Chapter 11 - THE SECRET UNDER THE KENNELThe older man introduced himself as Matteo Moretti.
Luca's supposed dead great-uncle.
Frank Bellini stood beside him.
Alive.
Older.
Silent.
Anthony looked like the floor had disappeared beneath his feet.
“You're alive,” he whispered.
Frank didn't answer.
Luca stepped between them and me.
“What do you want?”
Matteo smiled.
“What your mother took.”
“The ledger?”
“No.”
“The money?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Matteo looked at Bruno.
“The key.”
Luca's expression changed.
“The key was inside Bruno's collar.”
“Yes.”
“And you sent Vanessa to take it.”
“I sent her to retrieve what belonged to my family.”
“That's not an answer.”
Matteo's eyes hardened.
“Your grandfather built the consortium. Your father inherited it. Your mother destroyed it.”
“She saved me.”
“She betrayed us.”
Luca laughed bitterly.
“You murdered my father.”
Matteo's face remained calm.
“Your father chose his side.”
Frank finally spoke.
“He chose Emma's father.”
I stared.
“My father?”
Frank looked at me.
“He knew the ledger could destroy us.”
“And my father hid it?”
“He hid the original.”
“Where?”
Frank looked at Bruno.
The dog was staring toward the kennel.
I suddenly understood.
“The kennel.”
Everyone looked at me.
I pointed.
“My father used to take me there.”
Matteo frowned.
“Take her there.”
Luca stepped forward.
“No.”
Matteo's men raised weapons.
Luca's body tensed.
I touched his arm.
“It's okay.”
“No.”
“That's what they want.”
We walked toward the old kennel.
The rain had stopped.
The concrete floor was wet.
Bruno moved ahead.
He stopped beside the rear gate.
Then scratched the ground.
I knelt.
There was a seam in the concrete.
A hidden panel.
Luca helped lift it.
Below was a narrow metal tube.
Inside lay a tiny key.
Not brass.
Silver.
And a folded photograph.
I opened it.
My father stood beside Vivian.
Behind them was a wall covered with files.
One file had my name.
Another had Luca's.
And a third had Vanessa's.
On the back of the photograph, my father had written:
The children are innocent. Keep them apart until the truth is safe.
I looked at Luca.
“Why were we supposed to stay apart?”
Maria answered from behind us.
“Because your fathers knew what would happen.”
“What?”
“They feared the consortium would force both families to destroy each other.”
Luca took the silver key.
“What does this open?”
Matteo answered.
“The room your grandfather never showed you.”
“Where?”
Matteo smiled.
“Under this house.”
Luca looked at him.
“You're not taking us anywhere.”
Matteo's men moved.
Then Bruno suddenly ran toward the wall.
He began barking at a section of brick.
Daniel inspected it.
“Boss.”
A concealed door.
Luca inserted the silver key.
The wall opened.
Behind it was a staircase descending into darkness.
Air rose from below.
Cold.
Damp.
Old.
Matteo walked after them.
“This is where your family kept everything.”
Luca looked at me.
“Stay behind me.”
We descended.
At the bottom was a vault.
Shelves covered the walls.
Boxes.
Photographs.
Documents.
And dozens of old VHS tapes.
Then I saw one label.
EMMA CARTER. AGE 7.
My blood ran cold.
Luca reached for it.
Matteo said,
“Don't.”
Too late.
Luca inserted the tape.
The screen flickered.
A little girl appeared.
Me.
Seven years old.
Sitting on the floor beside Bruno.
A younger Vivian was kneeling in front of me.
She looked terrified.
“Emma,” she whispered on the recording, “listen carefully.”
Seven-year-old me looked up.
Vivian's voice shook.
“You're going to forget tonight.”
Then my younger self said something that made everyone in the vault freeze.
“I won't.”
Vivian looked toward the camera.
“Because somebody else will remember for you.”
The tape ended.
May you like
The screen went black.
And behind us, the vault door slammed shut.
