Chapter 4 - The Night Someone Entered Sophie's Room|
Anna Miller had never been so frightened of losing a job.
Not because she loved working in the Moretti mansion.
Although the salary was better than anything she'd earned before.
Not because the staff quarters were beautiful.
They weren't.
But because the job came with a small two-bedroom apartment on the estate.
And for the first time since her husband's death, Anna could provide Sophie with a home where the electricity stayed on and the refrigerator wasn't empty.
She couldn't afford to lose that.
Yet now her daughter had become involved in something dangerous.
Anna sat beside Sophie's bed, watching the little girl color a picture of a castle.
“Sophie, sweetheart?”
The child looked up.
“Yes, Mommy?”
“Did you tell anyone else about Mr. Moretti's neck?”
Sophie shook her head.
“Just you.”
“And Mr. Moretti?”
“And the old man.”
Anna froze.
“What old man?”
“The one with silver hair.”
Victor.
Her stomach tightened.
“When did you talk to him?”
Sophie kept coloring.
“He asked me what I saw.”
Anna felt cold all over.
“What did you tell him?”
“That Mr. Moretti had a metal bug.”
“And then?”
Sophie frowned.
“He said bugs are silly.”
Anna swallowed.
“Did he ask anything else?”
Sophie nodded.
“He asked if I'd drawn it.”
Anna's hands began trembling.
“What did you say?”
“I said yes.”
“And?”
“He told me to give him the picture.”
Anna closed her eyes.
That explained the missing drawing.
Victor had taken it.
But why?
She looked at her daughter.
“Did you give it to him?”
Sophie shook her head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it was for Mr. Moretti.”
Anna pulled Sophie into her arms.
The child squirmed.
“Mommy, you're squeezing.”
Anna loosened her hold.
“Sorry, sweetheart.”
Sophie touched her cheek.
“Are you scared?”
Anna forced a smile.
“No.”
It was the first lie she'd told her daughter that day.
And it wouldn't be the last.
At nine that night, Anna locked their apartment door.
She checked the windows.
Then put Sophie to bed.
The rain had returned.
Wind moved through the trees beyond the staff residence.
At ten thirty, Anna heard footsteps in the hallway.
She froze.
The steps stopped outside her door.
Then came a knock.
Three slow taps.
Anna approached cautiously.
“Who is it?”
“Estate security.”
A man's voice.
“Mr. Hale asked us to check on your daughter.”
Anna felt her stomach twist.
“She's asleep.”
“We need to speak with you.”
“About what?”
A pause.
“The incident in the library.”
Anna gripped the door handle.
She remembered Victor's expression when Sophie showed the drawing.
The way his face changed.
The way he tried to dismiss everything.
“Please speak with Mr. Moretti,” she said.
Another pause.
Then the man replied, “Mr. Moretti isn't available.”
Anna stepped back.
“I'll speak with Mrs. Romano tomorrow.”
The voice changed.
“Mrs. Miller, open the door.”
She didn't.
Instead, she reached for her phone.
She called the mansion's main security office.
A guard answered.
Anna asked whether anyone had been assigned to visit the staff residence.
The guard sounded confused.
“No, ma'am.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Then who's outside my door?”
Silence.
Then the guard said, “Stay inside. I'm sending someone.”
Anna moved away from the entrance.
But before she reached Sophie's bedroom, the door handle turned.
Once.
Twice.
Then something scraped against the lock.
Anna grabbed her daughter.
Sophie woke with a frightened gasp.
“Mommy?”
“It's okay. We need to go.”
Anna carried her toward the small bathroom at the rear of the apartment.
She locked the door.
Then called the estate's emergency number.
This time, Dante answered.
“Anna?”
She had never heard his voice over the phone before.
“Mr. Moretti, someone's trying to get into our apartment.”
Silence.
Then his voice hardened.
“Where are you?”
“In the bathroom with Sophie.”
“Stay there.”
“Sir—”
“I'm sending help. Don't open the door until you hear my voice or police identify themselves.”
The call ended.
Anna held Sophie tightly.
Outside, she heard movement.
A muffled curse.
Then running footsteps.
Several minutes later, voices filled the hallway.
Someone knocked on the apartment door.
“Anna? It's Dante.”
She opened the bathroom door cautiously.
Then checked through the front door's peephole.
Dante stood outside with two guards.
He wore dark pants and a white shirt, his sleeves rolled up.
His tattoos were visible across his chest and forearms.
He looked furious.
But when he saw Anna holding Sophie, his expression softened.
“Are you both all right?”
Anna nodded shakily.
“I think so.”
Dante looked toward the damaged lock.
Then at his security chief.
“Who authorized this visit?”
The guard shook his head.
“Nobody through our office.”
Dante's jaw tightened.
“Preserve the camera footage. Call the police.”
Anna stared.
The police.
Inside a Moretti estate.
That alone told her how serious the situation had become.
Sophie leaned against her mother's shoulder.
Then whispered, “Mr. Dante?”
He looked down.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Did the bad man come for my picture?”
Dante went very still.
Anna closed her eyes.
The child had said it aloud.
Dante looked toward the hallway.
Then crouched in front of Sophie.
“What bad man?”
Sophie pointed toward the mansion.
“The old one.”
Anna swallowed.
“Victor?”
Sophie nodded.
Dante's face became unreadable.
He didn't accuse Victor.
Didn't shout.
He simply stood.
Then turned toward his security chief.
“From now on, nobody approaches Anna or Sophie without their permission. And Victor Hale is not to enter the staff residence.”
The guard nodded.
“Yes, boss.”
Dante looked at Anna.
“You can stay in the east guest wing tonight. There's a separate suite with a private entrance. The choice is yours.”
Anna hesitated.
She was frightened.
Exhausted.
But she could see Sophie trembling.
“We'll go.”
Dante nodded.
“Good.”
As they walked toward the mansion, Sophie reached into her pajama pocket.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Then held it toward Dante.
“I made another picture.”
He stopped.
She smiled shyly.
“This one's better.”
Dante unfolded it.
And felt the blood drain from his face.
This drawing showed the same oval shape.
But Sophie had added something new.
A small black line extending from one side.
At the end was a tiny square.
Dante didn't recognize the object.
But he recognized something else.
The shape resembled an item in a classified inventory he'd reviewed after the bombing.
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A medical monitoring component that had supposedly been destroyed with the vehicle.
And suddenly, the unexplained fragment in his neck seemed connected to evidence he'd been told no longer existed.
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