Chapter 7 - The Call From The Woman Who Disappeared
The phone kept ringing.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody wanted to.
The hidden room felt smaller with every second.
Dante stared at the screen.
Isabella.
A name that belonged to a past he had buried.
A name that should have disappeared forever.
Mara looked at him.
"Are you going to answer?"
Dante didn’t move.
For the first time since she met him, Mara saw hesitation.
Not anger.
Not suspicion.
Fear.
"Who is she?" Mara asked quietly.
Dante looked at the phone.
"Someone who knew me before everyone else did."
The ringing stopped.
The screen went dark.
Nobody spoke.
Then it started again.
Dante reached forward.
Marcus immediately grabbed his arm.
"Don’t."
Dante looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because if she wanted to talk, she would have called your personal phone."
Marcus pointed at the hidden device.
"That phone was placed here."
"So?"
"So someone wants us to answer."
Dante pulled his arm away.
"Maybe she’s trying to help."
Marcus’s expression hardened.
"That’s what everyone says before they hurt you."
The phone continued ringing.
Mara watched Dante.
She understood something.
Dante wanted to believe Isabella was alive.
Because if she was alive, then maybe not everything he lost was gone forever.
But hope was dangerous.
Especially for someone like him.
Dante picked up the phone.
Everyone became silent.
"Hello?"
No answer.
Only breathing.
Then a woman whispered.
"Dante."
His entire body froze.
Mara saw it.
The recognition.
The pain.
"Isabella?"
A long silence followed.
Then the woman spoke.
"You shouldn’t have opened that room."
Dante looked around.
"Where are you?"
"Far away."
"Why did you call?"
The woman’s voice became softer.
"Because I ran out of time."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Ask her who she works for."
Dante ignored him.
"Isabella, tell me the truth."
A quiet laugh came through the phone.
A sad laugh.
"The truth is the reason you’re sitting in that chair."
Dante’s face changed.
Mara felt the tension rise.
"You know what happened."
"Yes."
"Then tell me."
The woman hesitated.
"I didn’t betray you."
Dante closed his eyes.
"Someone did."
"Yes."
"Who?"
The line became silent.
Too long.
Then Isabella whispered:
"The person you trusted most."
Dante looked at Clara.
Clara immediately shook her head.
"No."
Mara noticed.
Clara wasn’t angry.
She was terrified.
"Isabella."
Dante’s voice was low.
"Did Clara do this?"
The phone went silent.
That silence answered too much.
Clara stepped forward.
"Dante, don’t listen to her."
The woman on the phone heard.
"Clara is there?"
Nobody moved.
Isabella continued.
"Of course she is."
Dante looked at Clara.
"Why?"
Clara’s eyes filled with tears.
"Because I came here to protect you."
Isabella’s voice became cold.
"She always says that."
Clara grabbed the phone from Dante’s hand.
"You don’t get to do this."
The woman on the other end laughed quietly.
"You still pretend you’re innocent."
Clara’s face changed.
"Isabella..."
"You were there."
The room became silent.
Mara looked at Clara.
"What does she mean?"
Clara lowered the phone.
Nobody answered.
Dante moved closer.
"Tell me."
Clara looked at him.
"I was there that night."
Mara felt a chill.
"The accident?"
Clara nodded slowly.
Dante stared.
"You told me you arrived after."
"I lied."
The words hit him harder than any accusation.
"Why?"
Clara looked broken.
"Because I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
She looked at him.
"Of losing you."
Dante’s expression hardened.
"You already did."
Clara looked down.
The phone slipped slightly in her hand.
Then Isabella spoke again.
"Dante."
He took the phone.
"What?"
"You need to find the blue room."
Marcus immediately looked up.
"What blue room?"
Isabella continued.
"The room your father hid beneath the old east wing."
Dante frowned.
"There is no east wing."
"Exactly."
The call suddenly became distorted.
Static filled the room.
Dante held the phone tighter.
"Isabella."
Her voice returned.
"Do not trust the documents."
Mara frowned.
"What documents?"
Isabella continued.
"The files your father left."
Dante looked toward the shelves.
"Why?"
"Because they were changed."
Marcus stepped forward.
"What?"
The woman’s voice became weaker.
"Someone knew you would find them."
Dante’s eyes narrowed.
"Who changed them?"
A pause.
Then:
"The same person who is standing beside you."
The call ended.
Everyone froze.
Slowly, Dante looked around.
Mara.
Marcus.
Clara.
Three people.
Three possibilities.
Three secrets.
The phone went dead.
Marcus immediately moved toward the documents.
"We need to leave."
Dante looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because Isabella didn’t call to warn us."
Marcus picked up one of the files.
"She called because she knew someone was listening."
A sound came from outside.
Footsteps.
Multiple people.
Approaching.
Mara looked toward the hidden entrance.
"The guards?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
Dante’s expression changed.
"Then who?"
Marcus reached for the weapon hidden under his jacket.
"People who shouldn’t know this room exists."
The footsteps stopped.
Right outside.
Nobody spoke.
Then the hidden door began moving.
Slowly.
Dante positioned himself in front of Mara.
A strange reaction.
Protecting her.
Even though he was the one everyone wanted to destroy.
The door opened halfway.
A figure stood in the darkness.
Mara couldn’t see the face.
Only the silhouette.
Then the person spoke.
"Dante."
His blood ran cold.
Because the voice was familiar.
Not Isabella.
Not Marcus.
Not Clara.
Someone else.
Someone who had been missing for years.
May you like
The person stepped into the light.
And Dante whispered the name of the one person he never thought he would see again.
