CHAPTER 5 – The Man Who Died Before He Could Speak
CHAPTER 5 – The Man Who Died Before He Could Speak
The gunshot echoed through the DeLuca estate.
Then everything went silent.
For one terrifying heartbeat, no one moved.
The emergency generators roared to life.
Lights flickered.
Hallways glowed an eerie red before returning to white.
Dominic was already running.
"Protect Alessia!" he shouted.
Four guards rushed toward the child's bedroom.
Maya didn't wait for permission.
She locked the bedroom door, pulled a heavy dresser in front of it, and gathered Alessia into her arms.
"It's okay," she whispered.
"I'm here."
Alessia wasn't crying.
That frightened Maya even more.
The little girl simply stared toward the hallway.
"He came back."
Maya's blood ran cold.
"Who?"
"The man without a face."
Downstairs, Dominic reached the west corridor.
A body lay sprawled across the marble floor.
It wasn't an intruder.
It was Victor Romano—his chief of household security.
A man who had protected the DeLuca family for nearly twenty years.
Blood spread beneath him.
Dominic knelt beside his old friend.
"Victor."
Victor coughed violently.
His lips were already turning pale.
"They..."
He struggled to breathe.
"They're... watching..."
"Who?"
Victor's trembling hand reached inside his jacket.
Instead of a weapon, he pulled out a tiny black listening device.
Barely larger than a shirt button.
Dominic's expression hardened.
Victor had been bugged.
Someone had been listening to everything discussed inside the mansion.
Victor gripped Dominic's sleeve.
"Don't..."
Another cough.
"...trust..."
His eyes drifted toward the staircase.
Toward the upper floors.
Then his body went still.
Dominic closed his friend's eyes.
He had lost another loyal man.
And he still had no name.
Within minutes, the estate became a fortress.
Every employee was gathered in the grand ballroom.
Thirty-two servants.
Twelve cooks.
Eight gardeners.
Nine drivers.
Twenty-six security officers.
No one was allowed to leave.
Dominic slowly walked in front of them.
His voice was calm.
"One of you opened my home to my enemies."
No one answered.
"You have one opportunity."
"Speak now."
Silence.
Then...
An elderly maid stepped forward, trembling.
"I saw someone."
Every head turned.
"It was three nights ago."
"A woman?"
The maid nodded.
"No."
"A man."
"He was wearing a maintenance uniform."
"I assumed he belonged here."
Dominic frowned.
"We hired no maintenance workers this week."
The room erupted into whispers.
Someone had walked freely through the mansion...
...because everyone assumed someone else had approved him.
Meanwhile, Maya remained upstairs with Alessia.
The little girl finally spoke again.
"He was fixing the clocks."
Maya looked down.
"The maintenance man?"
Alessia nodded.
"He smiled at everyone."
"But when nobody looked..."
Her tiny voice shook.
"...he wasn't smiling anymore."
Maya felt goosebumps.
"What did he want?"
Alessia hesitated.
"He asked where Grandpa kept the bird."
The same question.
Again.
Maya gently brushed the child's hair back.
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him..."
Alessia lowered her eyes.
"...I didn't remember."
"You were lying?"
The little girl nodded.
"I remembered."
Maya stared at her.
"You know where it is?"
Alessia looked toward the enormous grandfather clock standing in the corner of her bedroom.
Before Maya could ask another question—
Three sharp knocks echoed at the door.
"Miss Maya?"
A guard's voice.
"Mr. DeLuca needs you downstairs."
Maya hesitated.
Alessia squeezed her hand.
"Don't go."
"I'll be right back."
"You promised."
"I know."
Maya smiled softly.
"I'll leave the door locked."
"I'll only be gone a minute."
Reluctantly, Alessia let go.
It was the first time she had released Maya willingly.
As Maya disappeared downstairs, the hidden figure watching through a miniature camera inside the hallway smoke detector smiled.
This...
...was the opportunity.
Dominic met Maya inside his private office.
He placed Victor's listening device on the desk.
"This wasn't random."
"They knew every conversation."
Maya nodded slowly.
"Someone planted surveillance long before Alessia disappeared."
Dominic looked at her carefully.
"You notice details most people ignore."
She shrugged.
"When you grow up poor, noticing details keeps you alive."
He almost smiled.
Then his expression darkened again.
"My father used to say the same thing."
Before Maya could respond—
A deafening explosion shook the mansion.
Glass shattered.
Smoke poured through the hallway.
Alarms screamed.
Dominic's heart stopped.
"Alessia!"
He and Maya sprinted upstairs.
The bedroom door had been blown inward.
Furniture lay overturned.
The windows were shattered.
The room was empty.
Only Maya's faded denim jacket remained on the floor.
And pinned to it with a hunting knife...
...was a single handwritten note.
May you like
YOU SAVED HER ONCE.
TRY SAVING HER AGAIN.
