Chapter 7 - The Girl in the Locked Room
The old Moretti estate stood on a hill outside the city.
Antonio hadn't returned since the night Isabella disappeared.
He stared at the iron gates as the vehicles approached.
“I built this place for my children,” he said quietly.
Luca looked at him.
“You built a prison.”
Antonio didn't argue.
Inside the estate, the halls were covered in dust. Family portraits hung crookedly on the walls, and the chandeliers had been left dark.
Vincent's voice came through hidden speakers.
“Welcome home.”
Luca raised his weapon.
“Where is Sophie?”
“Upstairs.”
“Bring her down.”
“Not until we talk.”
Antonio stepped forward.
“Let the children go, Vincent.”
A laugh echoed through the hallway.
“Children? You mean the daughter you abandoned and the granddaughter you never knew existed?”
Luca looked toward the staircase.
“I'm done talking.”
He started up.
Vanessa caught his arm.
“Wait.”
She pointed toward a small brass keyhole beside the staircase.
“My brother told me something before he died. He said the estate had a second exit.”
Antonio looked surprised.
“Your brother came here?”
“Once. He was looking for Isabella.”
Vanessa pressed a hidden panel.
A narrow door opened.
Behind it was a staircase leading downward.
Luca looked at her.
“Where does it go?”
“To the old medical wing.”
Antonio's face changed.
“Your mother used that section for Isabella's treatment.”
They descended.
At the bottom, they found a corridor lined with locked rooms.
One door stood slightly open.
Inside was a small bedroom.
A child's bed.
A pink blanket.
And a wall covered in drawings.
Luca picked up one.
It showed a little girl standing beside an older woman.
On the back was a name.
Isabella.
A faint sound came from the room at the end of the corridor.
Someone was crying.
Luca approached the door.
“Isabella?”
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
“Who is it?”
Antonio stepped forward.
“It's Dad.”
The door opened a few inches.
A woman in her late twenties stood behind it.
She had dark hair and gray eyes.
The same eyes Luca had seen in the childhood photograph.
Antonio's knees nearly gave way.
“Bella.”
She stared at him.
For a long moment, she didn't move.
Then she looked at Luca.
“You're my brother?”
Luca nodded.
She stepped forward.
He expected her to embrace him.
Instead, she slapped him.
“You all left me.”
Luca accepted the blow.
“I didn't know.”
“You never looked for me.”
“I was a child.”
Her anger faltered.
Then she began to cry.
Antonio reached for her, but she stepped away.
“Don't touch me.”
He lowered his hand.
“I deserve that.”
Isabella explained that Margaret had raised her under a different identity. Vincent had paid for her treatment and education, but he had also controlled every aspect of her life.
When she turned eighteen, she discovered her real identity.
She tried to contact Antonio.
But every message disappeared.
“Vincent told me you had died,” she said.
Antonio closed his eyes.
“I thought you were dead.”
A child's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
“Mommy?”
Everyone turned.
Sophie stood there holding a stuffed rabbit.
Vanessa rushed toward her.
“Oh, sweetheart!”
She dropped to her knees and embraced the little girl.
Sophie clung to her.
“Uncle Vincent said you weren't coming.”
Vanessa kissed her forehead.
“I'm here.”
Luca crouched beside them.
“I'm Luca.”
Sophie studied him.
“Are you the man Mommy was going to marry?”
He nodded.
She looked confused.
“Then why isn't there a wedding?”
For the first time that night, Luca almost smiled.
“It's complicated.”
A slow clap came from the corridor.
Vincent stood at the far end.
Behind him were four armed men.
“You found the family reunion.”
Luca raised his weapon.
Vincent smiled.
“Put it down.”
Antonio stepped in front of Isabella.
“Take me instead.”
Vincent shook his head.
“I don't want you anymore.”
He pointed at Luca.
“I want the company.”
Then he looked at Isabella.
“And I want the one thing your mother hid before she died.”
Isabella went pale.
Luca turned toward her.
“What is he talking about?”
She whispered:
“The recording.”
May you like
Vincent's smile disappeared.
Because he knew she had found it.
