Chapter 3 - THE BRONZE KEY
Sophia wanted to throw the key into the river.
Every instinct told her to take Lily and leave the estate immediately.
But another part of her knew running might be exactly what Valentina expected.
If Valentina truly controlled people inside Moretti International, Sophia had no idea how far that control reached.
She could not risk walking blindly into danger with Lily beside her.
So she hid the bronze key inside the lining of her housekeeping cart.
Then she began watching.
For three days, Sophia noticed things she had ignored before.
Security guards changed shifts without signing the normal logs.
Black SUVs arrived after midnight.
Boxes marked as imported wine were carried into a storage building instead of the wine cellar.
Victor Kane frequently entered the private chapel at the western edge of the property.
No one attended services there anymore.
Lorenzo’s grandfather had built the chapel decades earlier.
It remained locked except during family memorials.
On Friday afternoon, Sophia saw Victor leave the chapel.
He looked both directions before walking away.
Sophia waited ten minutes.
Then she approached the door.
The bronze key fit.
Her hand trembled as she turned it.
The lock clicked.
Inside, the chapel smelled like dust and old wood.
Sunlight passed through stained glass and painted blue and red shapes across the floor.
Sophia walked slowly toward the altar.
Nothing appeared unusual.
Then she saw the same symbol carved into the wooden panel beneath a statue.
A cross.
Three waves.
Sophia inserted the key.
A hidden latch released.
The wooden panel moved inward.
Behind it was a narrow stone staircase descending beneath the chapel.
Sophia stared into the darkness.
She should have walked away.
Instead, she turned on the flashlight on her phone.
The staircase led to a steel door.
The bronze key opened that too.
Sophia entered a room filled with filing cabinets, computer equipment, shipping ledgers, passports, and stacks of cash.
Her breath caught.
She picked up the nearest folder.
Photographs of containers.
Dock numbers.
Names.
Payments.
One document carried Lorenzo Moretti’s signature.
Sophia looked closer.
The signature was fake.
She took photographs with her phone.
Then she heard footsteps above.
Sophia froze.
Someone had entered the chapel.
She turned off her flashlight.
The footsteps moved toward the hidden staircase.
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Then Valentina’s voice came through the darkness.
“I know you’re down there, Sophia.”
