Chapter 7 - The Room Beneath the Mansion
The message was still on my phone.
"Come to the basement alone."
I stared at the screen.
My father's name was still there.
Impossible.
A dead man had just sent me a message.
Again.
The room felt smaller.
Nobody spoke.
Cassian looked at my phone.
Then at me.
"Give it to me."
I handed it over.
He checked the number.
His expression changed.
"It can't be traced."
Thomas stepped closer.
"That's impossible."
Cassian looked at him.
"Nothing is impossible tonight."
My mother moved toward me.
"No."
Her voice was shaking.
"Elena, you can't go."
I looked at her.
"My father sent it."
She closed her eyes.
"That's not your father."
The words hurt.
But I knew she was right.
Or at least...
she believed she was.
"Then who is it?"
Nobody answered.
That was becoming the most dangerous thing about the truth.
Every answer created three more questions.
Rosa quietly walked closer.
She held my hand.
"Don't go alone."
I looked down at her.
The little girl who had discovered a secret everyone else tried to hide.
She was scared.
But she was still standing.
"I won't."
Cassian looked at me immediately.
"You said alone."
I looked at him.
"I said I won't go alone."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Cassian gave a small nod.
"I’m coming."
Thomas stepped forward.
"No."
Cassian turned.
"Excuse me?"
"If someone wants Elena in the basement, they expect you to follow."
"Good."
Cassian’s voice became cold.
"Then they will know I came."
Thomas shook his head.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
Thomas looked toward the basement door.
"The basement is where your father kept things nobody was supposed to find."
Cassian stared at him.
"Things like what?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Things that could destroy the Renzi family."
The words hung in the air.
I looked at Cassian.
"And you're still going?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"Yes."
There was something in his voice.
Not anger.
Not pride.
Responsibility.
Like no matter how painful the truth became...
he needed to know it.
We moved through the mansion.
No one spoke.
The halls felt different now.
Every painting.
Every locked door.
Every shadow.
Everything looked like it was hiding something.
The basement entrance was behind an old bookshelf in the west wing.
I had worked in this mansion for two years.
I had cleaned this hallway hundreds of times.
I never knew there was another door.
Cassian moved the bookshelf aside.
A metal door appeared.
Old.
Heavy.
Locked.
My bracelet began to feel warm against my wrist.
I looked down.
A small symbol on the metal door matched the symbol on my bracelet.
Cassian noticed.
"Your father built this."
I shook my head.
"I don't remember."
My mother stood behind us.
"You were too young."
I turned.
"You knew?"
Her eyes filled with sadness.
"Yes."
Again.
Another secret.
Another thing everyone knew except me.
I looked away.
Cassian noticed.
He didn't say anything.
He simply placed his hand on the door.
"Ready?"
No.
I wasn't.
But I nodded.
The bracelet unlocked the door.
A quiet click echoed through the hallway.
The door opened.
A cold wave of air came from inside.
The basement was not what I expected.
It wasn't storage.
It wasn't a wine cellar.
It was a room.
A hidden room.
There were shelves filled with documents.
Old photographs.
Hard drives.
Boxes.
A wall covered with names.
I walked closer.
And stopped.
Because my name was there.
Elena Moretti.
Written at the center.
Around it were dates.
Locations.
People.
My entire life.
Recorded.
My breathing became shallow.
"They were watching me."
My voice was barely audible.
Cassian stepped beside me.
"No."
He looked at the files.
"They were protecting you."
I turned toward him.
"Does it really matter?"
He didn't answer.
Because it didn't.
Being protected and being controlled felt almost the same.
I picked up a file.
My hands shook.
Inside were documents about my childhood.
School records.
Medical records.
Photos.
Then I saw something.
A photograph.
Me.
Age five.
Standing with my parents.
And beside us...
Cassian's father.
I looked at Cassian.
"Why was he with my family?"
He took the photo.
His expression changed.
"Because they knew each other."
Thomas nodded.
"Your father and his father were partners."
Cassian looked at him.
"Partners in what?"
Thomas walked toward the wall.
"In building the organization."
I stared.
"So my family was part of this?"
My mother stepped closer.
"Not the way you think."
"Then explain."
She looked at the names on the wall.
"Your father wanted to destroy what they built."
Cassian looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because he realized the organization had changed."
Thomas continued.
"It stopped being about protecting people."
He looked at Cassian.
"It became about power."
The words hit him.
Because Cassian knew.
He had spent years running the same world his father wanted to destroy.
I looked at the wall again.
There were hundreds of names.
Some crossed out.
Some circled.
Some marked with dates.
Then I saw one name.
A name that made my blood run cold.
Isabella Renzi.
Next to her name was one word.
"Compromised."
Cassian saw it too.
His face changed.
"No."
My mother looked away.
Cassian grabbed the file attached to the name.
He opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Isabella meeting people.
Passing documents.
Talking to strangers.
Evidence.
Too much evidence.
Cassian's hands tightened.
"She betrayed me."
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew if that was true.
Or if this was another lie.
I looked closer.
The dates.
The meetings.
Something felt wrong.
The final photograph was different.
It showed Isabella crying.
Not smiling.
Not planning.
Crying.
And underneath the picture was a handwritten note.
"She was forced."
Cassian froze.
Someone had written another message beneath it.
Different handwriting.
"Don't trust the evidence."
The room went silent.
A sound came from the back of the basement.
A door closing.
Everyone turned.
Cassian immediately raised his weapon.
"Who is there?"
No answer.
He moved forward.
I followed.
The hidden room had another door.
A smaller one.
Almost invisible.
My bracelet began glowing faintly.
I don't know how.
I don't know why.
But it reacted.
Cassian looked at me.
"Your father knew you would find this."
The door opened.
Inside was a small room.
Empty.
Except for one thing.
A chair.
And a recording device on it.
Cassian pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a voice.
My father's voice.
"Elena."
My knees almost gave out.
Not because I heard him.
Because I had been waiting six years to hear that voice again.
"If you are hearing this..."
A pause.
"I am either dead..."
Another pause.
"Or I failed to keep you safe."
My mother covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
"I need you to understand something."
A click.
Then:
"Everyone who told you they were protecting you was also hiding something from you."
Cassian looked at Thomas.
Thomas looked away.
My father's voice continued.
"Especially Cassian Renzi."
The room became silent.
Cassian froze.
The recording continued.
"Because the person who destroyed our families..."
A pause.
"The person who ordered the attack..."
The sound of a door opening came through the recording.
My father's voice changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Wait."
A second voice appeared.
A voice we all recognized.
Then my father's recording ended.
May you like
Because the last thing captured was Isabella whispering:
"You're too late."
