Chapter 4 - Secrets in the Archives
The Vitale mansion was a labyrinth of dark wood, ancestral oil paintings, and whispers of violence. For the next three days, I was confined to the upper guest suite—a luxurious prison with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sprawling gardens.
On the fourth morning, a soft knock rattled the heavy oak door. It wasn't a guard, and it wasn't Elena.
It was Matteo.
The five-year-old peeked his head in, holding a fresh box of colored pencils. “Can I come in, la signorina buona?” he asked softly, looking up at me with those big, solemn eyes.
My heart melted instantly. I crouched down, opening my arms as he ran into them, burying his face in my shoulder.
“I missed you, Matteo,” I murmured, holding him tight.
“Papa said you were sad because you miss your home,” the boy said, pulling back and handing me a fresh drawing. This time, it showed a giant castle surrounded by dragons, with two knights standing side-by-side at the gates. “Papa is a knight. He fights the bad men so we are safe. He can keep you safe too.”
Before I could answer, the door pushed open wider to reveal Santiago standing in the doorway. He watched us for a moment, a complex emotion flickering across his sharp features—something dangerously close to vulnerability.
“Matteo, your tutor is waiting in the study,” Santiago instructed gently.
The boy nodded, kissed my cheek, and scampered out of the room.
Santiago stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He carried a battered, leather-bound ledger with water-damaged pages.
“What is that?” I asked, standing up from the floor.
“Your mother’s journal,” he said, laying it flat on the mahogany desk. “The federal raid twenty-four years ago wasn't about drugs or weapons. It was about financial embezzlement orchestrated by Héctor Salgado using front companies. Your mother was the head accountant’s assistant. She copied the ledger, intending to hand it over to federal investigators to protect innocent workers.”
I stared at the worn leather book, my breath catching in my throat. “She wasn't a criminal?”
“She was a hero,” Santiago said firmly, meeting my eyes. “And Salgado had her silenced to cover his tracks. When he saw me talking to you at Chapultepec, he realized you might possess the physical backup copy of that ledger—the one your mother hid before she died.”
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“I don't have a ledger! I don't know where any backup copy is!”
“I know you don't,” Santiago replied calmly, stepping closer. “Which means Salgado is going to come looking for it here. Which also means... you are no longer just an innocent bystander, Lucía. You are sitting at the epicenter of a war.”
