"You have got to be kidding me!" 

"I concur with you, boss." My nanny agreed, taking in the body of water lying in front of us. "What is this place?"

I shook my head, feeling more trapped than I had when I was in the safehold. The ledge we stood on was hardly enough for the two of us and appeared to be floating on water. We were inside a cave of sorts with a ten-watt bulb glowing softly directly above us. "I can't swim," I muttered under my breath. 

Rob went to his knees and dipped a finger in the dark water. "It's cold," he said, putting it in his mouth.

"What are you doing!?" I slapped his finger out of his mouth. 

"It's fresh water." He narrowed his eyes and stared at the still expanse. "I can't see the bottom. There has to be something to help us get out of here."

Hope surged in my heart. "What if there is, but it's hidden like the exit door? So far, we have used the base and one of the sides of the pendant to unlock doors. How about we search for a spot where its tip can do the magic?"

Rob's eyes shone. Was it pride I spotted? "That could well do the trick," he said, and without wasting another second, commenced looking for what might be a two-millimeter dot on the cramped ledge. 

After ten minutes of relentless searching, I gave up. "I don't think my assumption was right." I felt like a loser. "Let's think of something else."

"No, I think the pyramid is the key." Rob ran his fingers over the ledge, mapping every millimeter of it once more before rising to his feet. "If it's not on the ledge, chances are it's under it. I should go have a look."

What was this asshole trying to do? Kill himself!? "Dude, we don't know what's down there. And you don't know how to swim."

"I don't?" Rob looked thoroughly confused. "What about you?"

I shook my head, cursing my younger self for being too lazy to learn to swim. 

"But Mr. Carlton runs his business on ships."

He had a point, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him that he had suffered trauma when he was a child, and—wait! He was not Rob! It was entirely possible that this man in front of me could swim. "Yeah, that's true. You know what? I just remembered that you are not Rob; maybe you know how to swim. 

My guardian's face fell. "Yes, I may know how to swim." Schooling his features into one of confidence and squaring his shoulders, he took a deep breath. "I guess it's time to find out." 

One by one, he handed me his garments till he was in nothing but his boxer briefs. His eyes had a glint of adventure as he raised a thumbs-up sign, and keeping a good hold on the edge of the ledge, he lowered himself into the water. 

His teeth chattered. "Damn, it's cold," he said, taking his right hand off the platform. It disappeared under the water. 

Just then I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. It was gone before I could make out its shape or form. It gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Rob, that's enough. Come back up. Now." I ordered, keeping my gaze fixed on the spot that was bothering me.

He ignored me. It didn't surprise me. I had long given up on getting my way with him. The man seldom did anything unless he wanted to. "Give me a couple of seconds," Rob said, before letting out a gasp. 

I glanced down at him. "What?"

His eyes turned into crescents. "I think I found it." 

No sooner did he say that than I heard two plops. Rob looked over his shoulder just as I realized what was approaching us from the dark shadow that lay at the far end of the dark pool. 

"Fuck!" We yelled in unison. 

Both of us had watched enough National Geographic to know what an alligator's back looked like. 

"Get your ass out of the water right now!" I screamed, holding my hand out to him. But Rob shook his head. Jerking the pendant off his neck, he reached under the ledge. "Rob, please. It will reach you any second." 

"Yes!" Rob exclaimed. "It fits!"

The mammoth reptile stopped moving instantly, as if it had been chained, and a moment later, it sank out of my view. "Where the hell did it go!?" Before Rob could reply, a loud screeching sound assaulted our ears. "Get out of there right now!" I hollered.

This time Rob didn't waste any time heeding my command. Just as he got himself out and safely back on the ledge, a whirlpool formed in the center of the pool. "What's happening?"

I studied the surface. "I think the water level is dropping." 

Rob bobbed his head, concurring with me. "Has your dad mentioned any of this to you?"

"No," I replied. "Has Uncle B?"

Rob shook his head in response. 

There was nothing to do but wait as the water level fell till only a couple of inches remained, and we could see the bottom of what we had presumed was a small lake. Even if it was one, nature had nothing to do with its creation. 

"This is fucking magnificent, dude." Now fully dressed, Rob pointed at the inky black base of the man-made lake, a part of which rose, leveling up to the ledge. "I have a feeling that something cool is waiting for us underneath." Without waiting to see if I would follow, he stepped onto it with confidence. 

Left with no choice and keeping my fingers crossed, I did as Rob wanted. The inky floor shook under our feet and started its descent. 

"Do you think the gator earlier was fake, just like this lake?"

I hadn't thought about it since its disappearance, but thinking back, there was a good chance it was. "Maybe."

"What do you think we will find there?"

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Why do you think this place was built?" 

I had no answers for Rob, but with each passing moment, uncertainty about my future grew stronger. If this was my dad's doing, why didn't I know anything about it? Did Uncle B know about it? How did Miles fit into this equation? And last but not least, if the man I had come to trust and love was not Rob, why did I feel like it was him and no one else? 

"I think we are slowing down," No sooner did Rob say it than we stopped moving. 

The walls that had until now stopped us from stepping out or falling off parted, revealing a circular door, reminiscent of my childhood fascination with The Hobbit series. "There is something written on it," I said, stepping on what felt like solid ground and moving towards it till I could read the inscription: Bonds forge, roots entwine, blossom together, family mine. I heard Rob gasp and turned to face him. He stood like a statue with eyes brimming with fear. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and his eyes darted between the inscription and me. "What's wrong, Rob?"

My guardian left a shuddering breath and whispered. "Everything."

*****
[Chapter word count: 1243]