Chapter 3 - The Ghost of the Villa
Sophia was locked in the master suite. Two heavily armed private military contractors stood outside her door. She paced the length of the room, her mind racing. Gabriel was alive, but he was trapped in the catacombs of the villa—the very catacombs they used to play in as children.
Victor thought he had absolute power, but he had made one fatal miscalculation. He had locked a daughter of the House of Savoy inside her own ancestral fortress.
Sophia walked to the massive Renaissance fireplace. She ran her fingers along the intricately carved marble mantle, feeling for the slight depression her grandfather had shown her when she was seven years old.
She pressed hard. A sharp click echoed in the quiet room.
The entire back panel of the fireplace silently swung inward, revealing a pitch-black, narrow passageway. The servant’s corridors. Built in the 16th century to hide the royal family during sieges, they bypassed every modern security camera Victor had installed.
Sophia ripped off the heavy, restrictive layers of her Vera Wang skirt, leaving herself in a sleek, white silk slip. She kicked off her diamond-encrusted heels and grabbed a heavy bronze candlestick from the nightstand.
She slipped into the darkness, pulling the secret door shut behind her.
The air was damp and smelled of ancient stone. She navigated the labyrinth by memory, descending deeper and deeper into the bedrock of the Amalfi cliffs.
She finally reached the grated iron door overlooking the wine cellars. Below, in the dim light of a bare bulb, Gabriel was tied to a wooden chair. Two of Victor’s mercenaries were pacing the room, smoking cigarettes.
Sophia quietly unlatched the grate and crept down the stone stairs. She moved like a shadow. As the first mercenary turned his back, Sophia swung the heavy bronze candlestick with all her might, striking the base of his skull. He dropped like a stone.
The second guard spun around, reaching for his weapon, but Gabriel, seizing the distraction, launched himself backward in the chair, crashing into the guard’s knees. Sophia lunged, smashing the candlestick across the second guard’s temple.
Silence fell over the cellar.
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Sophia dropped the weapon, falling to her knees and throwing her arms around her brother. Tears streamed down her face. "You're alive. You're really alive."
"I missed you, little sister," Gabriel whispered, resting his head against hers. "But we have to move. Victor is going to burn this place to the ground when he finds you gone."
