Chapter 7 - The Night the Estate Became a Trap
It happened in less than three minutes.
A fire alarm.
A power outage.
Security doors opening.
Smoke in the west hall.
When the cameras returned, Lily was gone.
I screamed her name until my throat broke.
Damian looked at the monitor.
“Lock the estate.”
Too late.
Selene had planned everything.
She had manipulated the security system for months.
The access logs weren't merely proof against her.
They were a map of how she had learned to control the entire house.
Damian found one clue.
The old boathouse.
They drove there through the storm.
Gabriel came with us.
Inside, Selene stood beside Lily.
She held a gun.
Lily was crying but conscious.
“Mara,” Selene called.
I stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
“You ruined everything.”
“You did that yourself.”
Selene laughed.
“No. You did.”
She revealed the truth about my mother.
She had been killed because she discovered Selene's organization years before Selene ever met Damian.
The entire plot was generational.
The Bellucci company had survived scandal after scandal because people like Selene kept replacing themselves.
Damian's father had known.
Gabriel had tried to expose it.
My mother had helped.
Both vanished.
Now Selene wanted Lily as leverage.
But Lily did something nobody expected.
She asked Selene:
“Why are you scared of me?”
Selene hesitated.
Lily continued.
“Mom says people act mean when they're afraid.”
Selene's hand shook.
That was enough.
Damian moved.
Gabriel moved.
The gun fell.
Security restrained Selene.
Lily ran to me.
I held her so tightly she squeaked.
“I’m here.”
May you like
She buried her face in my chest.
“I knew you would come.”
