CHAPTER FIVE: THE FORGOTTEN ESTATE
2058 Words
The journey to the original De Luca estate was unusually quiet.
Valentina sat in the back seat, staring through the window as the city slowly disappeared behind them.
Tall buildings became smaller.
Busy roads became empty.
Eventually, even the houses disappeared.
Only thick forests and narrow roads remained.
Marcus drove while Adrian sat beside Valentina.
For almost an hour, nobody spoke.
Valentina held her father's photograph tightly.
She had spent ten years imagining the truth.
Now she was finally close to it.
“Are you nervous?” Adrian asked.
Valentina looked at him.
“No.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You're lying.”
She gave him a small smile.
“Maybe.”
Adrian looked out the window.
“You don't have to prove anything today.”
“I do.”
“To yourself?”
“To my father.”
Adrian studied her.
“He would be proud of you.”
Valentina looked away.
“You didn't know him as well as I did.”
“No.”
“But you knew him differently.”
Adrian nodded.
“He trusted very few people.”
“And he trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian remained silent.
Valentina waited.
Finally, he said, “Because I kept a promise.”
“What promise?”
“To protect you.”
She looked at him.
“Even from yourself?”
“Sometimes.”
Valentina smiled faintly.
“I don't think you understand me very well.”
“Maybe not.”
“Then stop trying to protect me.”
Adrian looked at her.
“I'll try.”
Valentina knew that wasn't a promise.
---
Two hours later, the vehicle stopped.
Marcus turned off the engine.
“We're here.”
Valentina stepped outside.
The old De Luca estate stood at the edge of the forest.
It was enormous.
But it had clearly been abandoned for years.
The walls were covered in vines. Several windows were broken, and the iron gates were beginning to rust.
Valentina stared at the mansion.
“This was my grandfather's home?”
“Yes,” Marcus answered.
She walked toward the gate.
“I don't remember it.”
“You were very young when you last came here,” Adrian said.
Valentina looked at him.
“Were you here before?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“The night your father sent me away with you.”
She froze.
“This is where you brought me?”
Adrian nodded.
Valentina looked at the mansion again.
Suddenly, something inside her mind shifted.
She remembered a staircase.
A long hallway.
A room with a large fireplace.
And her father's voice.
Remember the house, Valentina. One day, it may save you.
She closed her eyes.
“What is it?” Adrian asked.
“I remember something.”
“What?”
“My father told me something about this place.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“What did he say?”
“I don't know.”
She opened her eyes.
“Not yet.”
Marcus unlocked the gate.
The three of them entered.
The silence was unsettling.
Their footsteps echoed through the courtyard.
Adrian looked around carefully.
“Stay close.”
Valentina ignored him.
She walked toward the main entrance.
The door was already unlocked.
She stopped.
“Someone has been here.”
Adrian examined the lock.
“Recently.”
Marcus looked around.
“There are fresh tire marks outside.”
Valentina's heart sank.
“We aren't the first ones here.”
“No,” Adrian said.
They entered the mansion.
Dust covered everything.
Furniture remained covered with old sheets.
Portraits hung on the walls.
Valentina walked slowly through the entrance hall.
Then she stopped.
A portrait caught her attention.
It showed her grandfather.
Beside him stood a younger Matteo.
And next to Matteo was Lorenzo.
But there was someone else.
A fourth man.
Valentina stared.
“Who is that?”
Adrian walked closer.
His expression changed.
“I don't know.”
Marcus looked at the portrait.
“I've seen him before.”
“Where?” Valentina asked.
Marcus hesitated.
“Old family records.”
Valentina turned toward him.
“What was his name?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I can't remember.”
Adrian studied the portrait.
“There is something wrong.”
“What?”
“The painting.”
He pointed toward the bottom corner.
The same rose symbol appeared there.
But underneath it was another mark.
A small number.
17.
Valentina remembered the letter.
“The truth is hidden where the family began.”
She looked around.
“Maybe the number means something.”
They searched the entrance hall.
Nothing.
They searched the library.
Nothing.
The old dining room.
Nothing.
Finally, Valentina entered her grandfather's study.
The room was covered in dust.
She walked toward the fireplace.
Something about it felt familiar.
She placed her hand against the stone.
Nothing happened.
Then she remembered the painting from her father's study.
The rose symbol.
She looked at the fireplace.
There it was.
A small rose carved into the stone.
Valentina pressed it.
A clicking sound came from inside the wall.
Everyone froze.
The fireplace shifted slightly.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a small metal box.
Valentina carefully removed it.
Adrian watched her.
“Don't open it yet.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Because we don't know what's inside.”
“My father left it here.”
“And someone else knew about this place.”
Valentina looked at the box.
“You're right.”
She placed it on the table.
Marcus examined it.
“No lock.”
Valentina opened the lid.
Inside was a collection of documents.
Old photographs.
A small notebook.
And a sealed envelope.
The envelope had her name written on it.
Valentina.
Her hands trembled.
She opened it.
The letter was from her father.
My little girl,
If you found this, then you are old enough to know the truth.
Valentina swallowed.
Adrian stood beside her.
She continued reading.
Our family has survived because we learned to recognize our enemies. But sometimes the enemy doesn't come from outside.
Sometimes he sits at the same table.
Valentina looked at Adrian.
She kept reading.
There is someone in this family who wants my empire.
He believes power belongs to whoever can take it.
I know what he has planned.
I also know I may not survive long enough to stop him.
Valentina's breathing became unsteady.
If I die, do not seek revenge blindly.
Find the evidence.
Find the person who knows what happened.
His name is—
The letter ended there.
The rest of the page had been torn away.
Valentina stared at it.
“No.”
She turned the page over.
Nothing.
“Who is he?” she whispered.
Adrian took the letter.
“There may be more.”
He examined the notebook.
Valentina opened it.
It contained names, dates, and financial transactions.
Some names were crossed out.
Others were marked with a rose symbol.
Then she saw one name that made her heart stop.
Lorenzo De Luca.
Next to his name was a date.
The date was two weeks before her father's death.
Valentina stared at it.
“What does this mean?”
Adrian looked at the notebook.
“I don't know yet.”
“Don't lie to me.”
“I'm not.”
She turned the page.
Another name appeared.
Adrian Moretti.
Valentina froze.
She looked at him.
“Why is your name here?”
Adrian's face became serious.
“I don't know.”
“Then why would my father write your name?”
“I told you. We worked together.”
“Were you involved in whatever happened to him?”
“No.”
She studied his face.
He didn't look away.
“I swear to you,” he said, “I never betrayed your father.”
Before Valentina could respond, they heard a noise.
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Everyone became silent.
Marcus reached for his weapon.
Adrian raised one hand.
“Stay here.”
He walked toward the staircase.
Valentina followed.
Adrian turned.
“I said stay here.”
“I heard you.”
“Then listen.”
“No.”
He stared at her.
Valentina crossed her arms.
“I'm done being left behind.”
Adrian sighed.
“Fine. Stay behind me.”
They climbed the stairs.
The hallway was empty.
A door at the end was slightly open.
Marcus moved toward it.
Adrian stopped him.
He pushed the door open.
Nothing.
The room appeared empty.
Then Valentina noticed something on the floor.
A photograph.
She picked it up.
It showed her father standing with Adrian.
But there was another person in the photograph.
The mysterious man from the family portrait.
Valentina turned it over.
There were four words written on the back.
The Fourth Rose Knows.
“What does that mean?” Marcus asked.
Before anyone could answer, the sound of a vehicle came from outside.
Adrian rushed toward the window.
“There are cars.”
“How many?” Marcus asked.
“Three.”
Valentina looked outside.
Several black vehicles had stopped near the gates.
Men began getting out.
Her stomach tightened.
“They found us.”
Adrian nodded.
“Everyone move.”
They hurried downstairs.
Marcus checked the back entrance.
“Blocked.”
Adrian looked around.
“There must be another exit.”
Valentina suddenly remembered something.
“The basement.”
Adrian looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“I remember my father taking me there once.”
She ran toward the kitchen.
Behind an old cabinet was a narrow door.
She opened it.
A staircase descended into darkness.
“Here.”
They hurried downstairs.
The basement was enormous.
Old crates filled the room.
Marcus closed the door behind them.
Above them, footsteps entered the mansion.
Valentina lowered her voice.
“What do we do now?”
Adrian looked around.
“We find another way out.”
Marcus began searching the walls.
Valentina looked at the notebook in her hands.
Something caught her attention.
A page had been folded.
She opened it.
A handwritten sentence appeared:
When the Fourth Rose blooms, the truth will return to the family.
Valentina frowned.
“What is the Fourth Rose?”
Adrian looked at the page.
His expression changed.
“What?”
“You said the rose symbol appeared on your family's documents.”
“Yes.”
“And my father called someone the Fourth Rose.”
Adrian nodded.
Valentina looked around the basement.
“Then maybe the Fourth Rose isn't a person.”
“What else could it be?”
She pointed toward the wall.
There were four rose symbols carved into the stone.
Three were faded.
But the fourth looked fresh.
Valentina touched it.
A hidden door opened.
Everyone froze.
Behind it was a narrow chamber.
Inside stood a wooden desk.
On the desk was a single object.
A black recorder.
Valentina walked toward it.
There was a note attached.
Play this when Valentina returns.
Her hands trembled.
She pressed the button.
Static filled the room.
Then her father's voice came through.
“Valentina…”
She stopped breathing.
Her father's voice continued.
“If you're hearing this, then I was right.”
A pause.
“They are coming for you.”
Valentina's eyes widened.
“Do not trust Lorenzo.”
Adrian looked at her.
Then Matteo said the words that changed everything.
“Lorenzo did not act alone.”
The recording stopped.
Silence filled the chamber.
Valentina stared at the recorder.
“Who was with him?”
Adrian looked toward the basement door.
Footsteps were getting closer.
“We need to go.”
Valentina grabbed the recorder.
“But we don't know who the other person is.”
Adrian took her hand and pulled her toward the hidden exit.
“We'll find out.”
As they disappeared into the passage, a shadow appeared at the entrance of the basement.
A man walked slowly into the room.
He looked at the empty chamber.
Then he smiled.
“They found the recording.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph.
It was the same photograph Valentina had found upstairs.
He stared at Adrian's face.
“Now the game begins.”
And somewhere deep beneath the old De Luca estate, the truth that Matteo had hidden for ten years had finally begun to wake up.
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