Chapter 4 - The Room No One Was Allowed to Open
The east wing had been closed since Elena's death.
Dante told Arya it contained personal belongings and old furniture. The staff had been instructed not to enter, and the boys had learned that even asking about it could bring their father to the edge of fury.
That afternoon, Mia found the key inside the wooden box and carried it to Arya.
"Maybe it opens the secret room."
Arya crouched beside her.
"Where did you hear about the secret room?"
"Enzo told me. He says their mommy used to hide things there."
Arya looked toward the corridor.
"Did he say what things?"
Mia shook her head.
"He said Daddy doesn't know everything."
That evening, while Dante was away meeting his lawyers, Arya took the key to the east wing.
The corridor smelled of dust and old flowers. Heavy curtains blocked the afternoon light. At the far end stood a dark wooden door with a brass lock.
The number on the key's tag was 214.
The lock turned.
Inside was a small private sitting room, not a bedroom. Shelves lined the walls. A writing desk stood beneath a covered window. Several boxes were stacked beside a wardrobe.
Arya stepped inside carefully.
On the desk lay a child's drawing of three little boys holding hands beneath a yellow sun.
On the back was another sentence in Elena's handwriting.
The truth is not in the place he searches.
Arya heard footsteps behind her.
She turned.
Salvatore stood in the doorway.
For a moment, neither spoke.
"You're not supposed to be here," he said.
"Neither are you, apparently."
His gaze dropped to the key.
"Give that to me."
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand what you're dealing with."
"Then explain it."
He advanced a step.
Arya slipped the key into her pocket.
"Don't come any closer."
Salvatore stopped.
His expression changed, becoming almost apologetic.
"Mrs. Mancini left instructions before she died. There were things she believed could destroy this family."
"What things?"
"I don't know."
"That's convenient."
He looked toward the corridor.
"Listen to me. Dante is a dangerous man, but he's not the only dangerous man in this house."
Before Arya could respond, the lights went out.
A heavy door slammed somewhere behind them.
Salvatore drew his gun.
"Stay here."
"No chance."
He moved into the corridor, and Arya heard a struggle followed by a sharp crash.
She rushed out.
Salvatore was gone.
At the end of the hall, a window stood open, its curtains whipping in the wind. On the floor lay a black leather glove and a small plastic badge bearing the name of the private security company employed by the Mancinis.
Someone inside the estate had been helping an intruder.
Arya hurried back to the children's wing.
The boys were still awake, gathered around Mia's bed. Enzo held a flashlight beneath his chin, telling a ghost story.
When Arya entered, all four children looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Leo asked.
"Nothing you need to worry about."
"That's what Dad says when everything is wrong," Mateo replied.
Arya knelt in front of them.
"Then I'll tell you something different. Someone may have entered a part of the house they weren't supposed to enter. Your father and the guards are going to handle it. Until we know more, you stay together and you don't open the doors for anyone except me or your father."
Leo nodded.
Enzo looked frightened.
"Was it the man who hurt Mommy?"
Arya couldn't answer.
She didn't have to.
The expression on his face told her he had been carrying that fear for two years.
Dante returned shortly after midnight. He found Arya in the nursery with all four children asleep around her.
When she told him what had happened, his fury was quiet and frightening.
"You entered the east wing without permission."
"Yes."
"You put yourself in danger."
"Yes."
"You could have been killed."
"So could your sons if someone is moving freely through this house."
He stared at her.
Then he asked, "Did you see Salvatore?"
"He was there. Then he disappeared."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"He's been with me for fifteen years."
"That doesn't mean he can't betray you."
"No," Dante said. "It means I should have recognized it."
He ordered the estate locked down and every employee questioned.
But before dawn, another discovery shattered his certainty.
A guard found Salvatore's car abandoned beyond the outer gates. The driver's seat was empty. The windshield was cracked from the inside.
On the passenger seat lay a photograph of Arya and Mia arriving at the mansion.
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Across it, someone had written a message in red ink.
The daughter is the key.
