Chapter 8 : The Forgotten room
795 Words
Ava read the sentence again.
If you want the truth, don't trust Dante Valente.
The words seemed to shift beneath her fingers.
She glanced toward the library doors.
Empty.
The tall windows were shut, the curtains motionless. Morning sunlight spilled across the polished floor, making everything appear ordinary. Almost painfully ordinary.
But Ava knew better now.
Someone had been inside this room.
Someone who knew her name.
She folded the paper quickly and slipped it into the pocket of her sweater.
A soft sound came from behind the bookshelves.
Ava froze.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
She took one cautious step forward.
Then another.
The library stretched around her in long rows of shelves, each packed with old books. At the far end, a narrow door stood slightly open.
She had never noticed it before.
Ava approached it slowly.
Before she could touch the handle, a voice spoke behind her.
"You shouldn't be here."
She spun around.
A servant stood near the entrance.
It was Mrs. Bell, the oldest housekeeper in the mansion. Her usually calm expression looked strangely frightened.
"I was just reading," Ava said.
Mrs. Bell's eyes moved toward the door.
"Not there."
Ava frowned.
"Why?"
The older woman lowered her voice.
"Because some doors are closed for a reason."
"Is that what everyone keeps saying?"
Mrs. Bell looked at her.
For a moment, something almost like pity crossed her face.
Then she turned away.
"You should ask Mr. Valente about the room."
"I tried."
Mrs. Bell stopped.
"And?"
"He told me it should stay forgotten."
The housekeeper's face went pale.
"Then forget it."
She walked away.
Ava watched her disappear through the doorway.
That only made everything worse.
She turned back toward the narrow door.
The opening was gone.
Someone had closed it.
Ava stared at it.
She was certain she hadn't imagined it.
A faint vibration came from her pocket.
Her phone.
She pulled it out.
One new message.
No number.
You found the note.
Ava's stomach tightened.
She typed quickly.
Who are you?
The message showed as delivered.
Then another appeared.
Someone who knows what happened here.
Her fingers went cold.
What happened?
The reply came almost immediately.
Ask Dante about Elena.
Ava stared at the name.
Elena.
She had never heard Dante mention anyone by that name.
Before she could respond, the messages disappeared.
The entire conversation vanished from her phone.
Ava stared at the empty screen.
A shadow crossed the doorway.
She looked up.
Dante stood there.
He didn't speak.
His eyes dropped briefly to her phone.
Then back to her face.
"What are you doing?"
"Reading."
"Here?"
"Yes."
His gaze remained fixed on her.
"You look nervous."
"I'm not."
"You're lying."
Ava's heart jumped.
She hated how easily he noticed things.
"I found something."
"What?"
She hesitated.
Then she remembered the note.
Don't trust Dante Valente.
She couldn't tell him.
Not yet.
"Nothing."
Dante studied her for several seconds.
Then he stepped closer.
"Who has been talking to you?"
"No one."
"That answer came too quickly."
Ava crossed her arms.
"Why are you so interested?"
His expression hardened.
"Because this house isn't safe when people start asking questions."
"That's exactly what everyone keeps telling me."
"And you keep ignoring them."
"Maybe because nobody will tell me the truth."
Silence.
Something flickered across his face.
Regret.
Fear.
Ava noticed it.
"Who is Elena?"
Dante went completely still.
The silence that followed felt heavier than anything he'd said before.
His jaw tightened.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"So you know her."
"Ava."
"Who is she?"
He looked away.
"She's someone from the past."
"Your past?"
He didn't answer.
"Is she alive?"
Dante's eyes snapped back to hers.
"Don't ask questions about Elena."
"Why?"
"Because some answers don't give you closure."
His voice was quieter now.
"They give you more questions."
He turned and walked toward the library doors.
Ava followed.
"Dante."
He stopped.
She hesitated.
"What happened to her?"
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked over his shoulder.
"She disappeared."
Ava felt a chill run through her.
"How?"
Dante's expression became unreadable.
"That's the part nobody agrees on."
Then he walked away.
Ava remained in the library.
Her mind raced.
Elena.
The locked room.
The mysterious figure.
The anonymous messages.
And the warning.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the note again.
This time, she noticed something she hadn't seen before.
There was a tiny symbol beneath the sentence.
A circle.
Inside it, a single letter.
E.
Ava stared at it.
Then somewhere upstairs, a door slammed.
She looked toward the ceiling.
A second sound followed.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Coming down the stairs.
Ava stepped backward.
The library door moved.
Someone was standing on the other side.
She held her breath.
The handle began to turn.
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