Chapter 8: The Truth Behind the Funeral
The gunshot echoed through the mansion.
Leo screamed.
Everything became chaos.
Dante grabbed him.
Rico pulled Isabella toward the wall.
I stood frozen for half a second too long.
Then Rico grabbed my arm.
“Move!””
We rushed into the hidden room as another shot shattered the hallway window.
The woman who was supposed to be dead was pressed against the wall beside me.
The man who had buried her was protecting her.
And I was trapped between two people who had spent six months believing the other was gone.
None of it made sense.
Dante locked the hidden door.
“We need another exit.””
“There is one,” Isabella said.
Everyone looked at her.
Rico’s face was unreadable.
“You knew about this room?””
She looked at him.
“I built it.””
That answer hurt him.
I could see it.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
“You built a hidden room in our house?””
Isabella swallowed.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She looked at Leo.
“Because I knew one day Vincent would come.””
The name hung in the air.
I stepped forward.
“Tell me everything.””
Isabella looked at me.
For a moment, she looked tired.
Not like a powerful woman.
Like someone who had been carrying a terrible weight alone.
“Your mother and I were friends.””
I stared.
“You knew her?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Isabella looked at the necklace.
“Because she gave me that.””
I touched it.
“What?””
“Your mother made me promise something.””
“What?””
Isabella’s eyes moved to Rico.
“To protect you if anything happened.””
Rico looked confused.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
She looked at him sadly.
“Because you would have tried to fix it.””
“I would have protected you.””
“No.””
Her voice cracked.
“You would have gone after Vincent.””
Silence.
Because she was right.
Rico didn’t deny it.
Isabella continued.
“Fifteen years ago, Michael Vance discovered that Vincent was stealing from my father’s company.””
I looked at Rico.
“My father knew?””
He nodded slowly.
“Michael came to him.””
“And?””
Rico looked away.
“My father believed Vincent.””
The room became colder.
“He chose his own son.””
I felt sick.
“And my father?””
Isabella closed her eyes.
“Michael was going to expose him.””
The next words were barely audible.
“Vincent killed him.””
I covered my mouth.
My whole life changed in that moment.
My father wasn’t a mystery.
He wasn’t someone who disappeared.
He was murdered.
And everyone who knew had been silent.
“Why did my mother hide me?””
“Because Vincent was looking for you.””
“Why?””
Isabella looked at me.
“Because Michael left evidence.””
“What evidence?””
She glanced toward the wall.
“A ledger.””
I frowned.
“A book?””
“Not just a book.””
Her voice lowered.
“Proof that could destroy everyone involved.””
Rico stepped closer.
“Where is it?””
Isabella looked at him.
“Hidden.””
“Where?””
She hesitated.
That hesitation terrified me.
Then she said:
“Inside Clara’s necklace.””
I froze.
“What?””
Everyone looked at me.
I grabbed the silver star.
“This?””
Isabella nodded.
“Your mother was brilliant.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“No, this is impossible.””
Isabella stepped closer.
“Clara, look carefully.””
I removed the necklace.
The pendant had always been sealed.
But now that I looked closely, I saw something I had never noticed.
A tiny line.
A hidden opening.
Rico stared.
“Your mother carried the evidence with you.””
I looked at Isabella.
“Why me?””
Her eyes softened.
“Because Vincent would never suspect the daughter of the man he killed was carrying the thing that could destroy him.””
A noise came from the hallway.
Everyone froze.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
Someone was walking toward us.
Dante raised his weapon.
“Boss.””
Rico moved in front of Leo.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
Then a voice spoke.
A voice I recognized.
Not because I had heard it before.
Because I had heard it in my nightmares.
“Ricardo.””
Rico’s face changed.
“Vincent.””
The door handle moved.
Then Vincent laughed softly.
“Open the door.””
Nobody moved.
Then he said:
“Or should I tell Clara what her mother really did?””
My blood turned cold.
Because Isabella suddenly looked terrified.
Not angry.
Not afraid for herself.
Afraid for me.
“What?”” I whispered.
Isabella looked at me.
And for the first time since I met her, the woman who had survived death looked completely broken.
“Clara…”
She swallowed.
“Your mother didn’t just hide you from Vincent.””
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The door handle turned again.
“She hid you from me.””
