Chapter 7 - The Little Girl Remembered the Secret Passage My Father Had Hidden Beneath the MansionSofia led us to the old library.
She pointed at a painting.
“Daddy showed Mommy this.”
Behind the painting was a hidden switch.
A wall opened.
A staircase descended into darkness.
My father had built the passage decades earlier.
It led directly to the bunker.
Inside, we found my mother.
Alive.
Terrified.
But unharmed.
She hugged me.
Then she looked at Sofia.
“Who is she?”
“My father's old friend's daughter.”
My mother froze.
“Elena's child?”
“Yes.”
She began crying.
“I thought she was dead.”
I stared.
“What do you mean?”
My mother explained.
Elena had once been pregnant when my father discovered the conspiracy.
Sofia had been born in secret.
My father had protected both mother and child.
Then someone betrayed him.
That person was Matteo.
But the ledger was still missing.
My mother pointed toward an old metal box.
“Your father left this for you.”
Inside was a recording.
His voice filled the bunker.
“If you're hearing this, Matteo has returned.”
He paused.
“Trust the child.”
I looked at Sofia.
My father continued:
“She remembers what adults forget.”
Then the recording ended.
Sofia looked at me.
“I know where the ledger is.”
“Where?”
May you like
She pointed toward the oak tree.
“Under Grandpa's favorite tree.”
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