Chapter 7 - THE LAST PERSON IN THE HOUSE
Victoria disappeared before midnight.
Her bedroom window was open. The security camera facing the east wing had been disabled for eleven minutes. Her car remained in the garage, but a black sedan had been seen leaving through the servants’ gate.
Lorenzo immediately called Naomi and the police.
He did not know whether Victoria had fled because she was guilty or because she was afraid.
Either possibility was dangerous.
Elena remained in the study with Isabella and Rosa. Lorenzo placed two guards outside the door and searched the house himself.
The family residence had become a maze of old secrets.
He found Victoria’s phone beneath her bed.
The last message on the screen had been sent from an unknown number.
YOU HAVE UNTIL SUNRISE TO RETURN THE ORIGINAL LETTER.
Lorenzo showed it to Naomi.
“What original letter?”
Naomi examined the device.
“Maybe one of your father’s letters.”
“Victoria had one of the letters my mother sent me.”
“Then she may know where the others are.”
Rosa appeared in the doorway.
“She took the blue box.”
Lorenzo turned.
“What blue box?”
“The one from the nursery. The box that held the collar.”
Isabella, who had been sitting beside Elena, suddenly spoke.
“Aunt Victoria said the box belonged to Mommy.”
Lorenzo crouched in front of her.
“Did she say anything else?”
“She said Mommy was coming home.”
Elena went very still.
“My daughter-in-law?”
Isabella nodded.
“Victoria said she would bring Mommy back if I gave her the key.”
“What key?”
Isabella pointed toward the old portrait in the hall.
“The one behind Grandpa’s picture.”
Lorenzo hurried to the portrait.
He removed it from the wall and searched the hidden passage. The room behind the portrait contained a narrow table, an old chair, and a rusted metal cabinet.
The cabinet door was open.
Inside, a compartment had been emptied.
On the floor lay a small brass key marked seventeen.
The same number as the boathouse floorboard.
Naomi examined the lock.
“This isn’t a key for the boathouse.”
“What is it for?”
“Something older.”
Rosa stared at the wall.
“The family train station.”
Lorenzo remembered the tunnel beneath the chapel.
The old station had been abandoned for decades. It was located beyond the western woods, where the Bellandi railway once carried cargo from the lake to the city.
If Victoria had taken the blue box, she might be heading there.
They reached the station shortly before dawn.
The building was surrounded by weeds and broken rails. One lantern glowed inside the ticket office.
Lorenzo entered first.
Victoria stood beside the old platform, holding the blue box.
She looked exhausted.
“I didn’t send the message,” she said.
“Who did?”
“Marcus had an associate.”
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
“Where is the money?”
Victoria stared at the box.
“It was never about the money.”
Lorenzo’s patience snapped.
“Then explain.”
Victoria opened the box.
Inside was a second letter.
The paper was yellow with age.
“It was written by your father the day your mother disappeared,” she said.
Lorenzo took it.
The letter contained a confession.
Matteo admitted he had known Marcus was involved in the sabotage of Elena’s car. He had confronted him but failed to contact the authorities because he feared the Bellandi company would collapse and thousands of employees would lose their jobs.
He also admitted that he had allowed Victoria to remain in the family because she had threatened to expose his own financial crimes.
Lorenzo lowered the letter.
“My father was not innocent.”
“No,” Victoria said. “He was not.”
“You knew about this?”
“I found it after his death. Marcus wanted it destroyed.”
“Why did you keep it?”
“Because I was tired of being afraid.”
A sound came from the station entrance.
A man stepped into the doorway holding a knife.
He was wearing the dark uniform of a Bellandi security officer.
Lorenzo recognized him from the chapel.
The man smiled.
“Give me the letter.”
Victoria moved behind Lorenzo.
The security officer advanced.
“You should have let Marcus take the child and disappear.”
Lorenzo kept his eyes on the knife.
“Who are you?”
“Someone who knows what happens when rich families start asking questions.”
He lunged.
Lorenzo moved aside, but the man grabbed Victoria and pulled the knife against her throat.
“Drop your phone.”
Lorenzo slowly lowered it.
The man dragged Victoria toward the tracks.
A train whistle sounded in the distance.
The old line was supposed to be inactive.
Lorenzo looked past the man and saw headlights approaching through the fog.
The security officer smiled.
“Your family built this station for secrets. It will bury one more.”
Victoria suddenly slammed her elbow into his ribs.
He loosened his grip.
Lorenzo rushed forward and struck his wrist. The knife fell between the rails.
Naomi and the police entered from the opposite side.
The officer attempted to flee, but Rosa stood in the doorway holding an iron fireplace poker.
He stopped.
Rosa raised it.
“You have chosen the wrong house to threaten.”
The police arrested him.
Victoria sank onto the platform.
Lorenzo stood over her.
“Why did you really take the letter?”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“Because I wanted you to know the truth about your father before you destroyed me for mine.”
“You helped Marcus.”
“I did.”
“Then you will answer for it.”
“I know.”
He looked at the blue box.
Inside was one final envelope.
It was addressed to Isabella.
Lorenzo opened it carefully.
May you like
The message was only one sentence.
Protect the child, even from the family.
