The Secret in His Gaming Room

My husband, Miles Connell, turned his study into a gaming room, kept it locked for three years, and refused to let anyone in. Yet whenever I brought friends home, he eagerly ushered them inside. After leaving the room, my best friend, Zoe Schmich, blocked me. “From now on, we’re no longer best friends.” My business partner, Erin Zappone, slapped me across the face when she emerged. “Our partnership is over!” I asked Miles what exactly he had said to them in the gaming room, but he merely waved me off and insisted he had nothing to do with it. Dad refused to believe any of it, so he picked the lock and went inside while Miles was away on a business trip. The moment he came out, he grabbed a mop handle and swung it at me. “You monster!” The incident soon went viral online. Some people claimed something was lurking in our gaming room and bringing me bad luck, while others offered Miles five thousand dollars to reveal the truth. Desperate to clear my name, I asked my childhood friend, a prosecutor, to check out the room. But when she emerged, she refused to meet my eyes and slowly reached for the handcuffs at her belt. “Nora Lillard, you’ve been suspected of murder. Come with me.” Chapter 1 Miles Connell had never acted like that before. During our third year of marriage, he turned his study into a gaming room. After that, the door stayed locked. Once, I asked him what he kept in there. He said he had expensive graphics cards and gaming peripherals in there and that I was not allowed to touch them, so I never asked again. Zoe Schmich had been my best friend since childhood. We had known each other for over twenty years. After a bad breakup, she moved in with me for two weeks. One evening, Miles brought Zoe a bowl of homemade pudding and called her over. “Come here, Zoe. I have something cool to show you.” Zoe glanced at me, and I nodded. Miles led her into the gaming room while I stayed in the living room, scrolling through my phone. Five minutes later, I heard Zoe’s startled voice coming from inside. I jumped to my feet just as the door opened, revealing Zoe standing with her back to me. “Zoe?” She turned around, her face streaked with tears. “Nora, I-I can’t believe you’re capable of this!” she said, her voice so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable. I froze. “Huh?” “Drop the act.” She cut me off, fixing me with a look I would never forget. “Y-You know exactly what you did!” “What happened?” I asked. Zoe never told me what she had seen. Instead, she stared at me for a long moment before forcing the words through clenched teeth. “I can’t believe I ever called you my friend.” With that, she slipped on her shoes and walked straight out the door. I opened WhatsApp and tried to message her, but it would not go through. I rounded on Miles and demanded, “What did you show her?” He dried his hands, completely unfazed. “Nothing much. Just some old stuff. Her turning on you had nothing to do with this. Maybe you two just had a misunderstanding.” I genuinely thought it was just a coincidence, so I let it go. Six months later, Erin Zappone and I went into business together and opened a design studio. One night, we stayed up late at my house revising a design proposal. Miles came in carrying a plate of fruit and smiled. “Erin, I have some old design drafts here. Want to take a look?” Erin worked in design, so her eyes lit up. Remembering what had happened with Zoe, I was just about to stop Erin when she stood up. “Sure, Miles!” Miles led Erin into the gaming room, leaving me on the couch with sweaty palms. The wait stretched to ten long minutes. When the door opened, Erin stepped out with an expression I could not describe. She walked straight toward me and slapped me hard across the face. “Nora, I thought we were like sisters. How could you do this to me?” she asked, her voice trembling. “What did I do?” I asked. “Don’t act dumb.” Her eyes filled with tears. “You thought deleting those backup records on your computer would keep anyone from finding out? From now on, our friendship is over!” Chapter 2 After saying that, Erin walked out. I stood in the living room, one side of my cheek burning from the slap. Meanwhile, Miles leaned against the doorframe with a faint smile tugging at his lips. “What exactly are you hiding in that room?” I demanded. He gave me the same answer as before. “It’s just some old stuff. Her turning on you had nothing to do with this. Maybe you two just had a misunderstanding.” From then on, I kept an eye on that door. During the day, while Miles was at work, I stayed home and watched the lock. I even tried picking it. I had barely slipped a screwdriver into the keyhole when I heard his voice behind me. “Nora.” I turned and found him standing behind me with a glass of water. I had no idea when he had arrived. “I told you that room is off-limits.” “What are you hiding in there?” I asked. “That’s none of your business.” “Two of my friends cut ties with me after going into that room!” Miles set down his glass, and his smile vanished. “Touch that door again, and our marriage is over.” His gaze was so cold it sent chills down my spine, and I believed him. Dad, who just so happened to come over for dinner that evening, sat silently nearby the whole time. As soon as Miles went into the kitchen, he called me out onto the balcony. He was a veteran homicide detective with an instinct sharper than most people’s. “Nora, something’s wrong with Miles.” “I know.” “Something’s going on in that room,” Dad added. I nodded and told him what had happened with Zoe and Erin. Dad was an honest, mild-mannered man who had never had a falling-out with anyone. He patted my shoulder and said, “Leave it to me.” The next day, Miles left town on a business trip and would not be back for three days. Dad found a piece of wire and crouched by the door, fiddling with the lock until it clicked open. I was about to step inside when Dad stopped me. “I’ll check it out first. There could be something dangerous inside.” He glanced at me, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. I waited outside, but not a sound came from the room. After ten minutes, I called out tentatively, “Dad?” But no one answered. I was just about to push the door open when Dad emerged. His face had turned ashen, and his lips trembled. He looked as though he had aged ten years in minutes. “Dad? What did you see?” He ignored me. Slowly, he turned to face me, but he looked at me like I was a stranger. “You…” His voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like his own. “How could you live with yourself after what you’ve done?” He closed his eyes, then raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face. “Dad, why did you hit me? What exactly is inside?” Dad did not stop there. He grabbed the mop handle from behind the door and rained blows on me. “You monster!” I panicked. “What did I do?” Dad suddenly raised his voice. “You know perfectly well what you did! If… If you weren’t my daughter, I’d arrest you myself!” He brought the mop handle down on my arms and back, leaving me rolling on the floor in agony. I tried to run, but a kick in the knee sent me back down. “I’m warning you,” he panted. “Keep your mouth shut about everything you’ve done, or I won’t be able to save you.” I lay sprawled on the floor, in too much pain to get up. In desperation, I pulled out my phone and called 911. “Hello, is this the police? I’m calling to report domestic violence. My dad hit me.” Soon, the police arrived. The officer in charge, a middle-aged woman named Charlene Wakefield, frowned when she saw my bruised and swollen face. “Who did this to you?” I pointed at Dad. Charlene called him over. “Sir, regardless of what happened, getting physical is unacceptable. You’re coming with us.” Dad jutted his chin out. “I’m teaching my daughter a lesson. It’s a family matter.” “Domestic violence isn’t a family matter.” Just then, the door opened. Miles stood in the doorway, dragging a suitcase behind him. “What’s going on here?” Chapter 3 Tears spilled down my cheeks when I saw him. “Miles, Dad hit me!” Miles glanced at me, then at Charlene. He set his suitcase by the door, brushed the dust off his clothes, and smiled. “Officers, don’t leave just yet. The arrest can wait. First, let me show you something.” My heart sank. But he had already pushed open the gaming room door and beckoned the police officers over. “Come on in and take a look. You’ll understand once you see it.” Charlene exchanged a glance with the other two officers, then stepped inside. I stood in the living room. My hands and feet were ice cold. Time seemed to crawl. I eventually sat on the couch. Muffled voices drifted from the room, but I could not make out what anyone was saying. Dad sat at the other end of the couch, his face deathly pale. Ten minutes later, the door opened. Charlene walked out without looking at me. She stopped in front of me, then raised her head and looked at me. Her expression mirrored Zoe’s, Erin’s, and Dad’s. “Nora…” Her tone had changed completely. “How old are you this year?” “Twenty-seven.” “Do you realize we could take you into custody right now?” I stared at her in disbelief. “Take me in? Why?” One of the other younger officers snorted. “Why? You know perfectly well what this is about.” “What did I do?” I asked. Charlene pulled out a small notebook from her pocket, tore off a page, and wrote a phone number on it. Then, she placed it on the coffee table. “We don’t have enough evidence yet, but you just wait. We’ll be back.” She stood and headed out, but stopped at the door and glanced back at me. “Effective immediately, you’re not to leave Javerton, and you must report your whereabouts to us.” With that, the officers left. Dad got to his feet, shot me a furious glare, and followed them out, leaving Miles and me in the living room. I sat on the couch, still reeling from everything that had happened. “What have I done wrong? I’ve never stolen or hurt anyone my whole life. Zoe blocked me, Erin slapped me, and Dad called me a monster and nearly beat me senseless. Now, the police are saying it too. What exactly is in that gaming room?” I thought. I slowly got to my feet. Miles was heating water in the kitchen, the water splashing noisily. I approached the gaming room door. Dad had already picked the lock, and the door was slightly ajar. “Nora.” Miles’ voice drifted over from the kitchen. “Don’t go in.” I ignored him and pushed the door open. “I said don’t go in!” Before I knew it, he was right behind me. A chill ran down the back of my neck, followed by intense pain. I turned and saw him gripping a charging cable looped around my neck. He held back, but he was using enough force to keep me still. He stood behind me, his expression impassive. “I told you that room was off-limits.” My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor. As my vision darkened, I heard him pull out his phone and dial a number. “Hello, is this emergency services? My wife just passed out…” His voice grew fainter until I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. My neck was wrapped in bandages, and it hurt whenever I moved. A commotion outside my hospital room caught my attention. I turned my head and, through the crack in the door, saw several people carrying cameras crowding around Miles and my parents, peppering them with questions. “Mr. Connell, what exactly is in your gaming room?” “I heard everyone who went in there came out hostile toward your wife. Is that true?” “Some people are saying your gaming room is haunted?” Miles smiled at the cameras and said, “There’s nothing supernatural going on. It’s just some things from the past.” “Then, what exactly did your wife do?” “Well…” After a pause, he continued, “Now isn’t the time to talk about it.” A sharp-eyed reporter noticed I was awake and pushed through the crowd, rushing into my room. “Miss Lillard, do you know what your husband is hiding in the gaming room? I heard the police came to your house. Is there really something going on with you?” Chapter 4 A barrage of questions came at me all at once, but I had just woken up, and my mind was still blank. Miles walked over and stepped in front of the cameras. “Everyone, my wife just woke up and needs to rest. The truth will come to light eventually. Please give us some privacy for now.” The reporters filed out, leaving Miles and me alone in the hospital room. I stared at him. “What exactly do you want from me?” He sat beside my bed and peeled an apple for me. “Nora, let’s make a deal.” “What deal?” “From now on, you’re not to make any more friends or investigate what’s in that room. Just keep your head down and live peacefully with me,” he said. “What happens then?” “Then, we’ll pretend the whole thing with the gaming room never happened.” “What if I refuse?” He smiled, set the apple on my bedside table, then stood up and patted my cheek. “I’ll leak everything in that room to the press, piece by piece. Once I do, you’ll have a lot more to worry about than a few nasty comments.” He walked to the door and glanced back at me. “Think it over.” After I was discharged, I reached out to Leah Sheridan, a former elementary classmate I had run into at an event six months earlier. She worked as a prosecutor at the district attorney’s office. I told her everything that had happened at home. She fell silent for a long moment after I finished. “Are you sure everyone comes out of that room acting the same way?” she asked. “Absolutely! No matter who goes in, they all come out thinking I’m the most despicable person alive.” Leah mulled over it briefly before saying, “I’ll go with you.” I stared at her in surprise. “You?” “As a prosecutor, I’ve seen more evidence than you have. Whatever your husband is hiding in that room, I can tell what’s real and what isn’t once I take a look myself.” I hesitated, remembering how Charlene had acted after leaving the room. But Leah was different. We had grown up together, and she knew what kind of person I was. “Okay.” That weekend, I brought Leah home. Miles froze for a moment when he saw her. “Who is this?” “Hello.” Leah smiled as she handed him a watermelon she had bought downstairs. “I’m Leah Sheridan, a friend of Nora’s. I’m a prosecutor with the district attorney’s office.” Miles’ expression shifted slightly. He invited us in and poured us some water. Then, he leaned back on the couch, folded his arms, and looked at me with a faint smile. “Well, look at you. You even have a prosecutor for a friend.” Leah said nothing. She simply surveyed the room. Miles stood up and beckoned her over. “Miss Sheridan, right? Perfect timing. Let me show you something.” With that, he entered the gaming room. My heart skipped a beat. Leah glanced at me, silently telling me not to worry. Then, she stood and headed toward the gaming room as well. I sat on the couch, my palms slick with sweat, as Leah pushed the door open and stepped inside. The door closed behind her. I waited outside, listening to the faint murmur of voices inside, though I could not make out a single word. The wait was even longer. Twenty minutes passed before the door finally opened. Leah emerged first, but her smile had vanished. She stood in the doorway without looking away. Slowly, she reached for the handcuffs at her belt, the very ones she had brought along for Miles. With a soft click, she spun them once in her hand. Finally, she turned to look at me. I knew that look all too well. It was the same look Zoe, Erin, Dad, and Charlene had given me. “Nora, come with me,” she said, her voice icy.