Chapter 6 - THE ROOM BENEATH THE FLOOR|
The first time Nico Santoro entered Rosa's cottage after the attempted break-in, he brought an attorney, a locksmith, and a woman from the county records office.
I brought coffee.
Rosa brought the keys.
And Antonio insisted on coming despite everyone's objections.
"Dad, you should be resting," Nico told him.
Antonio looked unimpressed.
"Rest later."
Nico sighed.
"You're impossible."
His father smiled.
"Learned from you."
Rosa laughed.
It was the first time I'd heard her laugh since the engagement dinner.
We gathered in the cottage living room.
The broken window had been repaired.
Two security guards stood outside.
Nico's attorney, Daniel Mercer, placed several documents on the kitchen table.
"The transfer was filed six weeks ago," he explained.
Nico frowned.
"Six weeks?"
Daniel nodded.
"The receiving company is controlled by Charles Ashford."
Rosa looked devastated.
"But Mrs. Santoro promised I could stay."
Daniel turned toward her.
"We found a document granting you lifetime occupancy."
Rosa pressed a hand against her mouth.
"She really did?"
"Yes."
He placed a copy in front of her.
"The document was properly executed and recorded."
Nico looked at Rosa.
"My mother kept her promise."
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I never doubted her."
Daniel continued.
"The alleged transfer does not eliminate your rights, and we're challenging its validity."
Rosa lowered her head.
"Thank you."
But Nico was already examining the paperwork.
"Why would Charles want this particular property?"
Daniel shrugged.
"That's what we need to determine."
I looked around the cottage.
It was modest.
Two bedrooms.
A small kitchen.
A living room filled with photographs.
And a garden full of roses.
Compared with the Santoro mansion, it wasn't especially valuable.
Unless something hidden inside mattered more than the land itself.
I remembered Rosa's story.
Maria's missing ledger.
Nico's mother hiding important papers.
And the warning message about opening the tin.
"Could the ledger be here?" I asked.
Everyone turned.
Nico frowned.
"What ledger?"
"The one Maria Marquez left behind."
Rosa went still.
I continued.
"Charles searched for it after Maria disappeared."
"And now he wants this cottage."
Nico looked toward the walls.
"Maybe he thinks it's hidden here."
Antonio suddenly tapped his cane against the floor.
"Under."
I looked at him.
"Under what?"
He pointed toward the fireplace.
"Floor."
Rosa frowned.
"Antonio?"
He nodded.
"Elena."
His voice shook.
"Room."
Nico crouched beside him.
"Dad, what room?"
Antonio pointed again.
"Below."
We all looked toward the fireplace.
Rosa's expression changed.
"Oh, Lord."
I stepped closer.
"Mrs. Alvarez?"
She was staring at the wooden floorboards.
"Your mother had a small storage cellar built beneath the cottage," she whispered.
Nico frowned.
"I never knew that."
"It was sealed before she died."
"Why?"
Rosa looked toward Antonio.
He lowered his eyes.
Then whispered a name.
"Charles."
Nico immediately contacted the police investigators working on the financial case.
With their supervision, a contractor examined the floor.
Near the fireplace, beneath an old rug, he discovered a narrow wooden hatch.
Its edges had been painted to match the surrounding floorboards.
Rosa stared.
"I've walked over that spot for twenty-seven years."
The contractor lifted the hatch.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
Cold air drifted upward.
Nico switched on a flashlight.
Then he turned toward me.
"Stay upstairs."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what's down there."
I glanced at the stairs.
"Then shouldn't you be careful too?"
He smiled faintly.
"Fair point."
The investigator entered first.
Nico followed.
I stayed beside Rosa.
For several minutes, we heard footsteps below.
Then Nico called out.
"Rosa!"
She approached the opening.
"Yes?"
"Did my mother keep old furniture down here?"
Rosa frowned.
"I don't remember."
Nico appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
"You need to see this."
The cellar was small.
Its stone walls were lined with wooden shelves.
Dust covered several cardboard boxes.
An old desk stood beneath a single bare lightbulb.
And against the far wall was a metal filing cabinet.
Nico opened the top drawer.
Inside were hundreds of documents.
Bank statements.
Account ledgers.
Photographs.
Letters.
And copies of contracts dating back nearly thirty years.
Rosa covered her mouth.
"She kept everything."
Nico lifted a folder.
On the front was written:
"ASHFORD ACCOUNTS — ORIGINAL RECORDS."
He stared.
"This is it."
The investigator immediately began documenting the discovery.
Then Nico found another envelope.
It contained photographs of Charles Ashford meeting unidentified men outside a warehouse.
A handwritten note listed dates and payments.
At the bottom, Nico's mother had written:
"IF CHARLES FINDS THIS, MARIA AND ELENA WILL NEVER BE SAFE."
I felt a chill.
Rosa began crying.
"She was protecting them."
Nico looked toward the ceiling.
"And Charles knew."
He lowered the photographs.
"That's why he wanted the cottage."
The investigator nodded.
"He may have believed the documents were still here."
We continued examining the room.
Then I noticed something strange.
A small wooden box sat beneath the desk.
Its lid was covered in scratches.
On the front, someone had carved a rose.
I crouched beside it.
"Nico?"
He turned.
"What?"
I lifted the box.
"Look at this."
Rosa approached.
The moment she saw it, she began trembling.
"That's Elena's memory box."
I frowned.
"Her memory box?"
Rosa nodded.
"Mrs. Santoro made it for her."
I opened the lid.
Inside were childhood photographs, a small stuffed rabbit, and several letters.
One envelope was addressed to Elena.
Another to Rosa.
A third bore Nico's name.
He stared.
"Another letter?"
Rosa gently touched the envelope.
"Your mother must have wanted you to find it."
Nico opened it.
He read silently.
Then his expression changed.
"What is it?" I asked.
He looked at Rosa.
"My mother wrote that Elena should be told the truth when she was old enough."
Rosa nodded through tears.
Nico continued reading.
"And that Rosa was never supposed to carry the burden alone."
He swallowed.
"She also wrote something about my father."
Antonio looked up.
Nico stared at him.
"Dad, she knew Charles was threatening you."
Antonio closed his eyes.
Nico read another line.
"She said you were frightened but weren't responsible for Maria's disappearance."
Antonio began crying.
For twenty-nine years, he'd carried guilt that had slowly broken him.
Nico approached him.
"Dad."
His father shook his head.
"Failed."
Nico knelt.
"No."
Antonio looked at him.
"I was scared."
Nico held his hand.
"I know."
Antonio's voice trembled.
"Your mother..."
He swallowed.
"Braver."
Nico's eyes filled.
"Maybe."
Then he gently embraced his father.
"But you kept us alive."
I turned away.
Some apologies weren't meant for an audience.
A few minutes later, my phone rang.
Emma Lawson.
I answered immediately.
"Emma?"
"I'm at Newark Airport."
My heart jumped.
"Already?"
"I caught the earliest flight."
Her voice shook.
"Sophie, I need to know."
I closed my eyes.
"Know what?"
"Did my mother love me?"
I looked toward Rosa.
She was holding the little stuffed rabbit against her chest.
Tears ran down her face.
Then I answered the question Emma had spent her entire life asking.
"Yes."
My voice broke.
"She loved you enough to risk everything."
Emma began crying.
I wiped my own tears.
"And there's someone here who's been waiting twenty-seven years to tell you."
When the call ended, I turned toward Rosa.
"She's coming."
Rosa stared at me.
"Elena?"
I nodded.
Her hand rose to her mouth.
"Oh, my sweet girl."
But before we could celebrate, the investigator opened the final drawer of the filing cabinet.
Inside was a newer document.
The paper was clean.
The ink hadn't faded.
Across the front was written:
"PROJECT ROSE — FINAL ACQUISITION."
Nico took it.
His expression darkened as he read.
Then he looked toward Anthony.
"Find out who filed this."
Anthony examined the pages.
"Boss..."
Nico turned.
"What?"
Anthony pointed toward the final signature.
It wasn't Charles Ashford's.
And it wasn't Victoria's.
The document bore the name of someone who had been inside the Santoro mansion for years.
Someone Nico trusted.
Someone who knew exactly where Rosa kept her belongings.
Nico slowly read the name aloud.
"Michael Trent."
Our head of household operations.
The man who had helped organize the engagement dinner.
And the man who had personally ordered Rosa's cottage locks changed the previous week.
Nico looked toward the stairs.
May you like
Then said something that made my stomach drop.
"Michael isn't answering his phone."
