CHAPTER 1 — THE DOOR BENEATH THE MANSION
The first thing Leo Rossi noticed was the silence.
Not the silence of the mansion.
That silence was normal.
The Rossi estate had always been too large for the number of people living inside it. Marble corridors swallowed footsteps. Twelve-foot ceilings trapped whispers. Heavy doors concealed arguments, secrets, affairs, and things no one wanted spoken aloud.
But this silence was different.
It came from Lily.
His daughter was never silent when she was frightened.
She cried.
She screamed.
She called for him.
Even after losing her mother, Lily had never completely stopped reaching for him.
But now, behind the iron cellar door, she had gone quiet.
Completely quiet.
Leo Rossi stood in the kitchen doorway, staring at the woman bleeding beside that door.
For one terrible second, his mind refused to understand what his eyes were seeing.
Beatrice Miller.
The maid.
The woman who had spent the last two years moving through his house like a shadow.
Her cheek was split open.
Blood had dried beneath her ear.
One side of her uniform was torn.
Her fingers were swollen so badly that she could barely close them.
And yet she was still pressed against the cellar door as if her body alone could keep something terrible from happening on the other side.
Leo's eyes moved from her injuries to the iron door.
Then back to her.
“Where is she?”
His voice was quiet.
Far too quiet.
Beatrice lifted her head.
Her breathing was ragged.
“The cellar.”
Leo took one step forward.
“She locked Lily in the cellar.”
His jaw tightened.
“Who?”
Beatrice looked toward the hallway.
Victoria Kensington stood there.
Perfect.
Beautiful.
Terrified.
Her fingers were wrapped around a crystal wineglass.
The red liquid inside trembled with her hand.
“Victoria,” Beatrice whispered.
Leo looked at the woman he had trusted enough to bring into his home.
For a moment, Victoria's expression held.
Then it cracked.
“Leo, darling…”
He didn't answer.
“She was having a tantrum.”
His eyes remained fixed on her.
“She wouldn't listen. Beatrice attacked me.”
Leo slowly looked down at Beatrice's bruised hands.
Then at Victoria's untouched face.
Something cold moved through his chest.
Victoria continued.
“She became hysterical. I had to restrain her.”
Leo's gaze returned to the cellar.
“And Lily?”
“She is fine.”
“Open the door.”
Victoria swallowed.
“Leo—”
“Open it.”
“I don't have the key.”
Beatrice gave a weak laugh.
It was almost painful.
“She does.”
Victoria turned sharply.
“Don't.”
Beatrice looked at Leo.
“She has it.”
Leo's eyes narrowed.
“The key.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“The key.”
Leo's voice never rose.
But the entire room seemed to hear it.
Victoria's polished expression disappeared.
She slowly stepped backward.
Leo noticed.
Mateo Calder noticed too.
Leo's oldest friend moved silently around the kitchen island.
Mateo had the face of a man who had learned very young that hesitation could get people killed.
He reached Victoria before she could turn.
Her eyes widened.
“Don't you dare touch me.”
Mateo caught her wrist.
“You have no right—”
His hand slipped into the pocket of her ivory trousers.
A second later, he pulled out a heavy brass key ring.
Victoria gasped.
“You can't do this!”
Mateo tossed the keys toward Leo.
Leo caught them.
He didn't even look down.
His eyes remained on Victoria.
“You lied.”
Victoria's breathing quickened.
“I was protecting the child.”
“No.”
Leo stepped toward her.
“You were protecting yourself.”
He turned to the cellar door.
“Beatrice.”
“Yes?”
“Where's Lily's inhaler?”
“Her bedroom.”
“Where?”
“Bedside drawer. Top one. Pink case.”
Mateo was already moving.
“I'll get it.”
Leo nodded.
Then he inserted the key.
The lock resisted.
He turned it again.
The deadbolt groaned.
For one second, no one breathed.
Then the door opened.
Freezing air poured out.
It smelled of stone, dust, and damp earth.
Leo went down first.
Beatrice followed.
Every step hurt.
Her knees were bruised.
Her fingers burned.
Her cheek throbbed.
But she didn't stop.
At the bottom of the stairs, Leo found her.
Lily.
His little girl.
Curled on her side.
Her stuffed rabbit was trapped beneath one arm.
Her dark hair covered her face.
Her lips were blue.
Leo froze.
“No.”
The word came from somewhere deep inside him.
He dropped to his knees.
“Lily.”
No response.
He lifted her into his arms.
Her body felt frighteningly light.
“Princess.”
Nothing.
Leo pressed his palm against her back.
“Lily, Daddy's here.”
Still nothing.
His breathing became uneven.
“Come on.”
He pressed his cheek against her forehead.
“You stay with me.”
His voice broke.
“You hear me?”
Beatrice reached them.
“Lay her flat.”
Leo didn't move.
“Mr. Rossi.”
He looked at her.
“She needs air.”
Something in Beatrice's voice reached him.
He carefully placed Lily on the stone floor.
Beatrice knelt beside her.
She checked the girl's neck.
Pulse.
Weak.
But there.
“She’s alive.”
Leo shut his eyes for half a second.
Then opened them.
“What do I do?”
It was the first time Beatrice had ever heard fear in his voice.
Not anger.
Not authority.
Fear.
She looked at him.
“Keep her still.”
Footsteps thundered above.
Mateo appeared.
He was holding the pink inhaler case.
“Got it.”
Beatrice grabbed it.
Her hands shook.
She opened the case.
“Lily.”
She touched the child's cheek.
“Sweetheart, it's Bee.”
Lily didn't respond.
“Come on.”
Beatrice brought the inhaler to Lily's lips.
“Breathe for me.”
She pressed once.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
Leo stared.
His hands hovered uselessly above his daughter's body.
He had spent his entire adult life making decisions in seconds.
Kill.
Move.
Hide.
Strike.
Survive.
But none of those instincts mattered now.
His daughter needed one thing.
Air.
And he couldn't give it to her.
“Again,” he whispered.
Beatrice pressed the inhaler.
Three seconds.
Nothing.
Then Lily jerked.
A terrible wheeze ripped through her chest.
She coughed.
Once.
Twice.
Then violently.
Her eyes opened.
Wild with terror.
“Daddy!”
Leo grabbed her.
He pulled her against him.
“I’m here.”
His voice shattered.
“I’m here, baby.”
Lily clung to him.
“Daddy…”
“I've got you.”
He kissed her hair.
“I've got you.”
Her breathing remained uneven.
But she was breathing.
Beatrice sat back.
Only then did she realize she was shaking.
Lily looked over Leo's shoulder.
Her tiny hand reached toward Beatrice.
“Bee.”
Beatrice's eyes filled.
“I'm right here.”
She touched Lily's fingers.
“You're safe.”
Lily closed her eyes.
Leo looked at Beatrice.
For the first time, he saw her.
Not as an employee.
Not as a maid.
Not as another person on the payroll.
He saw the bruises.
The blood.
The fear.
And the woman who had stayed beside his daughter when everyone else had failed.
“Thank you.”
Beatrice lowered her eyes.
“I didn't do anything special.”
“You saved her.”
Beatrice shook her head.
“I just didn't leave her.”
Leo stared at her.
Those words struck somewhere deeper than gratitude.
Because he knew what it meant to leave someone.
He had spent years leaving people.
Enemies.
Friends.
Family.
Sometimes because he had no choice.
Sometimes because survival demanded it.
But this woman had stayed.
Even after being beaten.
Even after being threatened.
Even when she had every reason to run.
She stayed.
Above them, a glass shattered.
Leo immediately stood.
“Mateo.”
Mateo moved toward the stairs.
“I'll check.”
“No.”
Leo handed Lily to him.
“Take her upstairs.”
Mateo hesitated.
“You sure?”
“Get her to the doctor.”
Leo turned toward Beatrice.
“And her.”
Beatrice looked surprised.
“I can walk.”
“That wasn't a question.”
She opened her mouth.
Leo's expression stopped her.
Mateo carried Lily upstairs.
Beatrice followed.
Leo remained behind.
Victoria stood at the top of the kitchen.
She had stopped crying.
Her face was pale.
Leo looked at her.
“Start talking.”
Victoria folded her arms.
“There is nothing to say.”
“You locked my daughter in a cellar.”
“She was misbehaving.”
“You took her inhaler.”
“I did not.”
“Then why did I find the key in your pocket?”
Victoria's lips tightened.
“Because I was keeping the cellar locked.”
“Why?”
“For her safety.”
Leo stared at her.
“From what?”
Victoria said nothing.
“From who?”
Still nothing.
Leo stepped closer.
Victoria backed away.
“Leo, you're angry.”
“You're right.”
His voice was cold.
“I'm furious.”
“I understand.”
“No.”
Leo shook his head.
“You don't.”
He looked toward the stairs where Mateo had carried Lily.
“You don't understand what you almost took from me.”
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
“She wasn't going to die.”
Leo's expression changed.
“What?”
Victoria immediately realized her mistake.
Leo stepped closer.
“How did you know?”
“I didn't.”
“You just said she wasn't going to die.”
“I meant—”
“You knew.”
Victoria's breathing quickened.
“You knew she had asthma.”
“Everyone knows.”
“You knew she didn't have her inhaler.”
“I didn't.”
“You knew.”
Leo's voice dropped.
“Because you were there.”
Victoria said nothing.
Beatrice stood near the doorway.
She watched Leo.
Then Victoria.
She could feel something changing.
The room was no longer about a maid and her employer.
It was about something much larger.
Something dangerous.
Leo turned.
“Beatrice.”
She looked up.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Victoria immediately interrupted.
“She attacked me.”
Leo raised one hand.
Victoria stopped.
“Let her speak.”
Beatrice swallowed.
“I was bringing Lily dinner.”
“What time?”
“About eight.”
“What happened?”
“She was crying.”
“Why?”
“She said Victoria was angry.”
Victoria laughed.
“Children say things.”
Leo ignored her.
“Continue.”
“Lily wouldn't eat.”
Beatrice's voice trembled.
“So I sat with her.”
“She started coughing.”
Victoria looked away.
“She couldn't breathe properly.”
Beatrice touched her bruised cheek.
“I asked Victoria for the inhaler.”
“And?”
“She told me Lily didn't need it.”
Leo's jaw tightened.
“What happened next?”
“Lily became worse.”
Beatrice swallowed.
“I went to get the inhaler.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“You were ordered not to.”
Beatrice looked at her.
“I wasn't going to let her die.”
Victoria's expression hardened.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know what I saw.”
“You're a maid.”
The words came out sharply.
The room fell silent.
Victoria seemed to realize she had revealed more than she intended.
Beatrice looked down.
She had heard those words before.
Thousands of times.
You’re a maid.
As if the title erased her humanity.
As if it meant her fear didn't matter.
Her pain didn't matter.
Her voice didn't matter.
But Leo was looking at Victoria now.
Not Beatrice.
“You hit her.”
Victoria didn't answer.
“You hit her because she tried to save Lily.”
“She attacked me first.”
Leo glanced at Beatrice.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Did you touch Victoria?”
“Only when she grabbed Lily.”
Victoria scoffed.
“She pushed me.”
“Because you were hurting her.”
Leo's eyes became darker.
“Enough.”
Victoria went silent.
Leo walked toward the counter.
He picked up the wineglass.
Looked at it.
Then placed it down.
“Why was Lily in the cellar?”
Victoria said nothing.
“Why?”
“I told you.”
“She was misbehaving.”
Leo turned.
“Do you punish six-year-olds by locking them in freezing rooms?”
Victoria's face remained composed.
“She needed to learn.”
“Learn what?”
“How to obey.”
Leo stared at her.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't humor.
It was disbelief.
“You're insane.”
Victoria's eyes flashed.
“You're too emotional.”
“You almost killed my daughter.”
“She is alive.”
“Because Beatrice saved her.”
Victoria looked at Beatrice.
A strange expression crossed her face.
Hatred.
Pure and immediate.
Beatrice felt it.
She had seen hatred before.
But this was different.
Victoria didn't hate her because of the cellar.
She hated her because Beatrice had survived it.
Leo noticed.
He noticed everything now.
“Why do you hate her?”
Victoria blinked.
“I don't.”
“You do.”
“I barely know her.”
“Then why are you looking at her like that?”
Victoria didn't answer.
Leo stepped closer.
“What are you afraid she'll tell me?”
Nothing.
Victoria's eyes flickered toward Beatrice.
Then away.
That was enough.
Leo turned to Mateo.
“Search the house.”
Mateo nodded.
“Every room?”
“Every room.”
“Victoria's room?”
“Especially hers.”
Victoria stiffened.
“You cannot do that.”
Leo looked at her.
“This is my house.”
She lifted her chin.
“I have rights.”
“So does my daughter.”
Victoria said nothing.
Mateo gestured to the security team.
Two men disappeared upstairs.
Another headed toward the west wing.
Victoria watched them.
Her calm began to disappear.
Leo noticed.
“What's in your room?”
“Clothes.”
“What else?”
“Nothing.”
“Then you won't mind.”
Victoria stared at him.
“You'll regret this.”
Leo's eyes narrowed.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
She smiled faintly.
“It's a warning.”
Beatrice felt cold.
She remembered something.
Something Victoria had said earlier.
“If you go near Lily again, you'll regret it.”
Beatrice stepped forward.
“She said that before.”
Leo turned.
“When?”
“Before you came home.”
Victoria immediately said, “She's lying.”
Beatrice continued.
“She told me Lily wasn't my concern.”
Leo's expression hardened.
“What else?”
Beatrice hesitated.
“She said…”
“What?”
Beatrice looked at Victoria.
“She said Lily wasn't really yours.”
Silence.
Mateo stopped.
Leo slowly turned toward Victoria.
“What did you say?”
Victoria's face went pale.
“I was angry.”
“You said my daughter wasn't mine?”
“I didn't mean it.”
“You knew exactly what you meant.”
“No.”
Leo moved closer.
“Who is Lily's father?”
Victoria stared at him.
Leo waited.
“Answer me.”
Victoria's lips trembled.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
She looked toward Lily's room.
Then back at him.
“You should ask who Lily's mother really was.”
Leo froze.
“My wife was Lily's mother.”
Victoria shook her head.
“You still believe that?”
The room seemed to tilt.
Mateo's expression changed.
Beatrice felt her stomach drop.
Leo spoke quietly.
“Be careful.”
Victoria gave a bitter smile.
“You think you know everything about your family.”
“I know my wife.”
“No.”
Victoria's voice became almost a whisper.
“You know the woman she wanted you to believe she was.”
Leo's eyes hardened.
“Don't talk about my wife.”
“Why?”
“Because she's dead.”
Victoria's face changed.
“Exactly.”
She looked toward him.
“And dead people can't correct the lies told about them.”
Leo's hand tightened into a fist.
Mateo stepped forward.
“Leo.”
Leo ignored him.
“What are you saying?”
Victoria took a breath.
“The bombing.”
Leo went completely still.
“What about it?”
“It wasn't random.”
The words seemed to drain the warmth from the room.
Beatrice looked at Leo.
She saw the change.
The sudden stillness.
The old wound opening.
Two years ago, Lily's mother had died in a bombing.
Leo had never spoken about it.
Not publicly.
Not privately.
Not even with Lily.
He had simply built walls around the memory.
And now Victoria was reaching through them.
“Who ordered it?”
Leo's voice was almost inaudible.
Victoria shook her head.
“You're not ready.”
“Who?”
“You won't believe me.”
“Try.”
Victoria looked toward Mateo.
Then toward Beatrice.
Then back at Leo.
“The bombing wasn't meant to kill your wife.”
Leo stared.
“It was meant to kill Lily.”
Nobody moved.
Leo's face became expressionless.
“What?”
Victoria whispered:
“Your daughter was the target.”
Mateo stepped forward.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does.”
“How?”
Victoria looked at Leo.
“Because Lily is worth more alive than dead.”
Leo's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria didn't answer.
“Why is my daughter worth more than money?”
“Because of who she is.”
Leo stared.
“She's my daughter.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
She whispered:
“She is the last Rossi.”
Leo's expression changed.
“I am a Rossi.”
“Not the way you think.”
Mateo's eyes narrowed.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Victoria looked at him.
“You should ask Leo what happened eleven years ago.”
Leo's face hardened.
“My father died eleven years ago.”
Victoria smiled.
A strange, frightened smile.
“Did he?”
Leo didn't move.
His father had been dead for eleven years.
He remembered the funeral.
The black marble.
The rain.
The coffin.
The people standing beneath umbrellas.
He remembered placing a white rose on the lid.
He remembered the priest.
He remembered watching the grave close.
His father was dead.
Everyone knew that.
Everyone except, apparently, Victoria.
“What are you saying?”
Victoria stepped backward.
“You never saw his body.”
Leo's blood went cold.
“What?”
“You saw a coffin.”
Mateo's expression changed.
“Victoria.”
“You never saw the body.”
Leo's mind raced.
He remembered the funeral.
The closed coffin.
His father's supposed death had happened overseas.
The body had been returned three days later.
The funeral had been private.
Leo had never questioned it.
Why would he?
He had trusted the people who arranged everything.
His family.
His father's lawyers.
The men who had worked for him.
The same men who had told Leo that his father had died peacefully.
Victoria whispered:
“Your father is alive.”
Leo stared at her.
“No.”
“He has been alive all this time.”
“No.”
“He built the empire you inherited.”
“My father is dead.”
“He built it.”
Victoria's voice cracked.
“And he never stopped controlling it.”
Mateo stepped closer.
“Who told you this?”
Victoria looked at him.
“Your own people.”
Leo's eyes hardened.
“Names.”
Victoria shook her head.
“You don't understand what you're asking.”
“I want names.”
“If I give you one, I'll die.”
Leo's voice became ice.
“Then you should start talking.”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
For the first time, Leo believed she was genuinely afraid.
But he still didn't trust her.
Fear could be manufactured.
So could tears.
And Victoria had spent years perfecting both.
A sudden crash came from upstairs.
Everyone turned.
Mateo immediately reached for his weapon.
“Stay here.”
He disappeared into the corridor.
Leo looked at Beatrice.
“Stay with Lily.”
Beatrice nodded.
Then she saw something.
A tiny movement.
Behind Victoria.
Near the pantry door.
A shadow.
Gone before she could focus.
“Mr. Rossi…”
Leo turned.
“What?”
“I saw someone.”
“Where?”
“Behind her.”
Victoria spun around.
Nothing.
Leo's eyes swept the hallway.
“Mateo!”
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
Lily screamed.
Leo ran.
This time, he ran.
He raced up the marble staircase.
“Lily!”
Another shot.
Then another.
The emergency lights came on.
Red.
Flashing.
The mansion looked like a crime scene.
Leo reached Lily's bedroom.
The door was open.
Mateo stood inside.
His weapon was raised.
The nanny was crying in the corner.
Lily was gone.
Leo stopped.
“What happened?”
Mateo looked at him.
“Someone took her.”
Leo's face emptied.
“What?”
“I was coming down the hall.”
Mateo pointed toward the balcony.
“Window was open.”
Leo rushed forward.
He looked outside.
The balcony was thirty feet above the garden.
Below, security lights swept across the lawn.
No one.
No movement.
Nothing.
Leo turned.
“Lock down the estate.”
Mateo grabbed his radio.
“Already doing it.”
“Seal every exit.”
“Done.”
“Check the cameras.”
“We're on it.”
Leo stood in the center of the room.
His breathing was slow.
Too slow.
That was how Mateo knew he was dangerous.
Leo Rossi was most frightening when he stopped looking angry.
“Find her.”
Mateo nodded.
“We will.”
“No.”
Leo looked at him.
“I will.”
He walked toward the doorway.
Then stopped.
Beatrice was standing in the hall.
Her face had gone white.
“Mr. Rossi…”
Leo looked at her.
“What?”
She was holding something.
A small object.
A pink ribbon.
Lily's ribbon.
“Where did you get that?”
Beatrice looked down.
“I found it downstairs.”
Leo took it.
His fingers tightened.
“Where?”
“Near the cellar.”
Mateo looked at her.
“You didn't mention this.”
“I just found it.”
Leo stared at the ribbon.
There was something written on the inside.
Tiny letters.
Almost invisible.
He turned it over.
A single word had been written in black ink.
REMEMBER.
Leo looked at Beatrice.
“Did Lily write this?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“I don't know.”
Victoria appeared at the end of the hallway.
Her face was frozen.
When she saw the ribbon, she stopped.
Leo noticed.
“You recognize it.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
“You're lying again.”
She backed away.
“Leo…”
He held up the ribbon.
“Who wrote this?”
Victoria's eyes filled with fear.
“You shouldn't have opened the cellar.”
Leo stared.
“What?”
“You should have left that door locked.”
“What was inside?”
Victoria's voice dropped.
“Not what.”
She looked toward the dark staircase.
“Who.”
Leo felt a chill move through him.
“Who was inside?”
Victoria shook her head.
Then—
Every light in the mansion went out.
Darkness swallowed the corridor.
Lily's scream echoed from somewhere far below.
Leo turned toward the sound.
“Lily!”
Mateo raised his gun.
“Leo, don't move.”
Another gunshot exploded.
Then another.
Glass shattered.
Someone screamed.
The emergency lights flickered red.
Beatrice dropped to the floor.
Mateo grabbed Leo's shoulder.
“Down!”
Leo ignored him.
He ran toward the cellar.
A figure crossed the far end of the corridor.
Leo fired.
The figure disappeared.
“Stop!”
No answer.
Then a voice came through the darkness.
Low.
Calm.
Familiar.
A voice Leo had not heard in eleven years.
“Son.”
Leo froze.
Mateo slowly lowered his weapon.
Beatrice stared into the darkness.
Victoria began shaking.
Leo whispered:
“No.”
The voice came again.
“You should have left the cellar closed.”
Leo's heart stopped.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it when he was a boy.
When his father taught him how to hold a gun.
When his father taught him never to trust anyone.
When his father taught him that fear was weakness.
A voice that should have been buried eleven years ago.
Leo raised his weapon.
“Show yourself.”
A slow laugh echoed through the corridor.
“You always were impatient.”
Leo's face went white.
Mateo whispered:
“Leo…”
“I know.”
“Who is that?”
Leo didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
The voice came again.
“Did you really believe I was dead?”
Victoria backed against the wall.
“No…”
The darkness shifted.
A silhouette appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Tall.
Motionless.
Watching.
Leo's finger tightened around the trigger.
His voice was barely audible.
“Father?”
The figure stepped forward.
The emergency lights flickered.
For a fraction of a second, Leo saw the man's face.
Older.
Scarred.
But unmistakable.
His father.
The man who had been buried eleven years ago.
The man whose funeral Leo had attended.
The man whose empire Leo had inherited.
The man he had mourned.
The man he had hated.
The man he had spent eleven years believing was dead.
Alive.
Standing inside his house.
And smiling.
Behind Leo, Victoria whispered:
“You were never supposed to find him.”
Leo didn't look at her.
His eyes remained locked on the man below.
“Where is my daughter?”
His father smiled.
“Exactly where she needs to be.”
Leo's voice became deadly.
“If you touch her—”
“I already did.”
Leo's face changed.
Mateo raised his gun.
The old man laughed.
“You still think this is about Lily.”
Leo stared.
“What else could it be about?”
The man slowly lifted one hand.
A small silver pendant hung between his fingers.
Leo recognized it immediately.
It had belonged to his wife.
His dead wife.
The pendant she had been wearing the night she died.
Leo's breathing stopped.
His father looked at him.
“You've spent two years mourning the wrong woman.”
Leo couldn't speak.
The old man smiled.
“And tomorrow, son…”
He dropped the pendant onto the stone floor.
“…you will finally learn why your wife had to disappear.”
The lights came back.
The man was gone.
Only the pendant remained.
Leo stared at it.
Then at the empty cellar.
Then at Beatrice.
She was crying silently.
Not because she understood everything.
But because she understood enough.
The woman Leo had loved was connected to the secret beneath the mansion.
Lily had been targeted.
His father was alive.
Victoria had known.
And Beatrice—the woman everyone ignored—had somehow become the one person standing at the center of it all.
Leo bent down and picked up the pendant.
His hand shook.
For the first time in eleven years, he allowed himself to consider a possibility that terrified him more than death.
Maybe his wife had never died.
Maybe the bombing had been staged.
Maybe Lily had been hidden for a reason.
And maybe the entire Rossi empire had been built on a lie.
Leo looked toward the dark cellar.
His eyes hardened.
“Find Lily.”
Mateo nodded.
“And Victoria?”
Leo turned toward the woman.
Victoria was crying now.
Real tears.
“I'll deal with her myself.”
Beatrice looked at him.
“Mr. Rossi…”
He stopped.
She held his gaze.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
Beatrice swallowed.
“When Victoria locked Lily downstairs…”
Leo waited.
“She said something.”
“What?”
Beatrice looked toward the cellar.
“She said…”
Her voice trembled.
“She said, ‘The little girl has to remember what happened before she was born.’”
Leo went completely still.
Before she was born.
Those four words changed everything.
He looked down at the pendant in his hand.
Then toward his father's empty hiding place.
And finally at Beatrice.
For the first time, he understood that the cellar had never been meant to imprison Lily.
It had been meant to make her remember.
But remember what?
And why was everyone so terrified of the answer?
Leo looked at the blood still staining Beatrice's uniform.
Then at the cellar door.
Then at the pendant.
His voice was barely a whisper.
“What happened before Lily was born?”
Beatrice shook her head.
“I don't know.”
But somewhere beneath the mansion, something metallic slammed shut.
Once.
Twice.
Then a child's voice echoed faintly through the walls.
“Bee…”
Beatrice's eyes widened.
Leo turned toward the cellar.
“Lily?”
The voice came again.
Weak.
Terrified.
“Bee…”
Beatrice ran toward the stairs.
Leo grabbed her arm.
“Wait.”
She looked at him.
“That's my daughter.”
“I know.”
“Then let me go.”
Leo released her.
Together, they descended.
At the bottom of the staircase, they found Lily's stuffed rabbit lying on the floor.
Beside it was a small piece of paper.
Leo picked it up.
Three words were written across it.
SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
Beatrice stared at the message.
Leo looked at her.
“Who?”
Before she could answer, a woman's voice whispered from the darkness behind them.
“Lily's mother.”
Beatrice turned.
Victoria stood halfway down the stairs.
Her face was covered in tears.
And for the first time since Leo had known her, Victoria looked genuinely broken.
“She isn't dead,” Victoria whispered.
Leo's heart stopped.
“Where is she?”
Victoria looked toward the darkness.
Then at Leo.
“She has been here the whole time.”
And somewhere behind the cellar wall—
something knocked three times.
Leo slowly raised his gun.
Beatrice held her breath.
May you like
Victoria closed her eyes.
And the hidden door beneath the Rossi mansion began to open.
