Chapter 10 - The False Victory
Chaos erupted in the dining room.
Don Rossi and his men stormed out of the mansion, assuming Dominic had poisoned Elena to send a message.
Dominic didn't stop them.
He immediately locked down the estate and called his private cleanup crew.
The threat seemed to be neutralized.
Elena was dead, and Dominic believed she had orchestrated everything with Marcus before someone silenced her.
He told me I was safe now and that he would double my salary for my loyalty.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
The nightmare was finally over, and the mystery of Sofia's death was buried with Elena.
The next morning, I began cleaning the parlor to clear my head.
I moved the heavy marble statue to sweep behind it.
My broom hit a loose floorboard.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I pried the wooden plank up.
Beneath the floorboard was a small, fireproof metal safe.
The safe was unlocked.
I opened it and found a leather-bound diary covered in dust.
I flipped to the last entry, dated exactly one week ago.
The handwriting belonged to Sofia.
She wrote about how tired she was of hiding in Europe for the past ten years.
She was never dead.
Before I could even process the shock, the heavy parlor doors slammed shut.
I heard the distinct click of the deadbolt locking from the outside.
I ran to the doors and banged on the wood, but nobody answered.
Suddenly, a lit match was tossed through the small gap under the door.
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It landed in a massive puddle of gasoline that was rapidly seeping into the room.
The carpet instantly burst into a wall of raging fire.
