Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN ROOM 317Vincent cancelled the engagement announcement.
Nobody left the mansion.
He ordered every door locked.
Bellamy insisted the voicemail was fabricated.
“A deepfake,” he said.
But Vincent knew Sofia's voice.
He knew the tiny pause she made before saying his name.
He knew the way her breathing changed when she was frightened.
That wasn't a recording made by an imitator.
It was Sofia.
Alive.
Or at least alive when the message was recorded.
Vincent demanded the truth.
Bellamy refused.
Then Emily spoke again.
“I know where the phone came from.”
Everyone looked at her.
“It was inside my mom's sewing box.”
Grace immediately interrupted.
“Emily, stop.”
But it was too late.
Vincent turned toward Grace.
“What did you know?”
Grace's hands trembled.
“I knew nothing.”
Emily shook her head.
“You did.”
Grace looked at her daughter with terror.
Then Emily whispered:
“Mom used to bring Mrs. Moretti food.”
Vincent's expression changed.
“When?”
Grace said nothing.
Emily answered for her.
“After everyone said she disappeared.”
Silence.
Vincent slowly approached Grace.
“You saw Sofia after she disappeared?”
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know who to trust.”
She finally confessed.
Three years earlier, two nights after Sofia supposedly vanished, Grace had found a woman hiding inside the old greenhouse.
It was Sofia.
Bruised.
Terrified.
And carrying a newborn baby.
Vincent staggered backward.
“A baby?”
Grace nodded.
“Sofia begged me to protect her.”
Vincent could barely speak.
“Where is the child?”
Grace looked toward Bellamy.
The attorney's face had gone white.
Grace whispered:
“She wasn't running away from you.”
“She was running from them.”
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Grace looked at Isabella.
Then at Bellamy.
Then at Dominic.
And said:
“The Moretti family.”
Suddenly—
The mansion lights went out.
A crash came from upstairs.
Someone screamed.
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When the emergency lights came on, the blue phone was gone.
So was Emily.
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