Chapter 9 - INTO THE LION'S DEN"You shouldn't be down here, Sophie," Antonio said softly, his voice echoing in the stone room.
"You knew!" I yelled, tears spilling over my cheeks. "Your name is right here in his journal! You delivered the orders that led to my mother's death!"
"You're reading words without context!" Antonio insisted, taking a step toward me. "Sophie, listen to me—"
"No! Stay away from me!" I panicked. Overwhelmed by betrayal and fear, I grabbed my coat, ran past him out the side exit of the estate, and flagged down a taxi on the main road.
Desperate for answers and feeling entirely alone, I dialed the number Dante Moretti had left on my answering machine. "I know about the journal," I said into the receiver, my voice shaking. "I want to know the truth about my mother."
"Meet me at the abandoned meatpacking plant on Pier 42," Dante’s smooth voice replied over the line. "Come alone, little niece, and I will show you the official police reports Antonio buried."
May you like
Thirty minutes later, I walked into the dark, freezing warehouse on the pier. The smell of rust and salt air hung heavy in the fog. But as soon as I stepped inside, heavy iron doors slammed shut behind me. Four armed men emerged from the shadows, their weapons trained on my chest.
Dante stepped out from an upper office, holding a glass of scotch. "Foolish girl," he laughed, stepping down the metal stairs. "You really are as naive as your father was."
Related Stories
