The noises were far too loud to be mice. And far too steady to be pipes.

Cold chills ran down the woman’s spine.

She grabbed Lilia, carried her out of the room, and — breathless with panic — woke her husband. At first he thought his wife was exaggerating. But when he went upstairs and pressed his ear to the floor… he heard it too.

The next day they opened part of the floor near the wall. Under an old wooden board they found a sealed technical hatch. Beneath it — a narrow passage between the walls.

Inside that passage were bottles, rags, food scraps. Footprints. Clear evidence that someone had been living there. Someone who only came out at night.