Something inside it,” he said, his voice shaky with emotion.

I stared at him in disbelief, my heart pounding with fear and confusion. What could possibly be hidden inside the mattress?

As the flames engulfed the mattress, my husband reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small, worn photograph. He handed it to me, his hands trembling.

I took the photograph, my fingers shaking as I looked down at it. It was a picture of a young woman, smiling brightly at the camera. But as I studied the face in the photograph, a chill ran down my spine.

“Who is she?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

My husband took a deep breath, his eyes filled with sadness. “That’s my sister,” he said quietly. “She disappeared over twenty years ago. And my mother… she never told anyone what happened to her.”

I felt a surge of horror and disbelief wash over me. How could my mother-in-law have kept such a secret for so long? And what other secrets lay hidden beneath the surface?

As the flames consumed the mattress, I realized that some mysteries were better left buried in the past. But as I looked at the photograph in my hand, I knew that the truth would always find a way to come to light.