I Married a Single Mom with Two Daughters—A Week Later, Her Girls Took Me to Meet Their Dad…In the Basement

I MARRIED A SINGLE MOM WITH TWO DAUGHTERS – A WEEK LATER, THE GIRLS INVITED ME TO VISIT THEIR DAD IN THE BASEMENT
I married Claire, a wonderful woman and single mom to two beautiful girls, Emma (

and Lily (6).
In our first week living together, I noticed the girls whispering and glancing at the basement door. One evening, Emma asked me, “Do you ever wonder what’s in the basement?” She said it so seriously that I laughed nervously and asked why. She just smiled and walked away.
The next morning, Lily dropped her spoon and said, sing-song, “Daddy hates loud noises.” I froze. Claire had only ever said their dad was “gone.”
On Friday, Claire went to work while I stayed home with the girls, who were sick. Around midday, Emma came up to me with Lily close behind.
“Do you want to visit Daddy?” she asked.
“What?” I stammered.
“In the basement,” Lily added casually. “Mommy keeps him there.”
My blood ran cold. Was Claire hiding something? Was their dad… alive?
“Sure,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Let’s go see.”