Chapter 11 - The Boy in Carmela's Room
The Secret Passage
Dante ran.
The sitting room door had been locked again.
He smashed it open.
The piano stood against the wall.
He moved it.
Nothing.
Sophia walked in.
She looked at the floor.
“Here.”
Dante knelt.
A thin line ran beneath the rug.
He pulled it.
A hidden trapdoor opened.
A staircase descended into darkness.
The entire estate had been built over old tunnels.
Dante took a flashlight.
Matteo grabbed a weapon.
I carried Sophia.
We descended.
The tunnel smelled of earth.
Old stone walls surrounded us.
After forty yards, we found a room.
Empty.
Except for a bed.
A child's blanket.
And a stuffed rabbit.
I recognized it.
Sophia had the same rabbit at home.
My hands went cold.
“He was here.”
Dante examined the blanket.
“Recently.”
Matteo found a camera.
The lens pointed toward the bed.
“We were being watched.”
Sophia whispered.
“Not him.”
“Who?”
“The lady.”
She pointed to a small door.
Dante opened it.
Inside was a room filled with photographs.
Hundreds.
Of me.
Of Sophia.
Of Dante.
Of Adrian.
Of Carmela.
The photographs had dates.
Some were from six years earlier.
Some from yesterday.
At the center was one giant photograph.
The Falcone estate.
Every room marked.
Every camera.
Every guard's schedule.
A handwritten note read:
EVERYONE HAS A WEAKNESS.
Dante stared.
Matteo suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Look.”
A photograph showed Salvatore meeting Daniel.
Another showed Antonio carrying Adrian.
Another showed Elena speaking to Carmela.
But the final photograph made Dante step backward.
It showed Rosa.
Holding newborn Sophia.
Beside her stood Carmela.
On the back:
SHE NEVER LOST THE MEMORY.
I stared.
I could remember.
Not everything.
But enough.
Carmela had held my hand.
She had cried.
She had told me:
“If they ever come for your daughter, walk with the man who looks lonely.”
Dante looked at me.
“You remembered.”
I nodded.
“I think I did.”
Sophia began humming the lullaby.
Dante looked at the photographs.
“She has been leading us here.”
A noise echoed from the tunnel.
Footsteps.
Dante raised his gun.
A little boy appeared.
Adrian.
He was filthy.
Scared.
Alive.
I ran to him.
He stopped.
He stared at me.
Then at Sophia.
“Mom?”
I fell to my knees.
“Yes.”
He wrapped his arms around me.
Sophia joined him.
The twins held each other.
Dante stood behind us.
For one moment, the entire world felt still.
Then Adrian whispered:
“The bad man is coming.”
Dante turned.
“Who?”
Adrian pointed into the darkness.
A man's voice answered.
“You should have stayed dead, Dante.”
A gunshot rang out.
The lights went black.
When they returned, Adrian was gone.
May you like
Sophia was gone.
And Dante lay bleeding on the floor.
