CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISSING KEY
1927 Words
The hidden passage was darker than Valentina remembered.
Adrian walked ahead, his footsteps almost silent against the stone floor. Marcus followed behind them, constantly checking over his shoulder.
Valentina kept her eyes on Adrian.
His words continued to bother her.
Especially not me.
She didn't know whether he was warning her or threatening her.
Probably both.
They reached the end of the passage and Adrian pushed open a heavy metal door.
Cold night air rushed inside.
They stepped into a narrow alley behind the Black Rose Club.
Marcus immediately looked around.
“It's clear.”
Adrian nodded.
A black vehicle waited nearby.
Valentina stopped.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“I have a home.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Your home isn't safe anymore.”
“My father's house?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Lorenzo took the key.”
Valentina crossed her arms.
“You still haven't explained what the key opens.”
Adrian's expression remained unreadable.
“I told you. I don't know.”
“Then how can you be certain it's important?”
“Because your father gave it to me himself.”
He opened the car door.
“Get in.”
Valentina didn't move.
“You're very comfortable giving orders.”
“And you're very comfortable ignoring them.”
Marcus almost smiled.
Valentina noticed.
“What's funny?”
“Nothing,” Marcus said quickly.
She entered the vehicle.
Adrian sat beside her.
Marcus took the driver's seat.
The car pulled away from the alley.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Valentina watched the city pass through the window.
Her thoughts were racing.
Lorenzo had taken the key.
Someone had attacked the Black Rose Club.
Her father's letter had warned her about betrayal.
And Adrian seemed to know much more than he was willing to say.
Finally, she turned toward him.
“How long have you known I was alive?”
Adrian looked straight ahead.
“Since the night you disappeared.”
Valentina frowned.
“You knew where I was?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you come for me?”
“Because I promised your father I wouldn't.”
She looked confused.
“He wanted me to stay away from the mafia?”
“He wanted you to have a normal life.”
Valentina looked out the window.
“A normal life.”
She almost laughed.
“While my family controlled a criminal empire?”
“Your father wanted something different for you.”
“And you obeyed him for ten years?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian finally looked at her.
“Because Matteo De Luca saved my life once.”
Valentina was surprised.
“My father?”
Adrian nodded.
“When I was seventeen, my father was killed. I had nowhere to go. Matteo took me in.”
Valentina listened carefully.
“He taught me everything I know about the business. But more importantly, he treated me like family.”
“Then why didn't he tell me about you?”
“He wanted to protect you.”
Valentina looked down.
There were so many pieces of her childhood she had never understood.
The car suddenly slowed.
Marcus looked into the rearview mirror.
“We have company.”
Adrian turned.
A dark vehicle was following them.
“Lose them.”
Marcus increased the speed.
Valentina's heart began beating faster.
“Who are they?”
“We don't know.”
“Could they be after the key?”
“Maybe.”
Adrian reached into his jacket.
Valentina immediately noticed the weapon but said nothing.
The car behind them came closer.
Marcus turned sharply onto another street.
The pursuing vehicle followed.
“Definitely not a coincidence,” Marcus said.
Adrian looked at Valentina.
“Stay down.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know.”
“Then—”
“Please.”
The seriousness in his voice made her stop.
She lowered herself slightly.
The car raced through the streets before Marcus finally turned into an underground parking area.
He switched off the lights.
The pursuing vehicle continued past the entrance.
Everyone remained silent.
After several seconds, Marcus whispered,
“They're gone.”
Adrian relaxed slightly.
Valentina sat upright.
“Where are we?”
“My private residence.”
She looked around.
“You have a residence underneath a parking garage?”
“Not exactly.”
He stepped out.
Valentina followed.
They entered an elevator hidden behind a concrete wall.
Marcus entered a code.
The elevator descended.
When the doors opened, Valentina stared.
The place looked nothing like the dark world she had expected.
It was modern, quiet, and heavily secured.
There was a living room, a kitchen, several offices, and a long hallway.
Adrian walked inside.
“You'll stay here tonight.”
Valentina looked at him.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm going back to the estate.”
“You're not.”
“You can't keep me here.”
“I'm not keeping you here.”
“Then what?”
“I'm keeping you alive.”
Valentina stared at him.
Before she could respond, Adrian's phone rang.
He answered.
“Speak.”
Marcus watched his expression change.
“What?”
A pause.
“Are you certain?”
Another pause.
Adrian ended the call.
“What happened?” Valentina asked.
He looked at her.
“Someone broke into your father's study.”
Valentina immediately understood.
“The box.”
“It's gone.”
She stepped forward.
“What?”
“The black box has been taken.”
“But Lorenzo already took the key.”
Adrian nodded.
“That means whoever took the box doesn't have the key.”
Valentina's mind raced.
“Then why take it?”
“Because they believe it contains something else.”
“Something else?”
Adrian looked at Marcus.
Marcus handed him a small photograph.
Adrian gave it to Valentina.
It showed her father's desk.
The black box was missing.
But behind the desk was something Valentina hadn't noticed before.
A painting.
She frowned.
“That painting.”
Adrian nodded.
“Do you recognize it?”
“It was always in my father's study.”
“Look closely.”
Valentina examined the photograph.
The painting showed an old mansion surrounded by trees.
Then she noticed something.
A small symbol was carved into the bottom corner.
A rose.
She remembered it.
Her grandfather had used the same symbol on old family documents.
“The family seal.”
Adrian nodded.
“Exactly.”
Valentina looked at him.
“My father said the truth was hidden where the family began.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“You think he meant the old De Luca estate.”
“The original estate.”
“Where is it?”
Valentina shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Marcus spoke.
“I do.”
Both of them turned toward him.
“The old estate was abandoned after Matteo took control of the family.”
“Where?”
“Outside the city.”
Adrian became thoughtful.
“Is it still standing?”
Marcus nodded.
“As far as I know.”
Valentina looked at Adrian.
“We need to go there.”
“No.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Because that's exactly where someone expects you to go.”
“But my father's message—”
“Could be a trap.”
“You said the truth might be there.”
“I said it was possible.”
Valentina stepped closer.
“You spent ten years protecting me from the mafia. Fine. But I'm not twelve anymore.”
Adrian remained silent.
“I can't keep running from my past.”
“You don't have to.”
“Then help me face it.”
Their eyes met.
For the first time, Adrian seemed to understand that the girl he had saved ten years ago was truly gone.
Valentina wasn't asking permission.
She had already made her decision.
Adrian finally nodded.
“We leave at dawn.”
---
Back at the De Luca estate, Lorenzo stood inside his office.
The missing key lay on his desk.
He stared at it.
His hands were shaking.
The door opened.
A man walked inside.
“You found it,” the man said.
Lorenzo looked up.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
The man walked closer.
“Does Valentina know?”
“No.”
“And Adrian?”
“Unfortunately.”
The man's expression hardened.
“That changes everything.”
Lorenzo stood.
“We need to move quickly.”
“Where is the girl?”
“With Adrian.”
The man cursed under his breath.
“Then we have a problem.”
Lorenzo looked at the key.
“What exactly does this open?”
The man smiled.
“You don't know?”
“No.”
“Then perhaps your brother kept more secrets than you realized.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“My brother is dead.”
“Are you sure?”
Lorenzo froze.
The man leaned closer.
“Because if Matteo left that key for Valentina, then there's a possibility he knew he was going to die.”
“And?”
“And perhaps he didn't die the way everyone thinks.”
Lorenzo's face became pale.
“That's impossible.”
“Is it?”
The man turned toward the door.
“Find the original estate.”
“Why?”
“Because that's where Matteo hid the evidence.”
Lorenzo grabbed his arm.
“What evidence?”
The man looked at him.
“Proof of who ordered the attack.”
Lorenzo released him.
For years, he had believed the secret was buried with Matteo.
Now he realized something terrifying.
Maybe Matteo had prepared for his own death.
Maybe the old mafia boss had left behind enough evidence to destroy everyone who had betrayed him.
Including Lorenzo.
---
Dawn came quickly.
Valentina stood in Adrian's underground residence, staring at a map.
Marcus pointed to a location.
“The original De Luca estate is here.”
Valentina studied it.
“How long will it take?”
“About two hours.”
Adrian entered the room.
“We're leaving.”
Valentina picked up her coat.
Before they left, she looked at Adrian.
“One question.”
“What?”
“Why did my father trust you with my life?”
Adrian looked at her for a long moment.
“Because he knew I would never betray him.”
Valentina held his gaze.
“And will you betray me?”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Then he said quietly,
“If I ever do, you shouldn't forgive me.”
She didn't know what to make of that answer.
They left.
The vehicle disappeared into the early morning traffic.
Neither Valentina nor Adrian noticed the black car parked across the street.
Inside, a man watched them leave.
He picked up his phone.
“They're heading to the original estate.”
A voice answered.
“Good.”
“Should we stop them?”
“No.”
The man smiled.
“Let them find the truth.”
He ended the call.
Then he looked at the old photograph of Matteo De Luca.
“You should have destroyed it when you had the chance.”
Meanwhile, Valentina watched the city disappear behind her.
She had spent ten years searching for the truth.
Now the truth was waiting for her at the place where her family's story had begun.
And somewhere inside that abandoned estate was the answer to the question that had haunted her since childhood:
Who really betrayed her father?
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