Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The voice came through the speaker again.
"Vincent..."
I stopped breathing.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it every morning.
Every night.
Every time I closed my eyes and remembered the life I lost.
It was the voice of my wife.
Sofia's mother.
The woman I buried seven years ago.
My hand moved toward the monitor without thinking.
"No..."
The word escaped my mouth.
Behind me, Dante said nothing.
And that scared me more than anything.
Because Dante always had something to say.
An explanation.
An excuse.
A reason.
But now he was silent.
Because he knew.
He knew whose voice it was.
I turned toward him slowly.
"You knew."
His face changed.
"Vincent..."
"You knew she was alive?"
The color disappeared from his face.
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Too desperately.
I stared at him.
"Then why did you look afraid before I even asked?"
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
The security monitor continued showing Sofia's old bedroom.
The camera angle was different now.
Someone was standing near the window.
The figure was hidden in the darkness.
But I could see a hand resting on the old wooden dresser.
A hand holding something.
A small picture frame.
My daughter's picture frame.
The one that used to sit beside her bed.
I walked closer.
"Who is in that room?"
Dante whispered:
"I don't know."
I turned sharply.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not."
"Then tell me why my dead wife's voice just came from my daughter's bedroom."
Dante looked away.
And that was when I saw it.
The fear.
Not guilt.
Not confusion.
Fear.
He was afraid of what was happening.
I pressed the security button beside the door.
Nothing happened.
Locked.
The system refused to open.
"Someone locked us in."
Dante walked toward the control panel.
"That's not possible."
I looked at him.
"You said that already."
He ignored me.
His fingers moved across the screen.
Then he froze.
"What?"
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
The security display showed one message.
ACCESS DENIED.
But below it was a name.
The person who had activated the lockdown.
I read it.
And my heart stopped.
SOFIA MORETTI.
I stepped back.
"No."
Dante stared at the screen.
His lips moved.
But no sound came out.
Because the system was recognizing my dead daughter.
A person who should not exist.
I grabbed the monitor.
"This is fake."
Dante looked at me.
"Vincent..."
"No."
I shook my head.
"There is an explanation."
But even as I said it, I knew I was lying.
Because deep inside, I wanted it to be true.
I wanted Sofia to have left something behind.
I wanted her voice to be real.
I wanted seven years of pain to finally have an answer.
The monitor flickered.
The bedroom camera moved closer.
The person near the window stepped forward.
Slowly.
The light from outside touched their face.
I felt my knees weaken.
It was not Sofia.
It was not her mother.
It was someone else.
Someone I knew.
Someone who had been in my house the night Sofia died.
Elena.
My housekeeper.
Ellie's mother.
She was standing in Sofia's bedroom.
Holding the pink notebook.
I looked at Dante.
"Why is Elena there?"
He closed his eyes.
"I don't know."
The lie was obvious.
I walked toward him.
"You do."
He didn't move.
"You know everything."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"I know some things."
"Then start talking."
He looked at the monitor.
"Elena wasn't just your housekeeper."
I waited.
"She was Sofia's friend."
I frowned.
"My daughter was eight years old."
"I know."
"Why would an eight-year-old need a secret friend?"
Dante looked at me.
"Because she knew something was wrong."
The words hit me again.
Wrong.
Everyone had known.
Everyone except me.
I felt anger rising.
"How long?"
Dante looked down.
"Months."
"Months?"
I grabbed the edge of the desk.
"My daughter was investigating something for months, and nobody told me?"
Dante didn't defend himself.
That made it worse.
"What did she find?"
He hesitated.
Then he answered.
"The truth about Sofia's accident."
I stared at him.
"Say that again."
"Her death wasn't random."
The room became silent.
Seven years of memories rushed through my mind.
The hospital.
The phone call.
The funeral.
The empty bedroom.
The day doctors told me there was nothing they could do.
I had spent years blaming myself.
I had replayed every moment.
Every decision.
Every missed sign.
But now...
Now I wondered if someone had taken my daughter from me.
"Who?"
Dante looked at the monitor.
"Elena knows."
My eyes moved back to the screen.
Elena was sitting on Sofia's old bed.
She opened the notebook.
She looked directly at the camera.
Like she knew we were watching.
Then she spoke.
"I know you're there, Vincent."
My blood turned cold.
The security speakers carried her voice throughout the room.
"Please listen before Dante stops you."
Dante stepped toward the monitor.
"Elena."
She continued.
"I tried to tell you seven years ago."
I froze.
"About what?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"About what really happened that night."
I grabbed the speaker.
"Elena!"
She looked up.
"I am sorry, Vincent."
Her voice broke.
"I should have been stronger."
I felt my anger disappear for a moment.
Because she sounded broken.
Not guilty.
Broken.
"Where are you?"
She looked around the room.
"Somewhere I should never have been able to enter."
The camera moved.
It showed a small hidden compartment behind Sofia's bookshelf.
My heart started racing.
Because I knew that bookshelf.
Sofia used to hide her drawings there.
Elena reached inside.
She pulled out a small box.
A wooden box.
The same one Sofia used to keep her treasures.
She opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
And a small recording device.
My hands became cold.
Because I recognized that box.
I bought it for Sofia's birthday.
She kept everything important inside.
Elena picked up one photograph.
She looked directly at the camera.
"This is the person Sofia was afraid of."
She turned the photograph around.
The image was blurry.
But I could see enough.
A person standing beside Sofia.
Someone from our family.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who had been with us for years.
Dante moved closer to the screen.
"No."
I looked at him.
"You know who that is."
He didn't answer.
"Who?"
His face collapsed.
"I thought..."
"What?"
"I thought she never found out."
My heartbeat increased.
"Found out what?"
Dante looked at me.
And before he could speak, the security speakers made a sharp sound.
A new voice interrupted.
A man's voice.
A voice I had never heard before.
"Vincent Moretti."
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
"You finally opened the box."
Dante stepped backward.
Because he recognized the voice.
I saw it.
The terror in his eyes.
"Who is that?"
Dante whispered:
"No..."
The voice continued.
"Your daughter was smarter than all of us."
The monitor went black.
Then one final image appeared.
A live camera feed from the front gate.
Someone was standing outside my mansion.
Waiting.
Holding Sofia's original death report.
May you like
And the person slowly raised their head toward the camera.
It was the last person I expected to see.
