Hidden Secrets

Chapter 84

The women barely noticed how time passed as they were so immersed in their planning that they almost completely tuned out their surroundings. The large dining table was scattered with various notes, containing endless scribbles that made it hard to keep track. Propped against the wall behind it, they had temporarily attached a corkboard where the most important things were pinned: the detailed schedule, the guest list of sponsors, Usagi's speech (which she had rewritten countless times), and another sheet with the most important phone numbers for the day.

"Phew... we're making good progress already. But what about taking a little break? I think it's time to grab some food," Makoto suggested, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Usagi's eyes lit up at the mention of food, and her stomach rumbled loudly in agreement.

"Yeah, I think that's a wonderful idea," Amy agreed, then proceeded to open the refrigerator. Her eyes scanned the limited contents, and she looked back at the other three at the table somewhat disappointedly. "I'm afraid we'll need to go shopping first. There are only two bottles of beer and an apple in here, and that apple seems like it's about to grow legs," she informed the others of her disappointing find. Usagi looked at Makoto with large, sad eyes.

"It's no use. I'll go with Amy to get some groceries... and you two stay here. As long as we don't know what's going on out there, it's safest for you to stay here. Do you have any requests for what we should bring back?"

The pregnant women grabbed an empty sheet of paper and hastily wrote down a list, which they handed to Makoto and Amy as they left the house. Since none of them knew how long they would be stuck there, they wanted to be prepared for anything and properly stock up on supplies.

They hadn't been alone for long when Minako noticed Usagi's interested gaze, which kept drifting towards the cellar door, and suddenly Usagi felt caught. "Do you know exactly what's down there?" she forced herself to ask, the question that hadn't left her mind since yesterday. Of course, she knew that both Seiya and Taiki had said she should stay away from that place, but still, she couldn't resist giving in to her curiosity, the temptation was just too great, and since everyone made such a mystery out of it, that only intensified the allure.

Minako regarded her newly acquired sister skeptically. She herself had never seen this ominous cellar live. She only knew from rough descriptions what he did there and could only imagine how he did it. However, it was clear to her that he did not handle his guests down there with kid gloves. Somewhat ponderously, the heavily pregnant woman fought her way to her feet and reached out her hand to pull Usagi along.

"Come on, let's take a look. I've been curious for a long time about what his workplace looks like down there. Amy and Makoto probably need a while longer until they're back, and the men are also busy enough. We can probably only count on seeing them by evening," she said. Usagi didn't need to be told twice, and soon the two of them were standing at the door, descending the stairs one after the other.

They stopped in front of a heavy metal door. Minako reached for the handle and felt her palms slowly becoming sweaty with excitement. Then she applied gentle pressure to the cool metal in her hand, but nothing happened. Minako shook it a bit, but the door remained locked. Hesitantly, Usagi tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a display on the side, embedded in the wall.

"Maybe we need to enter something there?" she whispered softly, even though no one was in the house, she felt the need to remain calm.

Minako's facial features looked strained, her forehead furrowed as she pondered possible combinations. She turned to face the small display where a code was requested. She typed on it confidently and confirmed her input, but the device only flashed "Error" in large letters. Another attempt ended in the same result. But the blonde was not about to give up, her fighting spirit was awakened. After four more attempts, she had deciphered it, and a green "Okay" lit up, simultaneously, a bolt clicked, and the heavy metal door was able to be pushed open.