Chapter 4 - THE ROOM HIS BROTHER NEVER LEFT
Mateo's younger brother, Luca Vital, had died seventeen years earlier.
Officially, it was a boating accident.
Unofficially, Mateo had always believed something was wrong.
Luca had been nineteen.
Brilliant.
Reckless.
And obsessed with exposing corruption inside the shipping industry.
Three weeks before his death, he'd told Mateo:
“If anything happens to me, look for the blue room.”
Mateo had searched.
Warehouses.
Offices.
Storage facilities.
Nothing.
Eventually, he'd convinced himself Luca had been speaking metaphorically.
Now Sophia had repeated the exact phrase.
Mateo stood near the window, trying to control his breathing.
Sophia watched him.
“What's wrong?”
He turned.
“Where did your father get that pendant?”
She frowned.
“I don't know.”
“Did he ever explain the engraving?”
“No.”
Mateo stared.
“Did you ever ask?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Sophia swallowed.
“He said it was an old family joke.”
Mateo looked away.
His hands were shaking.
Sophia noticed.
For three years, she'd never seen him lose control.
Not once.
Now he looked like a man standing at the edge of something terrible.
“Mateo?”
He turned.
She stepped closer.
“Are you okay?”
He laughed bitterly.
“No.”
She hesitated.
Then reached for his hand.
He stared at her fingers.
She squeezed gently.
“You don't have to explain.”
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, he let himself hold her hand.
Then he whispered:
“My brother died looking for that room.”
Sophia's face changed.
“What?”
Mateo opened his eyes.
“Luca Vital.”
She stared.
“I know that name.”
His heart stopped.
“From where?”
Sophia swallowed.
“My father used to talk about him.”
Mateo stepped closer.
“What did he say?”
She looked frightened.
“That Luca was a problem.”
Mateo's voice lowered.
“What else?”
Sophia hesitated.
May you like
Then whispered:
“He said some problems have to be buried before they grow.”
