The Door Beneath The Wall

At 10:47 on a stormy October night, my five-year-old daughter walked into the study of Long Island's most feared mafia boss and asked to borrow his vicious ninety-pound guard dog. When he asked why, she whispered, "Because the man who knocks on my window only comes when Mama is working late." By the time I learned what she'd said, something was already moving through the walls of the mansion.

I came home from my shift soaked to the bone, my shoes squeaking against the cottage floor. Then I stopped in my daughter's bedroom doorway, unable to believe what I was seeing.

Bruno, Dante Moretti's enormous black Cane Corso, was stretched across Sophie's little bed. His scarred muzzle rested beside her stomach while she slept with both arms wrapped around his thick neck.

Bruno belonged to Dante, and everyone on the estate knew the dog obeyed no one else.

"Sophie?" I whispered.

"Mama?"

"Why is Mr. Moretti's dog in your bed?"

"I borrowed him."

"You did what?"

"He said yes."

For three years, I'd survived working for the Moretti family by following one rule: stay invisible. I cleaned their mansion, avoided their locked rooms, ignored the midnight visitors, and kept Sophie as far from their dangerous world as possible.

My husband, Miguel, had been killed outside a Brooklyn bakery when Sophie was barely two. The police called it a tragic case of mistaken identity, and with ninety-three dollars in my bank account, I'd been too frightened to question them.

Three days after his funeral, Dante's mother, Teresa, appeared at my apartment offering a job, health insurance, and a cottage on their estate.

I accepted, though I'd never understood how she knew about Miguel's death.

Now I sat beside Sophie, my heart hammering.

"Sweetheart, why did you ask Mr. Moretti for Bruno?"

"Because I was scared."

"Of what?"

"The knocking."

My blood went cold.

"What knocking?"

She lifted one small finger and tapped her headboard.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Three knocks, Mama. Every time."

"How many nights?"

"Six."

I'd worked late six nights preparing for the Morettis' annual dinner, an extravagant gathering of nearly fifty powerful guests. Each night, I'd left Sophie sleeping in our cottage, believing the estate's security made her safer than anywhere else.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did," she whispered. "I told you I didn't like nighttime."

My throat tightened.

She had told me.

Twice.

And twice I'd kissed her forehead and hurried back to work.

Then Bruno raised his head.

His amber eyes weren't watching us.

They were fixed on the small window overlooking the covered passage to the mansion.

Tap.

A shadow slipped across the glass.

I caught a glimpse of a dark coat and someone's shoulder before Bruno erupted with a bark so violent Sophie screamed.

The dog slammed into our cottage door, tearing the old latch loose, and charged into the passage.

"Sophie, stay here!"

But she was already running after him, clutching her star-shaped pillow.

I chased them through the servants' corridor, past the laundry room and silver pantry, until Bruno stopped before an antique walnut wall carved with twisting vines.

He lowered his head and growled.

"Move away from the wall."

Dante Moretti stood behind us, barefoot in black slacks, his white shirt sleeves rolled up. A pistol hung at his side, and for the first time in three years, I saw something in his face I'd never imagined possible.

Fear.

"Take Sophie," he ordered.

I pulled my daughter behind me as Bruno clawed at the wood. A brass ornament shifted beneath his paw, and Dante reached forward, pressing it carefully.

Something clicked.

A thin black opening appeared in the wall.

Cold, damp air rushed into the hallway.

Dante pushed the panel aside, revealing a narrow brick tunnel disappearing into darkness.

I grabbed his arm before he could step inside.

"Please, don't."

His eyes dropped to my trembling hand.

"You think I'm afraid of whoever's in there?" he asked.

Before I could answer, Sophie tugged my sweater and whispered something that made Dante's entire body go rigid.

"Mama... that's where the man goes after he knocks."