Chapter 5 - The Room That Had Been Locked for Years
Adrien spent the next hour searching for Daniel.
He wasn't in the house.
His car was gone.
His office was empty.
The security cameras had mysteriously stopped recording twenty minutes earlier.
Adrien stood in the security room staring at the blank monitors.
"Who shut them off?"
The head of security lowered his eyes.
"I don't know."
Adrien turned.
"You have ten seconds."
The man swallowed.
"Mr. Moretti..."
"Ten."
"Someone used an administrative override."
"Whose?"
Silence.
"Nine."
The security chief looked terrified.
"Mr. Daniel's."
Adrien's jaw tightened.
"Where did he go?"
"We don't know."
Adrien walked away.
He returned to the main hallway.
Lily was sitting beside Elena on a sofa.
She looked sleepy.
Adrien stopped.
For the first time, he noticed how small she really was.
She had been walking through his enormous house as though she belonged there.
Perhaps she did.
He sat beside her.
"Are you hungry?"
Lily nodded.
"What do you want?"
"Pancakes."
Adrien almost smiled.
"It is midnight."
"Pancakes."
Elena laughed softly despite herself.
Adrien looked at her.
"Make pancakes."
Elena nodded.
She stood.
Lily reached for Adrien's hand.
He looked down.
"Come with me."
She nodded.
Adrien followed her toward the kitchen.
For twenty minutes, the mansion felt almost normal.
Lily sat at the kitchen island.
Adrien watched Elena prepare food.
The little girl talked about butterflies.
Adrien listened.
Then Lily asked:
"Are you my brother?"
Adrien froze.
Elena dropped the spoon.
Lily looked at him innocently.
"Are you?"
Adrien sat beside her.
"Who told you that?"
"Mama."
"When?"
"Before we came."
Adrien swallowed.
"Yes."
Lily smiled.
"My brother."
She wrapped her arms around his waist.
Adrien didn't move at first.
Then he slowly placed one hand around her.
Something inside him broke.
He had spent years believing he had no family left.
Yet this tiny girl had been waiting for him.
He closed his eyes.
"I've got you."
Lily whispered:
"Don't let them take me."
Adrien opened his eyes.
"Who?"
She looked toward the hallway.
"Uncle Daniel."
Adrien's expression hardened.
"What did he do?"
Lily shook her head.
"He told Mama to be quiet."
Adrien stood.
The kitchen door opened.
Collins entered.
"Sir."
Adrien looked at him.
"What?"
"We found Daniel's car."
"Where?"
"At the old chapel."
Adrien's eyes narrowed.
"The chapel hasn't been used in years."
Collins nodded.
"He left something there."
Adrien turned toward Elena.
"Stay here."
Elena nodded.
Adrien left with Collins.
The old chapel stood at the edge of the estate grounds.
The rain had become heavier.
Adrien entered.
The doors creaked.
Inside, everything was dark.
A single candle burned near the altar.
Beside it was a box.
Adrien opened it.
Inside were documents.
Birth records.
Medical records.
Photographs.
And one envelope.
His name was written on it.
Adrien opened it.
"Adrien,
If you found this, then Daniel has finally made his move."
Adrien read the rest.
"Do not trust the story your father told you about Sophia."
Another line.
"Your mother never abandoned you."
Adrien's breathing stopped.
Then:
"She was protecting you from the same man who is now looking for Lily."
Adrien stared at the page.
Daniel.
His uncle.
The man who had been beside the family for decades.
He read the final line.
"Daniel was the one who ordered Sophia to disappear."
Adrien closed his eyes.
The pieces were coming together.
But there was something else.
A photograph showed Sophia standing outside a small house.
A handwritten address was on the back.
Adrien recognized it.
He had visited that address once as a child.
His father had taken him there.
He had never known why.
Adrien folded the photograph.
Then his phone rang.
It was Elena.
Adrien answered.
Her voice was shaking.
"Mr. Moretti..."
"What happened?"
"Lily is gone."
Adrien's entire body went cold.
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"Where are you?"
"At the mansion."
"Who else is there?"
Elena began crying.
"Nobody."
Then Adrien heard another voice behind her.
A man's voice.
Calm.
Familiar.
Daniel.
"Hello, nephew."
Adrien stared into the darkness of the chapel.
May you like
Daniel continued:
"If you want the girl alive, come alone."
