Chapter 6 - THE ROOM UNDER THE HOUSEThey returned to the Valenti mansion after midnight.
No guards.
No lights.
The place felt abandoned.
Luca stood in his childhood bedroom.
The room looked exactly as he remembered.
Old bookshelf.
Fireplace.
Portrait of his mother.
And the rug beside the bed.
He pulled it back.
Nothing.
Then he remembered something.
A loose tile.
He pressed it.
A click.
The floor shifted.
A narrow staircase opened beneath the carpet.
Elena stared.
“You knew this was here?”
“I remembered the sound.”
They descended.
The air grew colder.
The basement stretched beneath the entire mansion.
Walls lined with shelves.
Boxes.
Old photographs.
Documents.
And a single locked room.
Luca approached.
The door was made of steel.
A number was engraved across it.
317.
Elena whispered.
“No.”
Luca inserted the brass key.
The lock opened.
Inside was a chair.
A desk.
An old cassette player.
And blood on the floor.
“Marco!”
A weak voice answered from behind a wall.
“Luca…”
They rushed toward it.
Luca found a hidden latch.
The wall swung open.
Marco was inside.
Alive.
Barely conscious.
Elena ran to him.
“Marco!”
His eyes opened.
“Don't…”
“What?”
“Don't trust…”
He looked at Luca.
“…Adriano.”
Luca froze.
“You were with him?”
Marco nodded.
“He wasn't helping us.”
“What happened?”
Marco swallowed.
“Adriano brought me here.”
“Why?”
“To make me confess.”
“Confess what?”
Marco looked at Elena.
“You know what your father did.”
Elena shook her head.
“My father died.”
Marco laughed weakly.
“Everyone keeps dying around you.”
Luca crouched.
“Tell me the truth.”
Marco stared at him.
“The ledger I found was fake.”
“Who made it?”
“Victor.”
Luca felt his stomach tighten.
“My father?”
“He wanted you to find it.”
“Why?”
“To make you chase the wrong people.”
Marco reached into his torn jacket.
He pulled out a small keycard.
“He wanted you to open the vault.”
“What vault?”
Marco pointed toward the far wall.
“The Bellini trust.”
Luca stared.
“What does that mean?”
“The room under the house is only the beginning.”
A light switched on.
Adriano stood at the doorway.
He was holding a gun.
Luca raised his weapon.
Adriano didn't fire.
He looked at Marco.
“You told him.”
Marco closed his eyes.
“You didn't give me a choice.”
Adriano stepped closer.
“I gave you a chance to live.”
Luca aimed directly at him.
“Explain.”
Adriano lowered his weapon.
“Your father is coming.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
Luca stared.
Adriano pulled a phone from his pocket.
A live video appeared.
Victor Valenti.
Alive.
Standing inside the Valenti estate.
Not hiding.
Waiting.
Luca watched in disbelief.
Victor looked directly into the camera.
“Luca.”
His father's voice.
Older.
Calmer.
Exactly as he remembered.
“I know you're in the basement.”
Luca's skin prickled.
Victor continued.
“You've finally found the room.”
“Come upstairs.”
Luca tightened his grip.
“Why?”
“Because there are things a son should hear from his father.”
The call ended.
Adriano looked at him.
“You can kill me.”
“Don't tempt me.”
“But if you go upstairs…”
“What?”
“You may never come back down.”
Elena stood beside Marco.
“That's exactly what someone says when they want you to run away.”
Adriano looked at her.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“Your father isn't Victor.”
Elena's face changed.
“What did you say?”
Adriano looked at Luca.
“Your biological father is still alive.”
Luca said nothing.
Adriano continued.
“And he is standing upstairs.”
The three of them stared at each other.
Then a gunshot shook the house.
Marco flinched.
Adriano turned toward the door.
“The game has started.”
Luca stepped toward the staircase.
Elena grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“Why?”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“Because I just remembered something.”
“What?”
“When I was six…”
She swallowed.
“A man came to my bedroom.”
“Who?”
“I thought he was my father.”
“And?”
“He looked exactly like you.”
Luca froze.
Above them, footsteps slowly descended the staircase.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then a voice echoed through the basement.
“Hello, son.”
Luca looked up.
May you like
And saw his father.
Alive.
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