Chapter 5: The Girl Behind the Locked Door
Ricardo didn't wait for an explanation.
He scooped Leo into his arms, ordered his men to surround the estate, and marched toward the private elevator at the back of the restaurant.
I followed.
“Clara, stay here,” he said.
“No.””
“This isn't a discussion.””
“Neither is leaving your three-year-old son with the same people your wife warned us about.””
His jaw tightened.
“You're a waitress. You don't understand what you're walking into.””
“I'm Sarah's sister.””
For the first time, he had no answer.
I stepped into the elevator beside him.
“If my niece is there, I'm going to see her.””
Ricardo stared at me for a long moment before pressing the button for the underground garage.
“Then stay close to me.””
The ride to his estate took twenty-three minutes.
I spent every one of them watching Leo sleep against his father's chest, his small hand curled around the silver heart necklace. Ricardo didn't speak. His eyes remained fixed on the passing streets, and his free hand rested near the pistol tucked into his waistband.
When we reached the estate, the front gates were already open.
That was the first thing that frightened me.
The Moretti property occupied an entire block behind tall iron fencing. Security cameras watched every entrance, and armed guards usually stood beneath the stone archway.
Tonight, the guard station was empty.
Ricardo stepped out of the car.
“Where is everybody?””
His security chief, Daniel Cross, approached from the front steps.
“Boss, we've got a situation.””
Daniel was in his forties, with silver at his temples and the calm, polished manner of someone accustomed to giving orders. He had been Ricardo's chief of security for twelve years.
“Explain,” Ricardo said.
“Three guards failed to report for duty. Their phones are off. We've secured the main house, but the lower wing's electronic locks have been activated.””
“By whom?””
“We don't know.””
Ricardo looked toward the mansion.
“Then why are you standing here talking to me?””
Daniel lowered his head.
“Because the system rejected my override code.””
Ricardo's eyes narrowed.
“Who has administrator access?””
“Me. You. And one emergency account created by your late wife.””
I felt the necklace against my chest.
“Sarah?””
Daniel glanced at me.
“Who is this woman?””
“Clara Vance,” Ricardo answered.
“She's family.””
Daniel's expression barely changed, but something in his eyes flickered.
“Of course, boss.””
I noticed it.
So did Ricardo.
“Daniel,” he said, “have you ever seen this woman before?””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
Ricardo moved closer.
“Think carefully.””
Daniel met his gaze.
“Never.””
Leo stirred in his father's arms.
“Uncle Daniel?””
The security chief's face softened.
“Hello, little man.””
Leo suddenly buried his face against Ricardo's neck.
“Don't let him take me downstairs.””
Daniel went still.
Ricardo's expression became lethal.
“What did he say?””
Leo began to cry.
“Uncle Daniel took me downstairs before. He said Mommy was there, but then the lights went out.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Ricardo stared at his security chief.
“You took my son into the locked wing?””
Daniel lifted both hands.
“Boss, I was following instructions.””
“Whose instructions?””
“I can't explain this outside.””
Ricardo drew his pistol.
“Try.””
Daniel took one step backward.
“There's a child in that wing who needs medical attention. If you go in there with guns drawn, you could get her killed.””
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“A child?””
Daniel looked at me.
Then, very quietly, he said, “A little girl.””
Ricardo seized him by the lapels.
“How old?””
“Approximately three.””
“Who is she?””
Daniel looked away.
“Her name is Amelia.””
The name meant nothing to me.
But when Leo heard it, he lifted his head.
“Millie?””
Daniel closed his eyes.
Ricardo's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Leo, do you know this girl?””
Leo nodded.
“She cries at night.””
“Have you seen her?””
“Sometimes. Uncle Daniel says she's my friend.””
Ricardo released Daniel and stepped back as if the man had suddenly become poisonous.
“Open the lower wing.””
“I can't.””
Ricardo raised his gun.
“Then tell me who can.””
Daniel's eyes shifted to me.
“The necklace.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“Sarah created an emergency override. She said that if anything happened to her, the heart would open the archive and unlock the lower wing.””
My fingers trembled as I removed the pendant.
Daniel led us through the front entrance, down a marble corridor, and into a small security room behind the library.
He pointed toward an old-fashioned access panel.
“Place the pendant against the reader.””
I hesitated.
Ricardo stood beside me, holding Leo.
“Clara, whatever Sarah left us, it's the only lead we've got.””
I pressed the silver heart against the panel.
A red light flashed.
Then green.
Somewhere beneath our feet, a heavy mechanism clicked.
The security monitors flickered to life.
One showed an empty corridor.
Another showed a storage room.
The third displayed a small bedroom with pale yellow walls, a narrow bed, and a child's drawing taped to the door.
A little girl sat on the floor.
She had dark brown hair and green eyes.
Sarah's eyes.
My knees nearly gave way.
“Oh, my God.””
The girl was holding a photograph of a woman.
My sister.
Ricardo leaned toward the monitor.
“Amelia?””
The child looked up as if she'd heard him through the screen.
Then she stood, walked to the camera, and pressed her tiny palm against it.
Her lips moved.
I couldn't hear the sound, but I knew what she said.
Mommy.
Ricardo stared at the screen, tears gathering in his eyes.
“Open the door,” he ordered.
Daniel entered a code.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
A message appeared.
*ACCESS DENIED. REMOTE CONTROL ACTIVE.*
Then another message flashed beneath it.
*ROOM PURGE INITIATED.*
Daniel went white.
“Boss, we have to get her out now.””
A timer appeared on the screen.
Five minutes.
Then four minutes and fifty-nine seconds.
Ricardo handed Leo to me.
“Take him upstairs.””
“No.””
“Clara!””
“I'm not leaving that girl.””
Daniel grabbed a ring of keys and sprinted toward the service stairs.
Ricardo followed him.
I ran after them, carrying Leo on one hip.
We reached the lower corridor as a metallic alarm began to howl. Red lights flashed across the walls. Behind a reinforced glass door, the little girl pounded her fists against the window.
“Daddy!”” she screamed.
Ricardo froze.
The word struck him like a bullet.
The girl pressed her face against the glass.
“Daddy, please!””
Ricardo rushed forward.
“Amelia! I'm here!””
Daniel shoved a key into the lock.
It snapped.
“Damn it!””
I looked at the silver heart in my hand.
Sarah had built this system.
She'd left a way in.
I pressed the pendant against a small sensor beside the door.
The lock clicked.
Ricardo pulled the door open, and I rushed inside.
I dropped to my knees.
“Sweetheart, it's okay. We're here.””
The girl ran straight into my arms.
She smelled of soap and lavender.
She was warm.
Alive.
And when I brushed the hair away from her face, I saw a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark beneath her left ear.
Sarah had the same mark.
So did I.
I held the little girl as she sobbed into my neck.
Behind us, Ricardo sank to his knees.
“Amelia,” he whispered.
“My daughter.””
The timer stopped at twelve seconds.
For one impossible moment, everything was still.
Then Daniel's radio crackled.
A voice spoke from the other end.
“Security breach confirmed. The girl has been located.””
Daniel snatched up the radio.
“Who is this?””
The voice answered calmly.
“Tell Ricardo Moretti that he should never have opened that door.””
Ricardo rose slowly.
“Identify yourself.””
A short laugh came through the speaker.
Then the voice said five words that made Daniel drop the radio.
“Your wife is in my custody.””
May you like
The transmission ended.
And every light in the lower wing went dark.
