The Screams from the Basement

Chapter 1: The Secret Beneath the Basement

After our parents passed away, my brother and I were taken in by our single uncle.
But for some reason, my brother often vanished from the house for days at a time.
One day, I heard terrifying screams coming from the basement of the villa.
I listened closely—and to my horror, the voice was unmistakably my brother’s…

I went down to the underground garage to get the car, when a gut-wrenching scream tore through the air.
The garage, located on the basement level, also housed a locked room—the basement.
I followed the sound and crept toward it, peeking through a small window.

There he was—my brother—chained at the ankles, writhing in pain across the basement floor.
He looked like a homeless vagrant: filthy clothes, tangled hair, and a face twisted in agony.

“Brother! What are you doing here? Who locked you up?”
I rushed to the basement door, but it was sealed with a large iron padlock.
I didn’t have the key. Only Uncle or the mute servant might have it.

The mute couldn't speak. He was the housekeeper, hired by Uncle to manage the kitchen and the villa’s cleaning.
Could it be… Uncle who did this?
Why hadn’t he told me something so huge?

Only four people lived in this house: me, my brother, Uncle, and the mute.
The mute wouldn’t dare chain up my brother.
But Uncle—he was always kind and gentle, a benevolent guardian.
After I was discharged from the hospital following a car accident, Uncle bought me a car so I could go for drives and avoid boredom.
There’s no way it could be Uncle.

I was about to leave and confront them when my brother called out urgently,
“Don’t go! Don’t look for the key, Qiqi. Come here. I have something important to tell you.”

I hurried to the small window. Tears filled my eyes seeing him like this.
“Brother, tell me! Who did this to you?” I cried uncontrollably.

“Our parents… they didn’t die of illness. It was—”
Before he could finish, his eyes widened in fear—staring at something behind me.

I turned around.
Uncle stood there, arms crossed, his gaze cold and ominous.

When had he arrived?
I shivered.

Uncle walked over and grabbed my hand. “Qiqi, come. Leave this place. Don’t worry about your brother—he’s gone mad.”

I turned back, but my brother was no longer visible through the window.

Uncle explained as we walked away:
“After your car accident, you suffered a brain injury and lost your memory. There’s a lot you’ve forgotten. Your brother has schizophrenia. At first, we kept him in his bedroom. But he escaped, attacked people on the street, injured several. I had no choice but to send him to a psychiatric hospital. But even there, he injured other patients. I had no choice… I had to confine him in the basement.”

“When did he get sick? Why can’t I remember anything?”

“Since two years ago, after your parents died. You knew about this before your accident, but ever since the memory loss, you’ve forgotten. I’ve told you about it many times, but you never remember.”

Uncle sighed. “This is your brother’s fate. He may spend the rest of his life in that basement.”

I burst into tears again.

Later, I saw Uncle instruct the mute to bring an extra chicken leg to my brother.
Uncle’s voice trembled with guilt.
He said he owed my parents for not being able to cure my brother’s illness.

The next morning, I woke up early—I had to see my brother again.
I found the mute and asked for the basement key, but he shook his head furiously and pointed to Uncle’s bedroom.

I understood—Uncle had forbidden him from letting me in.

I yanked the keys from his belt and glared at him.
Unlocking the basement door, I rushed in.

My brother lay on the floor, but sat up the moment he saw me.
The stench in the room was unbearable. A toilet bucket near the chain was nearly overflowing.

“Did Uncle allow you in?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, I took the key myself.”

“Brother, you didn’t finish yesterday. What really happened to our parents?”

Tears fell again as I looked at his pale face and ragged clothes.

“They weren’t sick,” he said softly. “They were murdered—by Uncle.”

My head snapped up. I stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s impossible! He’s our blood relative. Why would he do such a thing?”

“He’s not our real uncle. He killed our real uncle. The one now is an imposter.”