The Valdez Estate
1038 Words
Elena stared at the message on Dante’s phone.
BRING ELENA ALONE, OR MARIA DIES.
Her fingers tightened around the black rose pendant.
“They have my mother.”
Dante nodded slowly.
“And they want you to come alone.”
“Then I’ll go.”
“No.”
Elena looked at him.
“What?”
“You’re not going there alone.”
“But they’ll kill her if I don’t.”
“And they’ll kill you if you do.”
Elena stepped closer.
“You don’t understand. Maria is the only person who knows what happened to my family.”
Dante’s jaw tightened.
“I understand more than you think.”
“What does that mean?”
For a moment, Dante said nothing.
Then he looked away.
“I knew your father.”
Elena froze.
“You never told me that.”
“There were things I was ordered to keep secret.”
“By whom?”
Dante’s eyes met hers.
“Your father.”
Elena’s heart pounded.
“What did he ask you to hide?”
Dante reached into his pocket and pulled out the small golden key from the black box.
“He told me that if anything happened to him, I was supposed to protect you until you were old enough to know the truth.”
Elena stared at him.
“Then why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because knowing the truth could have gotten you killed.”
Elena looked at the photograph of her mother.
“I’m already being hunted.”
Dante didn’t argue.
Instead, he walked toward the door.
“We leave now.”
“Where?”
“The Valdez estate.”
Elena followed him.
“But they told me to come alone.”
Dante glanced back at her.
“They expect you to obey.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“I’ve never been good at following orders.”
The drive to the old Valdez estate was silent.
Elena watched the dark road through the window.
The farther they traveled, the more familiar the surroundings became.
She had never visited the estate before.
At least, that was what she believed.
But something about the road felt strangely familiar.
A sudden image flashed through her mind.
A little girl running through a garden.
A woman calling her name.
A man laughing.
Then.
A gunshot.
Elena gasped.
Dante immediately looked at her.
“What happened?”
“I saw something.”
“What?”
“A little girl.”
Dante’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“What did she look like?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“She was wearing a white dress.”
Dante went silent.
“Dante?”
“That was you.”
Elena opened her eyes.
“What?”
“You were the little girl.”
Her breathing stopped.
“I’ve been here before?”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t remember.”
“That’s exactly what they were afraid of.”
Before Elena could ask another question, the old estate appeared in the distance.
It stood behind tall iron gates, surrounded by trees and darkness.
Several black vehicles were parked outside.
Men with guns guarded the entrance.
Elena swallowed.
“There are so many of them.”
Dante stopped the car.
“We go through the back.”
“What about the guards?”
“I’ll handle them.”
“No.”
Elena reached for his arm.
“I’m coming with you.”
Dante looked at her.
“This is dangerous.”
“So is everything that has happened since I met you.”
For a moment, they stared at each other.
Finally, Dante nodded.
“Stay close.”
They slipped through the trees and reached the back entrance.
Dante quietly took down two guards before they could react.
Elena followed him inside.
The hallway was covered in dust.
Old family portraits hung on the walls.
Elena stopped in front of one.
Her eyes widened.
It was a portrait of her parents.
But beside them stood a young Maria.
And a young Dante.
Elena slowly touched the frame.
“Why was everyone here?”
Dante didn’t answer.
A noise came from upstairs.
Elena looked up.
“Maria?”
Dante raised his gun.
They moved carefully toward the second floor.
Then they heard a woman crying.
“Please…”
Elena recognized the voice.
“Mom.”
She rushed forward.
Dante grabbed her hand.
“Wait.”
But Elena pulled away.
“Mom!”
A door suddenly opened.
Maria stood inside.
Alive.
Elena ran toward her.
“Maria!”
Maria caught her in a tight embrace.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Elena pulled back.
“You're my mother. How could I leave you?”
Maria’s eyes filled with tears.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain everything.”
Maria looked at Dante.
Her expression changed.
“You brought him.”
Dante stepped forward.
“She needed to know.”
Maria shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Elena frowned.
“Not yet? I’ve spent eighteen years living without answers!”
Maria took Elena’s hands.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From who?”
Maria looked toward the hallway.
“From the man who destroyed our family.”
Suddenly, the lights turned on.
A slow clap echoed through the room.
Elena froze.
Dante raised his gun.
A man stepped out from the shadows.
His face was still hidden.
“You finally came home, Elena.”
Maria’s face turned pale.
Dante moved in front of Elena.
“Who are you?”
The man laughed softly.
“That’s the question she should be asking.”
Elena stared at him.
“What do you want?”
The man looked directly at her black rose pendant.
“That belongs to me.”
Elena instinctively covered it with her hand.
“No.”
The man smiled.
“Then perhaps your mother should tell you why you have it.”
Maria closed her eyes.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Elena…”
Her voice trembled.
“There’s something you need to remember.”
The man stepped closer.
“You’re not just the last Valdez heir.”
He paused.
“You are the reason your family was destroyed.”
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