Chapter 2 - The Shadow in the House
Marco’s gaze narrowed as he stared at me, his eyes flitting from my face to the silver key resting in my palm. The tension in the room snapped taut, cold enough to freeze blood.
“Who is this girl, Luca?” Marco demanded, taking a step into the room. His bodyguards shifted their posture, their hands resting ominously inside their tailored suit jackets. “The security team outside said she walked right through the mastiff pack. No one walks through those dogs unless they’re dead or authorized.”
Luca didn't flinch. He stood up slowly, his tall frame blocking Marco’s view of the desk. “She is Clara Miller, Uncle. The new archivist I hired to handle my personal accounts. Her father was an associate of mine.”
“Miller?” Marco sneered, leaning heavily on his gold-topped cane. “She looks remarkably like that rat Samuel Walker. I’d know those green eyes anywhere.”
My pulse spiked, but I remembered my father’s military training taught to me in early childhood—never let the enemy see your heart rate jump. I kept my expression completely blank, staring directly into the eyes of the man who had just spoken my father’s name with such venom.
“Samuel Walker died twelve years ago in a car crash, Uncle,” Luca said smoothly, his tone deceptively casual. “Unless you know something the police didn't?”
Marco’s jaw tightened. A brief flicker of panic flashed across his weathered face before he smoothed it over with a cold smile. “I know that Samuel Walker was a traitor who stole millions from our family before he died in that fire. And if this girl has any relation to him, she shouldn't be breathing the air on this estate.”
Titan took a step forward, his upper lip curling back to reveal rows of formidable teeth. A guttural growl echoed from his chest.
“Control your animal, nephew,” Marco hissed, taking a step back.
“Titan only reacts to threats,” Luca replied calmly. “If you’re done interrupting my private meeting, Marco, you can leave. We have the regional council dinner tonight, and I suggest you prepare your quarterly financial reports.”
Marco glared at Luca, then at me, before turning on his heel and sweeping out of the room, his bodyguards trailing close behind.
Once the heavy oak doors clicked shut, Luca turned back to me. His expression was grim.
“It was Marco,” I said softly, the pieces falling into place. “Twelve years ago... Marco was the one who set up the ambush. He wanted your father dead so he could take over the Moretti empire, and my father found out.”
“Yes,” Luca said, pulling the window shades down to block the view from the courtyard. “My father died of a suspicious heart attack six months after Samuel disappeared. Marco took over the financial council. For twelve years, I’ve been building my own strength, waiting for the indisputable evidence needed to strip Marco of his power without triggering a civil war inside the family.”
“The safety deposit box,” I realized, holding up the silver key. “That’s what’s inside Box 402. My father didn't just run away—he spent twelve years gathering proof of Marco’s crimes.”
“And Marco knows it,” Luca warned. “Marco’s men watch every entry and exit from this estate. If we try to leave for Manhattan together, his snipers will cut us down before we reach the main gate. Samuel knew this day would come. That’s why he wrote that note.”
Luca reached into his desk drawer and pulled out the piece of paper again. LET TITAN CHOOSE HER.
“It wasn't just a instruction for me,” Luca said, turning the paper over to reveal a hidden grid map drawn on the back in invisible UV ink, now illuminated under his desk light. “It’s a schematic of the estate’s underground drainage tunnels—built during Prohibition. There is an exit three miles north, inside an abandoned sawmill.”
I looked down at Titan, who sat patiently at my side, his eyes shining with intelligence.
May you like
“Titan knows the tunnels,” I said.
“Titan is the only one who can lead you through them,” Luca corrected. “Tonight, during the council dinner, while Marco is distracted, you and Titan are going underground.”
