Chapter 9 - THE NIGHT THE ESTATE WENT DARK
The power failed at 11:42 p.m.
Every light in the Moretti estate went out.
The chandeliers.
The hallway lamps.
The security monitors.
For one second, the mansion was completely dark.
Then emergency lighting flickered on.
Gabriel was already moving.
“Backup systems?”
A guard answered through his radio.
“Not responding.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“That shouldn't be possible.”
Alessandro stood in his study.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE PILL.
He stared.
Then called Gabriel.
“Someone's inside.”
At the temporary apartment, Elena received a call from Marisol.
“Don't panic,” her sister said.
Elena's stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
“Someone came to the building asking about you.”
Elena stood.
“Who?”
“A man in a dark suit.”
“Did he say his name?”
“No.”
Elena looked toward Sophia's bedroom.
Her daughter was asleep.
Marisol continued.
“He asked whether Sophia was staying here.”
Elena felt cold.
At the estate, Gabriel discovered that someone had accessed the backup electrical room using an old security credential.
The credential belonged to a former employee.
A man dismissed six months earlier.
But the access log showed the credential had been reactivated that afternoon.
Alessandro understood.
Someone was testing the estate's defenses.
Perhaps preparing to destroy evidence.
Perhaps trying to frighten him.
Police were notified.
The grounds were searched.
Investigators found signs of forced access near the backup generator.
No intruder was located.
At two in the morning, Alessandro received another message.
This time, it contained a photograph.
Sophia standing beside Elena outside the police station.
Taken the night she had escaped.
Beneath it were four words.
CHILDREN SHOULD STAY QUIET.
Alessandro stared at the screen.
His expression changed.
Then he called Detective Shaw.
“Someone is threatening a child.”
His voice was steady.
But his hands were shaking.
May you like
For the first time in years, Alessandro Moretti was not afraid for himself.
He was afraid for a little girl who had trusted him enough to tell the truth.
