Chapter 2 - Shadows in the Archive
Upstairs, locked inside the high-security nursery wing, Sophia sat on the edge of a velvet rocking chair while Elena frantically checked the window latches. The storm outside was howling now, driving sheets of rain against the reinforced glass.
"We shouldn't be here, Sophia," Elena whispered, her hands shaking as she pulled extra blankets around the sleeping infant. "Mr. Moretti... when he gets like this, things burn. People vanish."
"He won't hurt us, Mama," Sophia said quietly, staring down at the baby’s tiny, uncurled fingers. "He’s looking at her—at them. He knows she lied."
"How could you even hear him out there by the trash?" Elena asked, cupping her daughter’s wet cheek. "You were supposed to be sleeping in the staff quarters."
"I wasn't sleeping. I saw a man in a black coat carrying a silver box," Sophia replied, her voice entirely devoid of childhood panic. "He didn't use the gate, Mama. He used the old tunnel key. The one that leads from the vineyard straight into the basement kitchen."
Elena froze, her blood running cold. The vineyard tunnel was a relic from the estate's prohibition-era past, sealed decades ago. Or so everyone was told. Only three people in the entire Moretti household possessed the master blueprint keys: Rocco, Valentina, and the head of security, Dominic Vance.
May you like
Before Elena could process the terrifying implications of her daughter's words, a heavy metallic click echoed from the hallway outside the nursery door.
It wasn't a knock. It was the sound of a silenced pistol slide being pulled back.
