Chapter 3 - The Room Beneath the Basement
The cabinet door opened by itself.
I watched it move.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Like something inside had been waiting for us to notice it.
Nobody spoke.
Even the guards who had looked fearless moments earlier stepped back.
Titan stood in front of the cabinet, his body tense, his ears raised.
He wasn’t afraid.
He was warning us.
Adrian moved first.
"Everyone out."
The guards looked confused.
"Boss—"
"I said out."
His voice ended the conversation.
One by one, they left the basement.
The heavy door closed behind them.
Leaving only Adrian, Titan, and me.
I stared at him.
"You just sent your protection away."
His eyes stayed on the cabinet.
"Because whatever is inside that room is more dangerous than whoever is outside."
I didn’t like that answer.
Not because it sounded impossible.
Because I believed him.
Adrian walked toward the cabinet.
The metal door was barely open now.
A cold draft came from inside.
I stepped closer.
"There’s a room behind it?"
He nodded.
"Nobody was supposed to know about it."
I looked at him.
"But Titan did."
Adrian didn’t respond.
That silence told me enough.
The dog wasn’t just an attack dog.
He was a secret keeper.
Adrian pulled the door wider.
Behind it was a narrow passage hidden inside the basement wall.
Old bricks.
Dusty pipes.
A small light flickering somewhere deep inside.
I felt my heartbeat change.
Because this wasn’t built recently.
This was old.
Hidden.
Planned.
"How long has this been here?"
Adrian’s face hardened.
"Since before I owned this house."
I looked at him.
"Then why is Titan protecting it?"
He looked down at the dog.
For a moment, Adrian looked less like a powerful businessman and more like someone standing in front of a memory he hated.
"Because my father built this place."
The words surprised me.
"Your father?"
Adrian stepped into the passage.
I followed.
I didn’t know why.
Maybe because every answer led to another question.
Maybe because my father’s name was somehow connected to the man I had spent my entire life fearing.
The passage was narrow.
The walls were covered with scratches and old marks.
Titan walked ahead of us.
Not like a trained animal.
Like he knew exactly where he was going.
After twenty steps, we reached another door.
This one was wooden.
Old.
Almost forgotten.
Adrian stopped.
His hand rested on the handle.
He didn’t open it.
"What?"
I asked.
He looked at me.
"My father died because of what was behind this door."
I froze.
"You said my father saved your life."
"He did."
"Then what happened?"
Adrian looked away.
"My father and Daniel Reed found something they weren’t supposed to find."
The door remained between us.
A barrier holding years of secrets.
"What was it?"
Adrian’s expression changed.
"Proof."
"Proof of what?"
He looked at me.
"That the people we trusted were never on our side."
Before I could answer, Titan pushed forward.
The door opened slightly.
Adrian grabbed it immediately.
Too late.
The room inside was already visible.
A small hidden office.
A desk.
Old files.
Photographs.
A wall covered with names.
My breath stopped.
Because I recognized one of them.
Daniel Reed.
My father.
I walked inside.
The room smelled like dust and old paper.
Everything looked untouched.
Like someone had left in a hurry.
There was a photograph sitting on the desk.
I picked it up.
My hands started shaking.
It was my father.
But he wasn’t alone.
Standing beside him was a much younger Adrian Voss.
And between them was Titan.
Except Titan wasn’t grown.
He was a puppy.
I looked at Adrian.
"You knew him."
He didn’t deny it.
"Yes."
"How?"
Adrian slowly walked closer.
"Your father trained Titan."
I stared at the dog.
The same dog everyone believed was born dangerous.
The same dog that had trusted me.
"He wasn’t yours?"
Adrian shook his head.
"Not originally."
"Then why did you have him?"
His eyes darkened.
"Because after your father disappeared, Titan was the only thing he left behind."
My throat tightened.
"You knew my father disappeared."
"Yes."
"And you never told me?"
Adrian looked at me.
"You never knew my name."
That hurt more than I expected.
Because he was right.
Before tonight, Adrian Voss was just a terrifying name.
A man from newspaper headlines.
A stranger.
I had never imagined he was connected to the missing piece of my life.
I looked through the files on the desk.
Most were old.
Names.
Dates.
Locations.
Then I found one folder.
My name was written on it.
I stopped breathing.
Adrian saw it.
"Don’t open that."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because I don’t know what’s inside."
That was the first honest answer he had given me.
I opened it.
Inside was a single page.
A handwritten note.
The handwriting was familiar.
Too familiar.
My father’s handwriting.
My fingers trembled.
I read the first line.
"To my daughter, if Adrian Voss finds you, it means I failed."
I looked up.
Adrian went completely still.
I continued reading.
"If you are reading this, do not trust anyone wearing the Voss name."
The room became silent.
I slowly lowered the paper.
Adrian’s face had changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
Because he had just read those words too.
"You knew?"
I whispered.
He looked at the note.
"No."
"Then why did my father warn me about you?"
Adrian didn’t answer.
For the first time, he looked lost.
The man who controlled an entire city.
The man everyone feared.
Had no answer.
Titan suddenly moved.
The dog walked toward Adrian.
Then he placed his head against his hand.
Adrian looked down.
Confused.
Almost hurt.
Because even Titan didn’t believe the warning.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Not the guards.
Too quiet.
Too careful.
Adrian immediately grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.
The change was instant.
The vulnerable man disappeared.
The mafia boss returned.
Someone was inside the basement.
But nobody had opened the door.
Adrian reached for his weapon.
"Stay here."
I whispered.
"Who is it?"
His eyes stayed locked on the entrance.
"The person who wanted you to find this room."
The footsteps stopped.
Right outside the hidden office.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
A voice I had heard before.
A voice that made Adrian freeze.
"Adrian."
His grip tightened.
Because he recognized the voice.
May you like
Then the person outside said my name.
And the hidden door slowly opened from the other side.
