Chapter 2 - The Forbidden Hallway
The silence in the penthouse was heavier than the humid city air outside.
Cameron looked down at the terrified child clinging to her leg.
Leah’s mother, Elena Duca, had reportedly died in a tragic boating accident two years ago.
The newspapers had covered the billionaire’s grief for months.
“Your wife is dead,” Cameron stated firmly, refusing to let him intimidate her.
Matteo walked over to the massive windows and looked out at the glowing skyline.
“That is what the world needed to believe,” he replied softly.
“She lost her mind after Leah was born.”
“She became convinced that the child was a demon trying to steal her youth.”
Cameron felt a cold knot form in the pit of her stomach.
“You locked your mentally ill wife in a room instead of getting her medical help?”
Matteo turned around with a terrifying, cold fury in his eyes.
“I locked her in that room because she tried to drown Leah in the bathtub.”
“I pay millions to doctors who keep her heavily sedated behind reinforced steel doors.”
“If the board of my company finds out she is alive, I lose my entire empire.”
He walked back to his desk and pulled out a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills.
“Take the money, Ms. Jenkins, and walk away.”
Cameron thought about her mother’s hospital bills and the eviction notices on her apartment door.
She reached out and took the cash with a trembling hand.
Leah looked up at her, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
“Don't leave me with the monster,” Leah pleaded.
Cameron closed her eyes, fighting every survival instinct she possessed.
She dropped the money back onto the glass desk.
“Show me where she sleeps,” Cameron said.
Matteo stared at her for a long time before he finally nodded.
He led her down a dark, winding hallway to a heavy steel door painted entirely blue.
Cameron noticed a small, sliding food slot at the bottom of the door.
She knelt down to inspect the heavy electronic locks securing the entrance.
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When she looked closely at the polished metal handle, her blood ran ice cold.
There was fresh blood smeared across the keypad, but it was on the outside of the door.
