Chapter 2 - THE VOICE OF A DEAD MAN
For three years, I had remembered Miguel's voice more clearly than his face.
That was the cruelty of grief.
Photographs became strange after enough time passed. You stared at them so often that the image began replacing the memory.
But a voice stayed alive.
The way Miguel rolled his r's when he was teasing me.
The low laugh that started in his chest.
The soft way he said mi vida when he thought I was asleep.
And now that voice was coming from inside a hidden tunnel beneath the mansion where I worked.
"Miguel?" I whispered.
Dante turned sharply.
"You know him?"
I couldn't answer.
From the darkness came another laugh.
"She knows me very well."
My knees weakened.
Sophie looked up at me.
"Mama?"
I pressed her face against my shoulder.
Dante stepped between us and the opening.
"Come out where I can see you."
A pause.
Then the man answered.
"Still giving orders, Dante?"
Bruno growled.
Dante's security team arrived moments later.
Marcus Hale, his chief of security, led three guards into the corridor.
Dante pointed toward the tunnel.
"Someone's inside. Secure the exterior exits. Don't let him reach the cottage."
Marcus nodded.
But I noticed something strange.
He didn't look surprised.
Not by the tunnel.
Not by the voice.
Not even when Dante said someone had been approaching Sophie's window.
He simply looked toward the darkness and said, "Understood."
The response was too calm.
Too prepared.
Teresa Moretti arrived wearing a dark green robe.
She was sixty-eight, silver-haired, and usually impossible to frighten.
But when she saw the open passage, her face turned white.
"Dante," she whispered.
He looked at her.
"Mother, take Isabel and Sophie upstairs."
Teresa didn't move.
Her eyes were fixed on the opening.
Then she said something that made my stomach twist.
"That passage was sealed after the accident."
Dante's expression hardened.
"What accident?"
Teresa looked at me.
For one terrible second, I saw guilt in her eyes.
Then she lowered her head.
"Not here."
We were taken to the upstairs family sitting room.
Sophie refused to release Bruno's collar.
The dog stayed beside her, following so closely that his shoulder brushed her knees.
I sat on the couch, shaking.
Teresa brought me water.
I didn't touch it.
"Tell me what you know," I demanded.
She looked toward Sophie.
"Isabel—"
"No."
My voice cracked.
"Three years ago, you came to my apartment after my husband died. You offered me a job. You gave us somewhere to live."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I thought you were being kind."
Teresa closed her eyes.
"I was trying to help."
"Why?"
She said nothing.
"Why did you know about Miguel?"
Teresa sat down slowly.
"Because he worked for us."
I stared.
"What?"
"Not directly for Dante. He was employed by a contractor connected to our shipping operations."
I shook my head.
"Miguel repaired refrigeration systems. He worked for restaurants and small businesses."
"That was part of his work."
My throat tightened.
"What else?"
Teresa looked down.
"He discovered something he wasn't supposed to find."
Before she could continue, Dante entered.
His face was grim.
"The tunnel is empty."
I stared.
"What?"
"We found an exit near the old boathouse. Whoever was inside escaped before security reached it."
I stood.
"Miguel was there."
Dante looked at me.
"Isabel, we don't know that."
"I heard his voice."
He hesitated.
"I believe you heard someone who sounded like him."
Anger flashed through me.
"Don't tell me what I heard."
Dante held my gaze.
Then nodded.
"You're right."
The apology surprised me.
He continued.
"We're going to investigate. But until we know who's behind this, you and Sophie are not staying in the cottage."
I looked toward the door.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere secure."
I shook my head.
"No."
His expression tightened.
"Isabel—"
"I've spent three years trusting that this estate was safe. My daughter has been frightened in her own bed for six nights, and nobody noticed."
Dante went still.
I pointed toward the window.
"I want answers before I trust you with anything else."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he looked at Teresa.
"Mother."
She closed her eyes.
May you like
And whispered:
"Tell her about the night Miguel died."
