Chapter 2 - THE BLACK ENVELOPE WAS A WARNING
The first bullet came through the study door.
Luca threw himself over me.
Wood exploded above our heads.
I hit the floor hard enough to bite my tongue.
“Stay down.”
His voice was calm.
That frightened me.
People who sound calm during gunfire have survived too much gunfire.
Luca pulled a handgun from beneath his jacket.
Of course he had a gun.
I had lived in his house for three weeks and somehow still occasionally forgot exactly what kind of man paid my salary.
Another shot.
Luca fired twice.
A body fell outside.
I covered my ears.
“Sofia.”
The name escaped me.
Luca looked at me.
Everything changed.
We both moved.
He caught my arm.
“No.”
“She is upstairs.”
“My men—”
“Your head of security just got arrested in your dining room.”
His face hardened.
I regretted the words.
Not because they were cruel.
Because they were true.
Luca released me.
“Behind me.”
We entered the hallway.
Emergency lights flickered red.
Smoke drifted near the ceiling.
Men shouted downstairs.
I couldn't tell who belonged to Luca.
That was the problem with armed men in black suits.
They all looked exactly the same when trying to kill you.
We reached the stairs.
A man appeared below.
Luca fired.
The man disappeared.
I stared.
“Move.”
We ran upstairs.
Sofia's bedroom door was open.
My heart stopped.
“No.”
I ran.
Luca shouted my name.
I didn't care.
The bedroom was empty.
Blankets on the floor.
Bathroom door open.
Window closed.
“Sofia!”
Nothing.
Luca entered behind me.
He looked around.
Then at the closet.
Three lights.
Sofia had needed three lights.
The closet light was off.
I ran to it.
Opened the door.
Empty.
Luca's face became something terrible.
“Search the house.”
His voice thundered through the hallway.
Every surviving guard moved.
I stood in Sofia's bedroom.
Think.
Terrified wrong.
That was what I had recognized at the restaurant.
Sofia didn't respond to danger like other children.
She hid anger inside fear.
And fear inside rituals.
Three lights.
Peppermints.
Macaroni and cheese.
The booth.
I looked beneath the bed.
Nothing.
Then I remembered the thunderstorm.
Sofia had disappeared for twenty minutes.
I found her inside the laundry room.
Not hiding.
Counting.
Washing machines.
Four.
Dryers.
Four.
Cabinets.
Eight.
Even numbers.
Safe numbers.
I ran into the hallway.
“Claire!”
Luca followed.
“How many rooms are upstairs?”
“What?”
“Bedrooms.”
“Seven.”
“No.”
I kept moving.
“Where are the even rooms?”
He stared at me.
Then understood.
The east wing.
Four guest bedrooms.
We ran.
The second bedroom was empty.
Fourth.
Empty.
I opened the sixth door.
Nothing.
“There are only four rooms.”
Luca said it behind me.
“No.”
I stared at the wall.
“There should be another.”
“What?”
“Look at the windows outside. This hallway is longer.”
Luca moved beside me.
He touched the paneling.
Then pushed.
A hidden door opened.
Sofia sat inside a narrow service passage.
A man stood over her.
He wore black gloves.
I screamed.
Luca fired.
The man dropped.
Sofia ran.
I caught her.
She hit me so hard we both fell.
“Claire!”
“I have you.”
“He found me!”
“I have you.”
Luca approached.
Sofia flinched.
He stopped.
Pain crossed his face.
I held out one hand.
“Slow.”
The mafia boss obeyed the waitress.
One step.
Then another.
He knelt.
Sofia stared at him.
“Daddy.”
He pulled us both against him.
For several seconds, none of us moved.
Then Sofia whispered something.
“The black paper.”
I looked down.
“What?”
“The man said to ask Claire about the black paper.”
Luca slowly looked at me.
My stomach dropped.
The envelope.
Five thousand dollars.
Tomorrow.
8 PM.
Come alone.
I had assumed Luca sent it.
“Luca.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What black paper?”
“The envelope in my locker.”
“What envelope?”
The room seemed to tilt.
“You didn't leave it?”
“No.”
I felt sick.
“The money?”
“What money?”
“Five thousand dollars.”
Luca stood.
“Who knew about the offer?”
“Nobody.”
“Who told you to come to my house?”
“The card.”
His expression darkened.
I understood.
I had not accidentally entered Sofia's life.
Someone had placed me there.
The question was why.
And suddenly, the money in my bank account felt less like a miracle.
May you like
It felt like bait.
[The story continues through Chapters 3–12 with the investigation into Claire's connection to Elena, Victor Hale's conspiracy, Sofia's buried memories, Luca's betrayal from inside his own family, the truth behind the black envelope, the attack on the Moretti estate, Claire's abduction, Sofia's disappearance, the final confrontation, and a complete happy ending.
