Chapter 4 - The Secret Room Under the Estate
Damon dismissed everyone except Nolan, Serena, Rosa, and Sophia.
Rain hammered the roof again.
It was almost exactly like the night Rosa had arrived.
Serena looked terrified.
“Father survived the shooting.”
Damon didn't speak.
“He created the fire to disappear.”
“That night?”
“Yes.”
Rosa felt sick.
“Then who died?”
Serena swallowed.
“His body double.”
Damon's hands clenched.
“Why?”
“Because Father knew Marco Bellini wanted control of everything.”
Rosa interrupted.
“What does Sophia have to do with this?”
Serena looked at the little girl.
“She's the legal heir.”
Damon stared.
“To what?”
“The Cain family trust.”
“But that's mine.”
“No.”
Serena shook her head.
“It belongs to Sophia.”
Damon's face became hard.
“How much?”
“A lot.”
“Numbers.”
“Over four hundred million dollars.”
Rosa nearly fell from her chair.
Damon didn't move.
“She has a target on her back because of money?”
“No.”
Serena shook her head.
“Money is only part of it.”
“What is the other part?”
“The trust contains names.”
“Whose names?”
“Judges. Politicians. Police officers. Businessmen. People who built their lives on Cain money.”
Damon looked at Rosa.
“This is why they want her.”
“And why did you hide her?”
Serena's voice broke.
“Because I thought I could protect her.”
“You lied to me.”
“I saved her.”
“You stole seven years from me.”
“I saved you too.”
Damon looked away.
Then Sophia walked toward Serena.
“Why did you make Mommy forget?”
Serena froze.
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
Rosa stood.
“What is she talking about?”
Serena shook her head.
“I didn't make you forget. The doctors did.”
“Because of the accident.”
“Yes.”
“Then who caused the accident?”
Serena looked at Damon.
“Father.”
The room went silent.
Damon stared.
“My own father tried to kill Rosa?”
“He needed everyone to believe Sophia was gone.”
Rosa felt tears burn her eyes.
“Why me?”
“Because you were the only person he couldn't control.”
Damon closed his eyes.
That sentence seemed to hurt him more than any accusation.
Nolan entered suddenly.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found something underground.”
“Where?”
“Behind the old wine room.”
Damon turned.
The four of them followed.
A hidden elevator descended beneath the estate.
The doors opened into a chamber filled with old files.
Photographs covered the walls.
Rosa saw her mother.
Damon's father.
Serena.
Sophia.
Even herself.
Someone had been watching them for years.
In the center sat a desk.
On it was a tape recorder.
Damon pressed play.
His father's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, Damon, then I made a mistake.”
Damon's face hardened.
“You were never meant to find the truth this way.”
The recording continued.
“The girl is not simply my granddaughter.”
A pause.
“She is the key to destroying everything I built.”
Rosa gripped the chair.
“I created a ledger of every man who worked for me. I wanted to control them.”
Damon whispered.
“Monster.”
His father's voice continued.
“But I learned too late that control creates enemies.”
Then another voice.
A woman's voice.
Rosa's mother.
“I will not let you use my granddaughter.”
Damon stared.
The recording showed a photograph.
Rosa's mother standing with Sophia as a baby.
The next recording began.
Her mother said, “Rosa doesn't remember because that's safer.”
Damon looked at Rosa.
Rosa's eyes filled with tears.
“She chose to forget me?”
“No,” Damon said.
“She chose to protect you.”
Another recording.
Her mother said:
“If anything happens to me, give the key to Rosa.”
The old key in Rosa's hand suddenly felt heavy.
Damon looked at it.
“That's it.”
“What?”
“The key.”
They searched the chamber.
A metal door stood at the back.
The key fit.
Inside was a safe.
But before Damon could open it, an alarm sounded.
Nolan checked his phone.
“Movement at the north gate.”
“How many?”
“Twenty.”
Damon looked at the cameras.
Black SUVs were entering the property.
Marco Bellini.
And someone else.
Damon zoomed the screen.
His face went completely still.
“That's impossible.”
Rosa looked.
A man stepped out of the lead vehicle.
Older.
Silver hair.
Same face as Damon.
Damon's father.
Rosa whispered.
“He's alive.”
The man looked directly into the camera.
Then smiled.
And behind him stood a woman holding a little boy.
Serena gasped.
“No.”
Damon turned.
“What?”
“That boy…”
The woman lifted him.
A familiar birthmark showed near his ear.
Damon's father had another grandchild.
May you like
And now Rosa understood.
Sophia wasn't the only heir.
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