CHAPTER 1: The Mattress No One Wanted
Mark Dawson had spent the entire morning cleaning out the old house he inherited from his late grandfather. Every room was filled with dusty furniture, broken lamps, and forgotten memories. Most of it was worthless.
But one thing annoyed him more than anything else.
An old, stained mattress leaning against the garage wall.
"It belongs in the trash," Mark muttered as he dragged it across the snowy backyard.
His loyal German Shepherd, Rex, suddenly froze.
The dog stared at the mattress.
Then growled.
A deep, threatening growl Mark had never heard before.
"It's just an old mattress, buddy."
But Rex refused to move.
Instead, he began scratching furiously at one corner, barking louder with every second. His paws ripped through the dirty fabric as if something inside was desperately trying to get out.
"Rex! Stop!"
The dog ignored him.
Within seconds, the foam stuffing started spilling onto the snow.
Then...
Rex shoved his entire head into the hole.
Mark frowned.
"What on earth are you looking at?"
Curious, he knelt beside the mattress and pulled the torn fabric apart.
Nothing.
Only yellow foam.
He sighed.
Maybe the dog had smelled a mouse.
But Rex wasn't finished.
He pushed even deeper.
Suddenly, his barking stopped.
The dog slowly backed away...
Holding something inside his mouth.
Not food.
Not an animal.
A small rusty key wrapped in faded plastic.
Mark's heartbeat accelerated.
Why would someone hide a key inside a mattress?
Before he could answer that question, Rex charged back toward the mattress and started tearing into another section even more aggressively.
This time...
May you like
Something hard echoed beneath the foam.
TO BE CONTINUED...
