CHAPTER 7 — THEY CAME FOR SOFIA
The steel door crashed against the wall.
Two masked men stormed into the hidden room.
“Get the girl!”
Alexander reacted instantly.
He shoved Sofia behind him.
“Run!”
Margaret grabbed Sofia's wrist and pulled her toward the rear passage.
One of the men raised his weapon.
Alexander threw a heavy wooden chair across the room.
It struck the man's arm.
The weapon fell.
Margaret pushed Sofia through the narrow opening.
“Go!”
Sofia stumbled into the darkness.
“Grandma!”
“Keep moving!”
Alexander grabbed the second man before he could reach them.
They slammed into the metal shelves.
Boxes fell.
Photographs scattered across the floor.
The man struck Alexander in the stomach.
Alexander staggered.
But he refused to fall.
“You're not taking my daughter.”
The man laughed.
“You don't even know who she is.”
Alexander punched him.
The man collapsed.
Then the first attacker recovered.
He reached for his weapon.
Margaret screamed.
“Alexander!”
A loud gunshot echoed through the underground room.
Alexander froze.
The bullet had struck the wall inches from his head.
He grabbed Sofia and pulled her into the passage.
“Move!”
They ran.
Behind them, the attackers followed.
The passage opened into an old wine cellar.
Alexander slammed the door shut.
Margaret locked it.
For several seconds, they could hear fists pounding against the other side.
Then silence.
Sofia was crying.
Alexander knelt.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
He checked her arms and face.
Nothing.
He pulled her into his chest.
“I've got you.”
Sofia whispered,
“Why do they want me?”
Alexander didn't know what to say.
Margaret did.
“Because you're worth more than they ever imagined.”
Alexander looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
Margaret's expression was grim.
“We need to leave this house.”
They rushed through the cellar and escaped through a service entrance behind the garage.
Outside, the security team finally arrived.
Alexander immediately ordered them to surround the property.
“No one gets in.”
He turned to Margaret.
“Now you're going to tell me everything.”
Margaret stared at the mansion.
“You're not going to like it.”
“I don't care.”
She took a breath.
“Sofia wasn't born in this country.”
Alexander froze.
“What?”
“Elena gave birth to her in Switzerland.”
Sofia looked confused.
“But I grew up here.”
“I know.”
Margaret continued.
“Elena returned to America six weeks after Sofia was born.”
“Why?”
“Because she was running from someone.”
“Who?”
Margaret looked toward the road.
“Evelyn.”
Alexander frowned.
“My grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“Why would Elena run from her?”
“Because Evelyn wasn't trying to protect Sofia.”
Margaret lowered her voice.
“She wanted Sofia.”
Alexander's expression changed.
“For what?”
Margaret shook her head.
“That is what Elena was trying to discover.”
Alexander looked at Sofia.
His daughter stood quietly beside the car.
He couldn't understand how a child could become the center of so many secrets.
Then Margaret said something that made his blood run cold.
“Daniel wasn't the only person listed on Sofia's birth certificate.”
Alexander turned.
“What?”
Margaret pulled an old photocopy from her bag.
She handed it to him.
Alexander looked at the document.
There were three names.
Elena Voss.
Daniel Mercer.
And a third person.
Evelyn Voss.
Alexander stared at it.
“Why is my grandmother listed here?”
“She wasn't.”
Margaret pointed to the bottom.
“Look at the signature.”
Alexander leaned closer.
The signature was unmistakable.
But it wasn't Evelyn's.
It was a forged signature.
Someone had added her name.
Alexander looked at Margaret.
“Who forged it?”
“We don't know.”
A black sedan suddenly appeared at the end of the road.
Alexander's security team moved toward it.
The sedan stopped.
The rear door opened.
A man stepped out.
Alexander recognized him immediately.
Daniel Mercer.
Alive.
Older.
Scarred.
And carrying a folder.
Sofia stared at him.
Daniel stared back.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Daniel slowly walked forward.
Alexander stepped between him and Sofia.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
Daniel stopped.
“I don't want to hurt her.”
“Then why are you here?”
Daniel looked at Alexander.
“Because they are coming for her again.”
Alexander's jaw tightened.
“Who?”
Daniel opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of Sofia.
Taken over the years.
At school.
At the park.
Outside the mansion.
Alexander's blood ran cold.
“You've been watching her?”
“I've been protecting her.”
Alexander grabbed the photographs.
“How long?”
“Since the day she was born.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at Sofia.
“Because Elena asked me to.”
Sofia stepped forward.
“You knew my mommy?”
Daniel's expression softened.
“She was the bravest woman I ever knew.”
Alexander's voice was cold.
“Then tell me what she was afraid of.”
Daniel looked toward the mansion.
“Your family.”
Alexander stared at him.
“My family?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father wasn't the only one involved.”
“Who else?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then he handed Alexander a final photograph.
It showed Veronica standing beside Richard.
But behind them stood another person.
A woman wearing a black coat.
Alexander stared at her face.
His blood ran cold.
It was the same woman from the photograph in his father's study.
The woman Margaret had called Evelyn.
Alexander looked at his mother.
“She's alive.”
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Daniel answered:
“She knows we're here.”
Alexander's phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Alexander.”
He froze.
“Who is this?”
The woman laughed softly.
“You've been searching for me.”
Alexander's grip tightened around the phone.
“Evelyn?”
Silence.
Then:
“Bring Sofia to the old Voss estate.”
Alexander's heart stopped.
“Why?”
Her voice became ice-cold.
“Because if you don't…”
A pause.
“…you'll never see your daughter again.”
The call ended.
Alexander looked at Sofia.
Then at Daniel.
Then at Margaret.
Someone had just declared war on the Voss family.
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And this time—
Sofia was the target.
