The Truth Lives Next Door E-Book

Danniel Paraiso Da Silva

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 137

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

After moving into a new apartment in search of a fresh start, Ana Monteiro comes across a mysterious and silent neighbor who lives in 303. He is enigmatic, handsome… and frighteningly reserved. When residents begin to disappear in the building, Ana suspects that something very wrong is happening — and everything seems to point to the man next door. Determined to discover the truth, Ana delves into a web of secrets, cracked mirrors and noises that no one else hears. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she loses herself. Could he be the culprit… or her only chance of salvation? The Truth Lives Next Door is an intense psychological thriller that mixes dark romance, suspense and mystery in a story that will keep you hooked until the last page — and make you suspicious of everything… even yourself.

Leseprobe

Copyright

© 2025 by Danniel Paraiso

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical reviews or reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is entirely coincidental.

Synopsis

After moving into a new apartment in search of a fresh start, Ana Monteiro comes across a mysterious and silent neighbor who lives in 303. He is enigmatic, handsome… and frighteningly reserved. When residents begin to disappear in the building, Ana suspects that something very wrong is happening - and everything seems to point to the man next door.

Determined to discover the truth, Ana delves into a web of secrets, cracked mirrors and noises that no one else can hear. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she loses herself. Could he be the culprit… or her only chance of salvation?

The Truth Lives Next Door is an intense psychological thriller that blends dark romance, suspense and mystery into a story that will keep you hooked until the very last page — and make you suspicious of everything… even yourself.

The Truth Lives Next Door

Daniel Paradise

Dedication

For everyone who has ever felt trapped inside themselves.

For those who face their own mirrors with courage.

And for those who know that the truth, sometimes, lives right next door.

— Danniel Paraiso

Summary

Act 1 – The Arrival and the Whispers (Ch. 1–15)

• The change

• The first meeting

• Whispers behind the wall

• The ticket in the elevator

• Strange neighbors

• The door is half open

• The night of noise

• His look

• A missing cat

• The basement laundry room

• The broken camera

• The man from 606

• The forgotten box

• A voice in the dawn

• The first suspicion

Act 2 – Curiosity Is Costly (Ch. 16–30)

• Ana observes

• Anonymous messages

• A cross conversation

• An unexpected friendship

• Nightmares and déjà vu

• The list of missing persons

• The window on the side

• A suspicious dinner

• What’s in the bag?

• The trustee disappeared

• Torn photos

• The smell of burning

• The old letter

• The first touch

• A kiss and a threat

Act 3 – Between Lies and Suspicions (Ch. 31–45)

• His past

• The story of the former resident

• He lies. So does she.

• Unlikely alliances

• The locked basement

• The woman from 703

• A hidden eavesdropping

• A muffled scream

• Ana confronts

• The reason for the disappearances

• A secret room

• Camera files

• Sister’s bracelet

• Escape in the middle of the night

• The police don’t help

Act 4 – Into Madness (Ch. 46–60)

• Ana begins to doubt herself

• The dead neighbor’s diary

• An unexpected recording

• A dangerous plan

• The mask falls

• The night of the blackout

• Bodies in the basement

• The connection of the past

• The missing detective

• Blood in the hallway

• The lighter with initials

• The master key

• She is being followed

• The trap fails

• A new victim

Act 5 – Truths and Scars (Ch. 61–75)

• Anna disappears

• Inside captivity

• His true identity

• The revenge that motivated everything

• The accomplice neighbor

• The final discovery

• The fire

• Escape through the tunnels

• A goodbye without an answer

• The letter that changes everything

• The reunion

• The trial

• New life, new wounds

• The last revelation

• I still live next door…

Chapter 1 – The Change

Ana held her coffee mug in both hands, as if the warmth there could ward off the strange chill that was spreading through the new apartment. The boxes were still piled up in the corner of the room, but the silence was what bothered her the most. A heavy, almost oppressive silence.

She had always liked the idea of starting over. A new address, a new city, a new name under the doorbell. But something about that old building, with its narrow hallways and flickering lights, seemed to whisper that new beginnings are not always safe.

The Argento Building was located on a forgotten street in the city center, between an antique shop and a small grocery store with a faded facade. I had read good reviews online, but now, looking around, I had the feeling that no one cared about what was going on inside.

He set the mug on the sink and walked over to the living room window. Across the hall he saw a partially open window—apartment 602. The curtains swayed slightly, but there was no sign of movement. Not a light on. Not a shadow.

A shiver ran down his spine.

She picked up her phone to check the time: 10:47 p.m. It was late, and she was exhausted. But before she went to bed, she decided to move one last box out of the way. As she dragged it, something fell out from underneath: a crumpled sheet of paper.

It wasn’t hers.

He opened it carefully. Red letters filled the center of the page, as if they had been written in a hurry:

“You shouldn’t have come.”

Ana froze. She looked around, as if expecting to see someone watching, but the apartment was empty.

Or should be.

Chapter 2 – The First Encounter

Ana spent the whole night with that phrase hammering in her head. “You shouldn’t have come.” She tried to find a logical explanation—maybe it was a bad joke by a previous resident. Maybe it had been left there by mistake. But why right under the box she had opened last?

The next morning, he decided to explore the building a little. He went down to the lobby, but there was no doorman. Just an empty desk and a security camera that seemed to be turned off. The elevator creaked to each floor, and the hallways had a yellowish, almost sad light. It was as if the building was suspended in time.

When he got out of the elevator, he bumped into someone. Literally.

“I’m sorry,” she said, backing away quickly.

The man stopped, staring at her for a moment too long. He had clear, almost gray eyes, and an expression that wavered between calm and something… indecipherable. He was wearing a black shirt and dark pants, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Nothing about him drew attention—and yet everything did.

“No problem,” he replied, his voice low and firm. “Are you new here?”

She nodded, still a little embarrassed.

— Ana. I just moved into 601.

— Rafael. I live in 602.

Her heart raced for a reason she couldn’t explain. 602. The window from the night before. The curtains flapping. The silent apartment.

“Welcome,” he said, before heading toward the hallway. His pace was slow, precise. As if he measured each movement.

She stood there for a while, watching him disappear through the door. Then she noticed something on the floor, right next to the elevator. A small, torn piece of paper, half hidden under the carpet.

He bent down and picked it up.

The lyrics were the same as the night before. Just one word: “BEWARE.”

The paper was still warm.

Chapter 3 – Whispers Behind the Wall

That night, Ana had trouble sleeping.

Even with the windows closed and the curtains drawn, she felt as if something—or someone—was watching her. The sensation was irrational, but persistent. She tried to convince herself that it was just the fatigue of moving, but there was something in the air. Something strange. As if the building itself was breathing, in a rhythm that was alien to the world outside.

And then came the whispers.

Faint, barely audible. A muffled murmur that seemed to come from the wall behind the bed. At first, he thought it was plumbing, or perhaps a neighbor’s television. But as the sound grew louder, he began to make out stray words. A male voice. And another, higher-pitched, perhaps female. A low argument. Then… silence.

Abrupt silence. As if they had realized they were being heard.

Ana stood up slowly. She put her ear to the wall. Nothing. She waited a little longer.

Then, suddenly—a dull thud, like something falling to the floor.

She quickly walked away, her heart racing. She took a deep breath, picked up her phone, and opened the recording app. She leaned back against the wall, trying to capture any sound. Almost twenty minutes of waiting. Nothing else.

He went into the kitchen and, on impulse, filled a glass with water. When he turned back to the hallway, he shivered.

The door to 602—which she could see through the small window in the living room—was ajar.

No sound. No light. Nothing.

Ana stood there for a few seconds, then walked to her own door and turned the key twice. She went back to her room, but she couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the voice came back.

Low, hoarse, and now clearly recognizable:

— Anna…

Chapter 4 – The ticket in the elevator

The next morning, Ana tried to convince herself that she had imagined it all. The voices, the thud, the half-open door—maybe her brain was just playing tricks, amplifying old fears. After all, the building was old, noisy, and she had been through some intense months. Moving, endings, new routines. All of that could distort reality.

But something inside her didn’t believe that version.

He went downstairs to pick up a package the delivery man said he had left at the door. The ancient elevator creaked as if it were about to collapse with each floor. When the doors opened on the ground floor, the package was there, leaning against the absent doorman’s desk.

She bent down to pick it up, and that’s when she saw it: a white envelope taped discreetly to the side wall of the elevator.

There was no sender or recipient. Just the word “Ana” written by hand in tiny, shaky letters.

He looked around. No one.

He carefully tore open the envelope. Inside was a folded sheet of paper with a few words:

“Don’t trust him. Apartment 602. He’s not who he says he is.”

The ground seemed to disappear beneath his feet.

There was no way the envelope could have been left there by mistake—he used the elevator often, and no one else there knew his name. Except… Rafael.

The cell phone vibrated.

Unknown message:

“If you continue, you will regret it.”

Her heart raced. She looked around, trembling. Where were these messages coming from?

Who was watching her?

The elevator door opened on the sixth floor.

Rafael was standing there, arms crossed, looking directly at her.

— How are you, Ana? — he asked, with a slight smile.

— You look… scared.

She tried to hide it.

— Just tired.

He stared at her for a second longer than necessary.

— If you need anything… I’m right next door.

When the door closed again, she realized: the message had arrived minutes before Rafael showed up.

And the handwriting on the note… was eerily similar to the handwriting she’d found on the hallway floor.

Chapter 5 – Strange Neighbors

After the note and the anonymous message, Ana could no longer ignore what she felt: there was something deeply wrong in that building. Rafael was enigmatic, yes — but what about the other neighbors? Who lived around there? Who else was watching her?

He decided to knock on every door. He would start at 603, opposite his apartment. He knocked three times. No answer. When he turned his back to leave, the door slowly opened.

A thin, elderly woman with sunken eyes and pale skin appeared behind the door. She was wearing an old floral robe, as if she hadn’t left the house in days.

— Sorry to bother you… — Ana began. — I’m new here and…

— You’re from 601. — The old woman interrupted, expressionless.

Ana froze.

— Yes. How do you know?

— I know everything that happens around here.

The woman blinked slowly, then pointed her wrinkled finger at the hallway wall.

— These walls have ears. And sharp tongues.

Ana didn’t know what to answer.

— Do you know the neighbor at 602?

The old woman pursed her lips, as if she wanted to avoid the subject.

— He’s… quiet. Like those who hide too much. — And, before Ana could ask anything else, he added: — Keep the door locked at night. It’s not safe.

The door closed slowly, leaving a dry echo in the air.

She went down a floor to try to talk to other residents. At 504, a young man with headphones said he wouldn’t talk to anyone there. At 502, a woman opened the door a crack and closed it as soon as Ana mentioned 602.

Back on her floor, Ana noticed something new. There was a small piece of paper stuck to the inside of her apartment door. A yellow post-it.

It was written:

“Don’t knock on any more doors. He doesn’t like it.”

Chapter 6 – The Half-Open Door

Ana spent the rest of the afternoon staring at the post-it as if it were a bomb about to explode. Who was leaving those notes? And how did they know every step she took?

He closed the curtains, locked the door twice, and turned off all notifications on his phone. He needed to think. He needed to breathe. But he could barely do it.

It was like being hunted in silence.

When night fell, Ana tried to distract herself by building a bookshelf in the living room. Each hammering sound echoed through the apartment, but in the background, silence persisted. A silence that no longer seemed normal. It was dense. Observant.

Around 11pm, the noise.

A dry creak, coming from the hallway.

She slowly approached the door and looked through the peephole. Everything was dark. Just the dimly lit, empty hallway. She almost went back inside, but something caught her eye: the door to 602 was ajar again.

Not like before.

This time, something was different. A sliver of blue light escaped from the crack, and she could have sworn she heard… whispers. Faint, but constant.

He picked up his cell phone. He turned on the camera. He approached silently, his feet bare so as not to make noise on the wooden floor.

He got very close. The door was open enough to see part of the inside. A light was flickering inside, as if it were from a television.

But the TV was off.

The whispers grew louder. Now she could clearly hear a male voice repeating something in a low tone, like a mantra. She couldn’t understand the words. It was as if they were in another language.

Then something moved inside.

A shadow crossed the room, too fast to be casual. Ana instinctively recoiled, nearly tripping. But before she could move completely away, the door opened with a soft creak.

Rafael was there. Standing. A few inches away from her. Shirtless. Expressionless.

— Do you often spy on your neighbors, Ana?

She froze.

He smiled, slowly. A smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

— Or are you just… looking for answers?

Chapter 7 – The Night of Noise

Ana didn’t remember exactly how she got out of the door of 602. Her mind felt hazy, as if Rafael had said something she couldn’t remember—or would rather forget. All she knew was that when she locked herself back in her apartment, her fingers were shaking so much she could barely hold the key.

It was past midnight.

The building was asleep—or pretending to be. The streetlight filtered through the cracks in the blinds. She huddled on the couch, hugging a blanket, trying to rationalize what she had seen. That shadow inside 602. The whispers. The lack of expression on Rafael’s face. And the smile… empty.

The silence was so thick that the sound, when it came, made her jump.

A bang. Loud. Metallic. Coming from upstairs.

Then another. And another. As if furniture was being dragged violently.

She ran to the intercom. She called the concierge. Nothing. No answer.

He picked up his cell phone. He thought about calling the police. But what would he say? “My neighbor smiled strangely and I heard noises upstairs”? They would laugh. Or worse, they would do nothing.

Then, a muffled scream echoed through the building.

Feminine.

It came from above. Or was it from the same floor?

Ana ran out of the room and pressed her ear against the hallway wall. Another scream, this time weaker. Then, silence.

She decided to go upstairs. Against all common sense, against every instinct. She climbed slowly, barefoot, step by step. The fifth floor was quiet. The sixth was quiet too. When she reached the seventh, she noticed something on the floor: a necklace with a flower pendant, lying right in the middle of the hallway.

He bent down to pick it up. It was warm.

It was then that he realized—the door to 701 was open. And the light in the apartment… flickered, like a light bulb about to burn out.