Chapter 6 - The Woman Hidden In The Chapel
The first thing I heard was my name.
Not shouted.
Not spoken loudly.
Whispered.
"Evelyn..."
Every instinct in my body told me to run.
But I didn't.
Because I had spent my entire life running from things I didn't understand.
From Sebastian.
From his family.
From the feeling that I was never enough.
And now I was standing inside a mansion filled with secrets, surrounded by people who knew more about my life than I did.
I was tired of running.
The hallway remained completely dark.
The emergency lights had not turned on.
The only light came from the faint glow of Dante's phone screen.
He stood beside me.
Still.
Listening.
Then he said one word.
"Enzo."
A second later, the sound of footsteps moved through the darkness.
Not one person.
Several.
Guards appeared from both ends of the hallway.
Dante's entire posture changed.
The father disappeared.
The mafia boss returned.
"Secure the children."
His voice was quiet.
But everyone moved immediately.
I grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
He looked at me.
"The voice."
"I heard it."
"Who was it?"
He didn't answer.
And that scared me.
Because Dante Bellandi knew exactly how dangerous every person around him could be.
But right now, he looked uncertain.
"I know that voice," he finally said.
My heart tightened.
"Who?"
Before he could answer, the lights came back.
The hallway was empty.
No one.
Nothing.
Except one thing.
A small white envelope lying on the floor.
Dante walked toward it.
I noticed something.
He wasn't afraid of the envelope.
He was afraid of what was inside.
He picked it up carefully.
The seal was broken.
Someone had already opened it.
"Someone was inside the house."
Enzo's face became serious.
"Impossible."
Dante looked at him.
"Nothing is impossible."
He opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
He looked at it.
Then handed it to me.
I stared.
My hands became cold.
It was a picture of my mother.
But she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was Sofia Bellandi.
And another person.
A young woman.
Someone I recognized.
But couldn't place.
"Who is she?"
Dante looked away.
"Your aunt."
I froze.
"I don't have an aunt."
Dante looked at me.
"That's what you were told."
The room seemed to tilt.
"My mother had a sister?"
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
Silence.
Again.
That silence.
The answer I didn't want.
"Dead?"
Dante shook his head.
"No."
My eyes narrowed.
"Then where?"
He looked toward the old hallway leading to the chapel.
"Nobody knows."
I stared at the photograph.
My entire life suddenly felt like a story someone else had written.
My mother had secrets.
My family had secrets.
Even my divorce was connected to something bigger.
I looked at Dante.
"How long have you known about me?"
He didn't avoid the question.
"Since before you came here."
The honesty hurt.
"How long?"
"Six months."
I stepped back.
"Six months?"
"I was investigating the Crane family."
"And you found me."
"Yes."
"So when I walked through those gates..."
"You were not random."
The words landed harder than I expected.
I looked at him.
"Did you hire me because of my connection to Sofia?"
Dante didn't answer.
And that was enough.
I felt anger rise.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"You let me walk into this house without telling me."
"I was trying to protect you."
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because everyone always used that excuse.
Protect you.
Protect you.
Protect you.
But nobody ever asked what I wanted.
"You don't get to decide my life because you think you know better."
Dante went silent.
For a moment, I saw something unexpected.
Guilt.
"I know."
That answer surprised me.
He didn't argue.
Didn't defend himself.
"I made mistakes."
I looked at him.
"Dante Bellandi admitting mistakes?"
A small expression crossed his face.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
"Only when necessary."
For a moment, the tension broke.
Then Livia screamed upstairs.
Everything changed.
We ran.
The children were in the nursery.
Matteo stood in front of his siblings.
A chess piece in his hand like it was a weapon.
Luca was holding Pearl.
And Livia was pointing toward the window.
"Someone was there."
Dante immediately moved to her.
"Who?"
Livia shook her head.
"I don't know."
I walked closer.
"What did you see?"
She looked at me.
"A woman."
My breathing stopped.
"What woman?"
Livia touched her necklace.
The necklace she had said disappeared.
"The woman who gave me this."
Dante froze.
"What?"
Livia looked at him.
"She said Mommy wanted me to keep it."
The room became silent.
Dante slowly knelt.
"Livia."
His voice changed.
"Where is the necklace?"
She looked confused.
"I lost it."
"When?"
"Before Miss Evelyn came."
Dante stood.
"Search the room."
The guards immediately began checking.
I looked at Dante.
"Why is the necklace important?"
He hesitated.
Then answered.
"Because Sofia wore the same one."
My eyes widened.
"What?"
"It wasn't jewelry."
He looked at the children.
"It was a key."
A key.
To what?
Before I could ask, Enzo returned.
He looked disturbed.
"Don."
Dante turned.
"What?"
Enzo held something in his hand.
A small silver necklace.
With a hidden compartment.
Dante took it.
His expression changed immediately.
Because inside the compartment was something tiny.
A memory card.
My heart stopped.
Not again.
A hidden message.
A secret left behind.
Just like everything else.
Dante looked at me.
"We need to see what's on this."
The old chapel was opened for the first time in years.
I understood immediately why.
The room felt untouched.
Candles.
Old wood.
Stone walls.
And scars.
Bullet marks.
Everywhere.
Dante inserted the memory card into an old computer system hidden behind a wooden panel.
I stared.
"You had a computer in here?"
"I had a reason."
The screen flickered.
A video appeared.
Sofia Bellandi.
My breath caught.
She looked older than in the photographs.
Tired.
But alive.
Dante stopped moving.
Because he had not seen her face in years.
The video began.
"Sofia?"
His voice was barely audible.
The woman on the screen looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this, then something happened."
She paused.
"I don't know who found this."
Then her eyes moved.
Like she was looking at someone.
Someone beside the camera.
"If Evelyn is there..."
My entire body froze.
She knew my name.
"Then my plan failed."
Dante stepped closer.
The video continued.
"Evelyn, your mother tried to protect you."
I felt tears forming.
Not because I was sad.
Because I was angry.
Everyone had known.
Everyone except me.
Sofia continued.
"The person who destroyed our families is closer than you think."
The screen glitched.
Then she said something that made Dante's face lose all color.
"The person you trust most is the one who betrayed us."
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Dante.
Then Enzo.
Then the guards.
Everyone looked suspicious.
Everyone.
Dante reached for the computer.
But before he touched it, another sound came from behind us.
A slow clap.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
We turned.
The chapel door was open.
A woman stood there.
Older.
Tired.
Holding a gun.
Dante went completely still.
Because he knew her.
May you like
And then she said the name that made him drop the memory card.
"Sofia."
