Chapter 4 - The Night the Mansion Burned
Luca grabbed Isabella and carried her from the room.
Clara ran behind him.
The alarm grew louder.
Smoke began curling beneath the library door.
“Everyone out!” Luca shouted.
The mansion erupted into chaos.
Housekeepers ran down the stairs.
Security guards rushed toward the west wing.
Then flames appeared behind the curtains.
Victor shouted orders from the foyer.
“Get the staff outside!”
Luca stopped.
He watched Victor.
The fire had started in the exact wing where the evidence was stored.
Too precise.
Too convenient.
“Victor!”
The older man turned.
“Where's the fire coming from?”
“The electrical room.”
“Get the sprinklers running.”
“They're not responding.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Victor stared at him.
Then smiled faintly.
“I don't know.”
Clara felt a chill.
Luca handed Isabella to her.
“Take her outside.”
“What about you?”
“Go.”
Clara grabbed Isabella's hand.
But the girl refused to move.
“Daddy!”
Luca looked at her.
It was the first time she had called him that in three years.
His face softened.
“I'll be right behind you.”
Isabella nodded.
Clara pulled her toward the front doors.
Suddenly, a gunshot cracked through the house.
Everyone froze.
Then another.
Luca drew his weapon.
“Down!”
Security guards scattered.
Victor disappeared behind a pillar.
Clara pulled Isabella behind a marble column.
A bullet shattered a chandelier.
Glass rained onto the floor.
Luca fired toward the upper balcony.
A shadow disappeared.
“Get Isabella out!”
Clara ran.
The front doors opened.
Cold night air hit her face.
She carried Isabella across the driveway.
Behind them, the mansion burned.
Firefighters arrived minutes later.
Luca emerged from the smoke with blood running down his forehead.
Clara rushed toward him.
“Are you hurt?”
“It's not mine.”
He looked at Isabella.
The little girl ran to him.
Luca dropped to his knees.
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He closed his eyes.
For three years, he had wanted his daughter to reach for him.
Now, with smoke rising behind them, she finally did.
“I thought you were going to die,” she whispered.
Luca held her tighter.
“I won't leave you.”
She pulled away.
“Mommy said that too.”
Luca went still.
“Isabella…”
But she was already crying.
That night, the mansion was declared unsafe.
The family moved into a secure penthouse in downtown Chicago.
Luca barely slept.
He sat beside the window until sunrise.
Clara found him there.
“You should rest.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because someone tried to kill my daughter.”
Clara sat across from him.
“Someone also tried to destroy the blue room.”
Luca nodded.
“We need to find Marco.”
“Do you think he's alive?”
“I know he is.”
“Why?”
“Because dead men don't leave warnings.”
Clara looked at him.
“What if Marco isn't the enemy?”
“Then someone is using him.”
“And Victor?”
Luca's eyes hardened.
“I don't know.”
“You trust him.”
“I did.”
Clara was silent.
Luca turned toward her.
“You should leave.”
She blinked.
“What?”
“This isn't your fight.”
“You hired me.”
“I can replace you.”
Clara stood.
“No.”
His expression darkened.
“You don't get to decide that.”
“I just did.”
She walked toward the elevator.
Luca followed.
“Clara.”
She turned.
“I've already lost people because powerful men convinced themselves they could protect everyone alone.”
He stared at her.
“My father died because he trusted the wrong man.”
Luca's voice softened.
“And you think staying here will change that?”
“No.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“I think leaving would make it happen again.”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Isabella appeared behind them.
She was holding the small silver key.
She handed it to Clara.
“Mommy said you would know what to do.”
Clara stared at the key.
“What does it open?”
Isabella pointed toward the city.
“Daddy's hotel.”
Luca frowned.
“Which hotel?”
Isabella whispered the name.
“Blackstone.”
Luca's face changed.
The Blackstone Hotel had been closed for three years.
Exactly since Elena died.
He looked at Clara.
“Why would Elena hide something there?”
Clara closed her fingers around the key.
“Because she knew someone in your house was watching her.”
Luca grabbed his coat.
“Then we go tonight.”
But neither noticed the figure standing across the street.
A man watched the penthouse through binoculars.
Then he lifted his phone.
“She found the key.”
May you like
A voice answered.
“Then bring her to me.”
