a dream.
Not a memory.
But like I was feeling what had once happened here.
I saw Liana — still alive — standing in the same hallway. Her hands trembled as she carried something in a black plastic bag.
From a distance, I couldn't see what was inside.
But when she opened it, I saw wide-open eyes. A mouth still grinning.
It was Mr. Halden's face.
Liana didn't kill him.
But she buried him here.
In the hidden room beneath the apartment.
In the vision, I saw her digging a hole with her bare hands. Dirt stuck to her face and arms. But she didn't cry.
She smiled.
And whispered,
"You said I'd be safe."
I snapped out of it, body ice-cold. The iron door was still in front of me. But now, the carving in the center glowed faintly red.
And below the carving, a sentence slowly appeared like mist dancing:
"Last tenant must open for the next."
My hands trembled as I understood the meaning.
To enter this room… someone must become the final tenant.
And the final tenant before me… was Liana.
That's why she left the list. That's why everything had to be completed. Because once the list was done — this door would open again.
I took a deep breath and pushed the door.
The room inside looked like a regular basement.
But too clean.
Too well-kept.
In the center of the room stood a round wooden table. On it were black-and-white photos of every person who had ever lived in unit 4B.
And beneath each photo, a single word:
"Witness""Liar""Keeper""Breaker""Burner"
Then my photo.
Already there.
With one word below it:
"Next."
Footsteps behind me.
I turned — but the hallway was empty.
My phone's light began to flicker.
And voices started echoing from the stone walls.
Whispers.
Crying.
Screaming.
Then one voice rose above them all:
"You opened it. Now you can't close it again."
I stepped back. But the iron door had already shut.
I tried pushing it — it wouldn't move.
From the corner of the room, the wall began to crack.
Not like a building collapsing.
But like something was emerging from behind it.
A shadow crept out of the cracks. Like black mist with glowing red eyes. Its body had no clear form. Like it was trying to remember what a human was… and failing.
I backed against the far wall.
But the creature didn't attack.
It simply raised one hand — or what looked like a hand — and pointed at the photo on the table.
My photo.
And said,
"One of them lied.One of them opened the door.One of them must stay."
Then the voice faded.
The creature vanished back into the wall.
And the iron door… opened.
I ran. Up the stairs, heart pounding.
When I reached my unit, sunlight filtered through the curtains.
I thought it was over.
But when I opened the door…
The room was empty.
No bed.
No suitcase.
No mirror.
Just white walls.
And in the middle of the floor, a single piece of paper — the writing still fresh:
1. Read the notebook2. Return the red sweater3. Bury the box4. Find out who lied5. Burn the film roll6. Unlock the basement7. Choose who stays
My hands trembled.
It wasn't over.
There was still one task left.
And this time, I had to choose.