Chapter 4 - We Found the Shelter Where Isabella Had Hidden My Daughter—But the Records Had Been Destroyed the Morning Before We ArrivedThe shelter was abandoned.
Windows boarded.
Doors chained.
Snow covered the entrance.
But there were fresh tire tracks.
Someone had been there.
Recently.
Marco kicked open the door.
We entered.
The smell of dust and old disinfectant filled the hallway.
There were children's drawings on the walls.
Broken toys.
Empty beds.
A faded Christmas tree.
Then I saw it.
A photograph.
Isabella.
Standing beside a little girl.
The child had dark hair.
Green eyes.
And a tiny silver bracelet.
My knees nearly gave out.
“That's her.”
Marco stared.
“How do you know?”
“Because she has my eyes.”
We searched every room.
Nothing.
Then I found a locked office.
Inside was a safe.
The safe was open.
Empty.
But someone had left a note.
YOU WERE TOO LATE AGAIN.
I crushed the paper.
“Boss.”
Marco pointed to the floor.
Blood.
Fresh.
I followed the trail.
It led to the back exit.
Outside, we found a broken bracelet.
The silver charm carried one letter.
A.
My first thought was Alessandro.
Then I remembered Isabella's middle name.
Amelia.
But the child?
The doctor called.
Elena had disappeared from the mansion.
My blood froze.
“Lock down the city.”
Marco looked at me.
“Boss.”
I already knew.
Elena hadn't run.
May you like
She had been taken.
And someone wanted me to believe she had betrayed me.
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