Chapter 2 - The Locked Hallway

Alejandro ran toward the sound.

“Elena, where?”

She grabbed his arm.

For the first time since he had entered the house, she touched him willingly.

“Not through the kitchen.”

Alejandro stared at her.

“Why?”

“Cameras.”

Vivian’s voice floated from the staircase behind them.

“You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Alejandro ignored her.

He had spent most of the previous two years traveling for business because being inside the mansion without Elena had become unbearable.

Vivian had convinced him the staff needed restructuring.

She had replaced almost everyone.

New housekeepers.

New guards.

New gardeners.

Even the security company had changed.

Alejandro had approved the invoices without examining the details.

Now every decision looked different.

Elena led him through the formal dining room.

She stopped beside an enormous painting of Alejandro’s grandfather.

Her fingers moved behind the frame.

A narrow panel clicked open.

Alejandro stared.

He had lived in the mansion since childhood.

He had never known the passage existed.

“Elena discovered this during renovations,” Vivian called from behind them.

Alejandro turned.

Vivian had followed.

“She became obsessed with secret rooms after her father died.”

Elena’s face tightened.

“You told me my husband wanted me dead.”

Alejandro’s attention snapped toward her.

Vivian sighed.

“She was unstable.”

“You showed me letters.”

Elena’s voice cracked.

“Letters with his signature.”

Alejandro stared at Vivian.

“I never wrote letters.”

Vivian said nothing.

Alejandro stepped through the hidden doorway.

The passage smelled of damp concrete and bleach.

A narrow staircase descended underground.

At the bottom was a corridor illuminated by weak yellow lights.

Three doors lined the wall.

One was open.

Two were secured with electronic locks.

Alejandro approached the first locked door.

“Who’s inside?”

Elena began shaking.

“I don’t know anymore.”

He placed his hand against the door.

“Hello?”

Silence.

Then a tiny voice answered.

“Mom?”

Alejandro turned toward Elena.

Her knees almost gave out.

A second voice came from behind the door.

“Is the bad lady gone?”

Alejandro’s blood turned cold.

He looked at Vivian.

She had stopped at the top of the stairs.

For the first time, she looked frightened.

Alejandro grabbed a metal chair and slammed it against the electronic keypad.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The lock sparked.

The door opened.

Two children were huddled beneath a blanket.

A little boy and a girl.

Neither looked older than six.

Elena collapsed beside them.

“Oh, God.”

The boy threw his arms around her.

Alejandro stared at Elena.

She was crying so hard she could barely speak.

Then the little girl looked at Alejandro.

She had Elena’s eyes.

And Alejandro’s unmistakable dimple.

“Mommy.”

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The girl pointed at him.

“Is that our daddy?”