Chapter 10 - The Chase Through the MansionCeleste ran like a woman who knew every hidden door.
She vanished through the service corridor before the guards could reach her, silk dress flashing white under the dim lights.
Rosa was the first to shout.
“The old pantry!”
Lucian turned.
“What?”
“There’s a back stairwell. Mrs. Bell used it when your mother hosted parties.”
Lucian ran.
The guards followed, but Mateo suddenly pulled away from Isabella.
“No! She’ll take the papers!”
Isabella caught his sleeve.
“Mateo, stay with me.”
But the boy’s face had changed.
For years, adults had called him out of control when he reacted to danger they refused to see. Now danger had a name, heels, and a diamond bracelet.
“The red folder,” Mateo said. “She keeps it in the nursery wall.”
Lucian stopped.
“What red folder?”
Mateo looked at Rosa.
“The one with my name.”
Rosa felt the floor disappear beneath her.
“Where?”
Mateo pointed upward.
“The old nursery.”
Lucian split the guards with one command.
“Two with me. Two to the gates. Nobody leaves.”
Rosa, Lucian, and Mateo raced up the main staircase. Isabella tried to follow, but her legs failed halfway. Rosa looked back, torn.
“Go,” Isabella said. “Protect him.”
Mateo reached the nursery first.
The room had been redecorated years ago for guests who never came, but Rosa remembered its original shape—the crib by the window, the rocking chair near the fireplace, the wallpaper with tiny gold stars.
Mateo went straight to the built-in bookshelf.
“She made me watch her hide it,” he said, breathing hard. “She said if I told, nobody would believe a bad boy.”
Lucian’s face tightened.
Mateo pressed a wooden moon on the shelf.
A panel opened.
Inside was a red folder.
Lucian pulled it out.
The label read: Mateo Vale — Behavioral Custody Transfer.
Rosa read over his shoulder and felt sick.
The documents claimed Mateo was dangerous, unstable, and unfit to remain in Lucian’s care. They recommended permanent residential placement under the authority of Dr. Harlan.
But the final page was not about treatment.
It was about money.
If Mateo was declared legally incompetent, his trust would pass into temporary control of Margot Vale and Celeste Vale.
Lucian’s voice became ice.
“They were going to take his inheritance.”
Mateo whispered, “They said I was the key.”
Suddenly, a drawer slammed downstairs.
Then a guard shouted.
“She’s in the garage!”
Lucian ran again.
Rosa grabbed Mateo before he could follow.
“No, baby.”
He struggled.
“She’ll get away!”
Rosa knelt in front of him.
“Listen to me. You already saved everyone.”
Mateo shook his head.
“No. I broke everything.”
Rosa looked toward the hallway, where the mansion’s perfect silence had finally cracked.
“No,” she said. “You broke the right thing.”
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From outside came the roar of an engine.
Then a crash.
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