Chapter 2 - The Name That Broke Gabriel's World
The ambulance left the estate at 12:31 a.m.
Gabriel went with his mother.
Sophie expected him to order her back to the servants' quarters.
Instead, as she stood alone in the north-wing hallway, one of his guards approached.
"Mr. DeLuca wants you downstairs."
Sophie stared at him.
"Why?"
"I wasn't told."
That answer frightened her more than an explanation would have.
The mansion had changed.
Every door was locked.
Every employee had been confined to a designated area.
The guards no longer whispered.
They watched.
Sophie entered the library.
Gabriel stood beside the fireplace, still wearing the black suit he'd arrived in.
Vincent was gone.
Margaret was gone.
The room contained only Gabriel, three security men, and Sophie.
On the table sat the recorder.
Gabriel looked at her.
"Sit."
Sophie did.
"What happened to your mother?"
"The doctors stabilized her."
"Is she going to be okay?"
"They don't know."
Sophie lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Gabriel's expression tightened.
"Don't apologize."
He picked up the recorder.
"My mother trusted you."
"I don't know why."
"Neither do I."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Gabriel placed the recorder between them.
"You said she was hungry."
"She was."
"You said her meals were being left outside."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Sophie almost laughed.
"You weren't here."
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
"I could have been reached."
"By whom?"
Silence.
Sophie realized she'd crossed a line.
But Gabriel didn't punish her.
Instead, he asked quietly, "How long have you suspected something was wrong?"
"Almost from the beginning."
"And you stayed?"
"She needed someone."
Gabriel looked at her.
"You risked your job."
"Yes."
"You risked your life."
Sophie swallowed.
"I didn't know that at first."
Something almost resembling a smile crossed his face.
"You know now."
"Yes."
A guard entered.
"Sir, we've searched Vincent's vehicle."
"And?"
"He left a second phone in the glove compartment."
Gabriel took it.
The phone had no passcode.
There were dozens of messages.
Most were harmless.
Then Gabriel opened a conversation with Margaret.
His face hardened.
Sophie watched him scroll.
One message had been sent three weeks earlier.
If Gabriel comes home early, increase the dosage.
Another:
Elena must sign before the board meeting.
And another:
If she dies naturally, everyone walks away clean.
Sophie felt sick.
Gabriel continued scrolling.
Then stopped.
His thumb hovered over one message.
What about Isabella?
Margaret had replied:
She already knows enough to be dangerous.
Gabriel's eyes closed.
"Isabella."
Sophie remembered Elena's daughter.
"Your sister?"
"Yes."
"Is she involved?"
"I don't know."
"Do you trust her?"
Gabriel looked at the phone.
"Not tonight."
At that moment, another guard entered.
"Sir, the chapel."
Gabriel immediately turned.
"What?"
"We found signs someone had searched it recently."
He looked at Sophie.
"Come with me."
The old family chapel stood behind the east gardens.
It had been built nearly a century earlier, a small stone structure surrounded by ivy.
Inside stood a marble statue of the Virgin Mary.
Gabriel approached it.
"Behind Mary."
He pressed his hand against the statue.
Nothing.
Sophie remembered Elena's words.
"Maybe she meant behind the painting."
Gabriel looked at her.
"Which painting?"
Sophie walked toward the altar.
There was an old portrait of Mary above it.
She noticed a thin gap behind the frame.
"That."
One guard lifted it.
A narrow metal compartment appeared.
Inside was a black leather case.
Gabriel opened it.
Three USB drives.
A handwritten notebook.
And a photograph.
The photograph showed Carlo DeLuca standing outside a restaurant.
Beside him stood a man Sophie didn't recognize.
Gabriel did.
His face changed.
"Who is that?"
Sophie asked.
"My father's attorney."
"Wasn't he killed?"
"Three years ago."
Gabriel opened the notebook.
Every page contained dates.
Payments.
Names.
Locations.
And one phrase repeated over and over.
THE HARTWELL ACCOUNT.
Sophie frowned.
"What is Hartwell?"
Gabriel stared at the words.
"My father's private trust."
"Why would someone want it?"
"Because it was worth almost six hundred million dollars."
Sophie went still.
Gabriel continued reading.
Then he found something that made him stop.
A handwritten note dated four years earlier.
Gabriel cannot know yet. He must believe his father died naturally.
Below it was another sentence.
Elena knows.
Gabriel's hands tightened around the paper.
Sophie watched the powerful man struggle to control his breathing.
"Mr. DeLuca..."
He looked at her.
"When my father died, I was told he had chest pain after dinner."
"And you believed them?"
"I had no reason not to."
"Who told you?"
Gabriel looked at the notebook.
"My uncle."
"Do you have an uncle?"
"Had."
Sophie waited.
Gabriel's voice dropped.
"Frank DeLuca died six months after my father."
"How?"
"Car accident."
Sophie looked at the notebook.
"Do you believe that?"
"No."
They returned to the library.
Gabriel inserted the first USB drive into a secure laptop.
There were video files.
Financial records.
Scanned documents.
Audio recordings.
Then one folder caught Sophie's attention.
ELENA — MEDICAL
Gabriel opened it.
Inside were hospital reports from eighteen months earlier.
Sophie leaned closer.
The official diagnosis said Elena had suffered a fall down the staircase.
But the original emergency report told another story.
Patient presented with bruising around both wrists.
Evidence of restraint.
Possible head trauma inconsistent with reported fall.
Gabriel stared at the screen.
"Why wasn't I shown this?"
Sophie didn't answer.
Another document revealed something worse.
A physician had recommended immediate neurological testing.
The request had been canceled.
Signed by Margaret Vale.
Gabriel's face became terrifyingly calm.
"She canceled medical testing."
Sophie nodded.
"And the doctor?"
"Dead."
Gabriel looked at her.
"He died two months after my mother fell."
Sophie felt a chill.
"Mr. DeLuca, maybe you should stop."
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"Four years ago, my father died."
He opened another file.
"Two years later, my mother fell."
Another.
"Then she became blind."
Another.
"Then everyone told me she was losing her mind."
He looked at Sophie.
"And now I find out my own family has been lying to me."
Sophie didn't know what to say.
Gabriel leaned back.
"What did my mother tell you about me?"
Sophie hesitated.
"She loves you."
His eyes softened briefly.
"Anything else?"
"She said you were always trying to protect everyone."
Gabriel gave a bitter laugh.
"I failed."
"No."
Sophie shook her head.
"You didn't know."
"That's what I tell myself."
He stared into the fire.
Then his phone rang.
The screen showed ISABELLA.
Gabriel answered.
"Where are you?"
Her voice came through, frightened.
"Gabriel, listen to me."
"What happened?"
"Vincent called me."
Gabriel stood.
"Where are you?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm in a car."
Gabriel's expression changed.
"Whose car?"
"I don't know."
Sophie heard a muffled struggle through the phone.
Then Isabella screamed.
The call ended.
Gabriel immediately turned toward his guards.
"Find her."
They moved.
Sophie stood.
"She's been kidnapped?"
Gabriel looked at her.
"Apparently."
"By Vincent?"
"I don't know."
He reached for his coat.
Sophie stepped forward.
"Where are you going?"
"To find my sister."
"Then I'm coming."
Gabriel stared at her.
"No."
"Elena trusted me."
"Exactly."
He stepped closer.
"I won't put you in danger."
Sophie held his gaze.
"You're already in danger."
Neither moved.
Then Gabriel quietly said, "Stay here."
Sophie shook her head.
"No."
It was the first time she had openly defied him.
Gabriel studied her.
Finally he nodded.
"Fine."
As they walked toward the entrance, the security system suddenly shut down.
Every light in the mansion went dark.
A second later, the estate gates opened automatically.
Gabriel stopped.
His face became cold.
"Someone inside has access to the system."
Sophie whispered, "Who?"
Gabriel looked toward the dark hallway.
"I don't know."
Then a single light flickered on.
At the end of the corridor stood Isabella.
Alone.
Blood covered one sleeve of her dress.
And in her hand was a gun.
She raised it toward Gabriel.
"Don't come any closer."
Gabriel froze.
"Isabella?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know who killed Dad."
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She looked at Sophie.
"And they're going to kill Mom next."
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