Chapter 5 - THE NIGHT THE BLUE ROOM BURNED
The fire began at 2:17 in the morning.
Anna woke to the smell of smoke.
For several seconds, she thought she was dreaming.
Then the alarm sounded.
She threw off her blanket.
“Sophie!”
Smoke rolled beneath the bedroom door.
Anna ran into the hallway.
At the far end, flames flickered behind the blue room's curtains.
She grabbed the handle.
It burned her palm.
“Sophie!”
No answer.
Anna screamed.
“Help! Somebody help!”
Downstairs, Dante was already moving.
He reached the second floor in seconds.
Anna stood outside the blue room, crying.
“My baby!”
Dante saw smoke pushing beneath the door.
He grabbed a fire extinguisher.
“Henry! Call the fire department!”
The elderly butler appeared.
“Already done, sir!”
Dante forced the damaged door open.
Heat struck his face.
The curtains were burning.
Flames climbed the wall.
Sophie stood beside her bed, coughing.
“Mr. D!”
Dante crossed the room.
He wrapped her in a blanket and lifted her.
“Close your eyes, princess.”
She clung to his neck.
“I'm scared.”
“I know.”
He turned toward the doorway.
A burning piece of curtain fell across his path.
Dante stepped around it.
Smoke filled his lungs.
He coughed.
For one terrible second, he couldn't see the door.
Then Henry's voice called through the smoke.
“Sir!”
Dante moved toward him.
He emerged carrying Sophie.
Anna rushed forward.
“My baby!”
Dante placed the child in her arms.
“Get downstairs.”
Anna looked at him.
Blood ran from a cut near his temple.
His hands were burned.
“Dante—”
“Go!”
She ran.
Outside, Sophie sat wrapped in blankets inside an ambulance.
A paramedic checked her breathing.
Anna remained beside her.
Dante stood nearby while another medic examined his injuries.
He barely noticed the pain.
His eyes never left Sophie.
The little girl looked toward him.
“Mr. D?”
He approached.
“Yes?”
“My stars.”
Dante swallowed.
“What about them?”
“They burned.”
He looked toward the upstairs window.
The blue room was destroyed.
The furniture.
The toys.
The drawings.
The stickers.
Everything.
Sophie began crying.
“My lucky stars are gone.”
Dante knelt.
“Listen to me.”
She looked at him.
“Stars can be replaced.”
She shook her head.
“Not Daddy's.”
Anna covered her mouth.
Dante felt his chest tighten.
He reached into his jacket pocket.
Then pulled out a small gold sticker.
It was one Sophie had given him the previous afternoon.
He had removed it before bed and placed it in his pocket.
Now he held it out.
“Look.”
Sophie stared.
Her eyes widened.
“You saved one.”
Dante smiled.
“I did.”
She took it carefully.
Then pressed it against his shirt.
“There.”
He looked down.
“What's this one for?”
Sophie sniffled.
“For coming home.”
Dante closed his eyes.
And for the first time in nine years, he understood why a tiny piece of gold paper could matter more than an entire fortune.
The fire investigation began before sunrise.
The initial evidence suggested deliberate ignition.
Someone had disabled the hallway camera.
An accelerant had been used near the window.
And the security system had been accessed with an administrative credential.
Dante stood in his office with Marcus and Henry.
His hands were bandaged.
His expression was cold.
“Someone tried to kill a child in my house.”
Marcus looked grim.
“It may have been intended as a warning.”
Dante turned toward him.
“A warning to whom?”
Marcus hesitated.
“To you.”
“Then why start it in Sophie's room?”
Marcus didn't answer.
Henry stepped forward.
“Sir, there's something else.”
Dante looked at him.
“The camera system was accessed using Marcus's credentials.”
The room went silent.
Marcus laughed once.
“Someone stole my password.”
Dante studied him.
“Then you'll welcome an investigation.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Dante, I've served you for twelve years.”
“I know.”
“I would never hurt that child.”
Dante stepped closer.
“Then prove it.”
Marcus left without another word.
That afternoon, Anna found Dante in the library.
He stood beside the window, staring toward the garden.
“Sophie is sleeping,” she said.
He nodded.
“Good.”
“The doctor says she'll recover.”
Dante closed his eyes.
“Thank God.”
Anna looked at his bandaged hands.
“You were hurt.”
“Nothing serious.”
“You went into a burning room.”
“She was inside.”
Anna's eyes filled.
“You could have died.”
Dante didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“Because I know what it's like to lose someone and spend the rest of your life wishing you'd moved faster.”
Anna began crying.
Dante looked away.
“I couldn't save Luca.”
She touched his arm.
“But you saved Sophie.”
He swallowed.
Anna wrapped her arms around him.
He froze.
Then slowly returned the embrace.
For a moment, neither moved.
Anna whispered, “You gave me back my whole world.”
Dante closed his eyes.
And something inside him changed.
He had spent nine years believing he deserved to suffer because he couldn't save his brother.
But perhaps Luca's memory wasn't asking him to keep suffering.
Perhaps it was asking him to protect the living.
Then a small voice came from the doorway.
“Mama?”
They turned.
Sophie stood wrapped in a blanket.
She smiled sleepily.
“Mr. D needs a hug too.”
Dante crouched.
She walked toward him and wrapped her little arms around his neck.
He held her carefully.
Then she whispered something that made his blood turn cold.
“The bad man has a silver watch.”
Dante pulled back.
“What bad man?”
Sophie looked toward the hallway.
“The one who came to my window.”
Dante stared.
“Did you see his face?”
She shook her head.
“But I saw his watch.”
Dante slowly looked toward his desk.
Marcus Vale wore a silver watch.
A distinctive one.
May you like
A gift from Dante's father.
And on the morning of the fire, Marcus had arrived without it.
