CHAPTER 2 — THE LOCKED DOOR
CHAPTER 2 — THE LOCKED DOOR
The entire foyer exploded into chaos.
Gasps echoed beneath the crystal chandeliers as Alejandro lunged toward Vivian.
She stumbled backward so quickly that her heel caught the edge of the staircase.
The wine glass shattered against the marble.
Red wine spread across the floor like fresh blood.
"Don't touch me!" Vivian screamed.
Alejandro stopped only inches away from her.
His face was terrifyingly calm.
That frightened Vivian even more.
Everyone who had ever negotiated with Alejandro Castillo knew the truth.
The dangerous Alejandro wasn't the one who shouted.
He was the one who spoke softly.
"You have exactly ten seconds," he said.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Then what?" Vivian tried to laugh, but her lips trembled.
Alejandro looked directly into her eyes.
"To explain why my wife has bruises on her wrists."
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Vivian forced a smile.
"She works here voluntarily."
Alejandro slowly turned toward Elena.
"Look at me."
She didn't.
Her eyes remained fixed on the floor.
"Elena."
His voice cracked.
"Please."
Very slowly...
She raised her face.
Three years had changed everything.
The vibrant woman who once laughed until she cried had vanished.
Dark circles surrounded her eyes.
Her cheekbones were sharp.
Her lips were split.
Her beautiful chestnut hair had been hacked into uneven lengths as though someone wanted to erase every trace of the woman she used to be.
Alejandro felt something inside him break.
"What did she do to you?"
Elena opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Vivian answered instead.
"She's dramatic."
That was enough.
Alejandro crossed the room in two long strides.
His hand slammed onto the staircase railing inches from Vivian's shoulder.
The crack of splintering wood echoed through the mansion.
Solid oak split beneath the force of his grip.
Every servant flinched.
Vivian's face drained of color.
Alejandro leaned closer.
"If another lie leaves your mouth..."
He spoke so quietly that only she could hear.
"...you'll spend the rest of your life wishing prison had been your worst punishment."
For the first time since descending the stairs...
Vivian looked genuinely terrified.
Outside the mansion...
Black SUVs began pulling through the iron gates.
One after another.
Security teams.
Private investigators.
Corporate attorneys.
Within minutes, more than twenty people flooded the entrance hall.
The servants exchanged nervous glances.
They had never seen the estate move this fast.
A tall man in a charcoal suit entered first.
"Mr. Castillo."
"Everything has been frozen."
He handed Alejandro a tablet.
"Every personal account."
"Every business account."
"The Moretti Foundation."
"The offshore holdings."
"The trust funds."
"All inaccessible."
Vivian's knees nearly buckled.
"No..."
She grabbed her phone.
She opened her banking app.
Error.
Again.
Error.
Again.
Every account showed the same message.
ACCESS DENIED.
"No..."
She whispered.
"No, no, no..."
Alejandro never looked at her.
"Next."
Another attorney stepped forward.
"The divorce agreement you signed three years ago was never legally finalized."
Vivian froze.
"What?"
The lawyer adjusted his glasses.
"Because Elena Castillo was never declared deceased."
A deadly silence settled over the room.
Alejandro slowly turned.
"You forged legal documents."
Vivian swallowed.
"I..."
"You impersonated government officials."
"I can explain—"
"You intercepted missing-person investigations."
"I didn't—"
"You stole my wife's identity."
Each accusation struck like a hammer.
Vivian backed away until her spine hit the wall.
"There must be some misunderstanding..."
Alejandro's expression never changed.
"There isn't."
Meanwhile...
One elderly maid quietly approached Elena.
She carried a folded blanket.
With trembling hands, she draped it over Elena's shoulders.
"I'm sorry..."
The old woman burst into tears.
"We wanted to help."
"They watched us."
"There were cameras."
"If anyone spoke to you..."
She glanced fearfully toward Vivian.
"...they disappeared."
Alejandro heard every word.
He looked around the mansion.
Only now did he notice them.
Tiny black security cameras hidden inside decorative carvings.
Behind paintings.
Inside flower arrangements.
Above every hallway.
Not security.
Surveillance.
Someone had been watching Elena every second of every day.
His stomach turned.
"Take every camera down."
His head of security nodded.
"Immediately."
Within seconds, armed officers spread throughout the estate.
The sound of drills...
Breaking glass...
Metal crashing onto marble...
Filled the mansion.
One by one...
The cameras came down.
Elena stood frozen.
Tears streamed silently down her face.
For three years...
She had never spent a single minute unwatched.
Until now.
Alejandro carefully stepped toward her.
"No one will hurt you again."
She stared at him.
Then, unexpectedly...
She took one step backward.
The movement struck him harder than any knife.
She was afraid...
Of him.
Not because he had hurt her.
Because three years of captivity had taught her that every powerful person eventually became another jailer.
Alejandro's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry."
"I failed you."
"I searched everywhere except the one place I never imagined..."
He looked around the mansion.
"...our own home."
Elena's lips trembled.
For the first time...
She spoke more than two words.
"I tried..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"I tried to leave."
Alejandro closed his eyes.
She continued.
"Every time..."
"They brought me back."
The room became deathly still.
Vivian shouted from across the foyer.
"She's lying!"
"I rescued her!"
"She was mentally unstable!"
"I protected—"
"Enough."
Alejandro's roar shook the chandeliers.
The entire mansion fell silent.
He turned toward his security chief.
"Search every room."
"The basement."
"The attic."
"The guest house."
"The staff quarters."
"I want every locked door opened."
The security chief nodded once.
"Yes, sir."
Within moments, teams scattered across the sprawling estate.
Minutes later...
A shout echoed from somewhere beneath the mansion.
"Sir!"
"We found something!"
Alejandro looked toward the hallway leading underground.
One of the guards appeared at the top of the basement stairs.
His face had turned completely white.
His breathing was uneven.
"You need to see this..."
"What is it?" Alejandro demanded.
The guard hesitated.
Then he uttered six words that froze everyone's blood.
"There's another room behind the cellar."
"And..."
He swallowed hard.
"It wasn't built to keep wine."
Vivian suddenly spun toward the front door.
She ran.
But before she made it three steps—
A pair of security officers tackled her to the marble floor.
As she screamed and fought against them, Alejandro never looked back.
His eyes were fixed on the dark staircase leading underground.
May you like
Something deep beneath his own house had been hidden for years.
And every instinct told him the truth waiting below would be even more horrifying than finding Elena alive.
