Chapter 5 - The Girl in the Locked Room
The old Westbrook textile mill had been abandoned for fifteen years.
Broken windows.
Rusting beams.
Empty loading docks.
The perfect place for a secret.
Damian and Lena arrived just before sunset.
The building was silent.
Too silent.
They entered through the side door.
Lena held a flashlight.
Damian held a gun.
Then they heard a child crying.
Damian followed the sound.
Second floor.
Room fourteen.
Locked.
He kicked the door once.
Nothing.
Twice.
The lock broke.
Inside, a little girl sat on a wooden chair with her hands tied.
Carlo’s daughter.
Emily.
She looked up.
“Are you Mr. Russo?”
“Yes.”
“My dad said you'd come.”
Damian froze.
“Your father?”
“He said you wouldn't leave me.”
Lena knelt.
“We’re taking you home.”
Emily looked at Damian.
“Is he really paralyzed?”
Lena almost smiled.
Damian said, “Not tonight.”
Emily giggled.
Then the lights came on.
A voice echoed through the room.
“Beautiful reunion.”
Vivian stepped onto the balcony above them.
Damian looked up.
She smiled.
“You ruined everything.”
“You kidnapped a child.”
“I protected an investment.”
“You tried to have me killed.”
“I tried to survive.”
“By killing me?”
“You were going to leave me with nothing.”
Damian stared at her.
“You never loved me.”
Vivian's expression softened strangely.
“I loved what we could have been.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You loved what I had.”
She didn't deny it.
Then she said something that changed everything.
“You think I planned the accident?”
Damian narrowed his eyes.
“You didn't?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“Someone else did.”
A gunman appeared behind Damian.
Lena saw him first.
She threw herself forward.
The shot struck the wall.
Damian fired.
The gunman fell.
Vivian disappeared.
Damian ran after her.
But Lena shouted.
“Emily!”
He turned.
Emily was crying.
He went back.
Family.
For the first time, Damian chose someone else's safety over revenge.
They escaped the mill alive.
But Vivian had left one final message on the wall.
Written in black paint:
ASK WHO ORDERED YOUR FATHER'S DEATH.
Damian stared at the words.
His father had died twelve years earlier.
Officially, a heart attack.
But Anthony Russo had been healthy.
Very healthy.
May you like
Damian had never questioned it.
Until now.
