CHAPTER 2 – THE DOOR TO THREE YEARS OF HELL
CHAPTER 2 – THE DOOR TO THREE YEARS OF HELL
Vivian forced a laugh.
"You've always been so dramatic, Alejandro."
She slowly placed the wineglass on the polished table, pretending her hands weren't shaking.
"You really believe this woman? Look at her."
She gestured toward Elena with open contempt.
"She's just a maid who has clearly become delusional."
Alejandro didn't even glance at Vivian.
His eyes remained fixed on Elena.
She still knelt on the cold marble floor, breathing unevenly as if standing might shatter the fragile control she had fought to keep for three endless years.
He carefully removed his expensive suit jacket and draped it over her trembling shoulders.
The servants gasped.
No one had ever seen the billionaire kneel before anyone.
But Alejandro lowered himself onto one knee without hesitation.
His voice cracked.
"Look at me."
Elena didn't.
Instead, she whispered so quietly he almost couldn't hear.
"Please..."
"You have to leave."
His brow furrowed.
"What?"
"They'll hurt you."
Alejandro reached out carefully, brushing a strand of tangled hair away from her face.
Only then did he notice another bruise hidden beneath her ear.
His heartbeat became painfully loud.
"Who?"
Elena closed her eyes.
Before she could answer—
CRACK!
A sharp slap echoed through the mansion.
Everyone turned.
Vivian had struck one of the older housekeepers across the face.
"You useless idiot!" Vivian screamed.
"I told everyone to stay silent!"
The elderly woman collapsed against a chair, crying.
"I-I didn't say anything, Miss Vivian..."
Vivian grabbed her by the collar.
"You don't need to speak."
"Your face says enough."
Alejandro stood.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
For years, newspapers had described Alejandro Castillo as calm under pressure.
Business rivals called him impossible to provoke.
Even hostile takeovers never made him lose his temper.
But something inside him had just broken.
"Take your hands off her."
Vivian smiled again.
"What are you going to do?"
"You can't prove anything."
"I've managed this house since Elena disappeared."
"I've protected your company."
"I've protected your reputation."
"You need me."
Alejandro took another step.
"No."
"I tolerated you."
"There's a difference."
Vivian's confident smile faded.
At that exact moment, the mansion's front doors burst open.
More than twenty security officers entered.
Behind them came Alejandro's chief attorney...
...his personal investigator...
...and the head of corporate security.
Every servant immediately stepped aside.
The investigator hurried toward Alejandro.
"Sir."
"We've already frozen every financial account connected to Vivian Moretti."
"Private accounts."
"Trust funds."
"Investment portfolios."
"Luxury properties."
"Everything."
Vivian's face drained of color.
"You can't do that!"
Alejandro answered calmly.
"I already did."
She laughed nervously.
"My father owns half the board."
"He'll reverse everything."
The attorney adjusted his glasses.
"I'm afraid he won't."
Vivian frowned.
"What?"
The attorney handed Alejandro a thick folder.
"We completed the emergency audit during your flight."
"There are hundreds of unauthorized transfers."
"Shell companies."
"Forgery."
"Identity fraud."
"Someone has stolen nearly ninety-eight million dollars from Castillo Holdings."
Silence.
Every servant looked toward Vivian.
She slowly stepped backward.
"This is ridiculous."
"I've done nothing."
Then the investigator quietly spoke.
"There's more."
He opened another folder.
"We found something hidden beneath the basement wine cellar."
Alejandro looked up.
"What?"
"A locked room."
"No windows."
"Only one entrance."
The room suddenly felt colder.
The investigator swallowed.
"There were restraints attached to the walls."
No one breathed.
"And..."
He hesitated.
"We recovered hundreds of medical records."
"Most of them belong to Elena Castillo."
Alejandro stared at him.
"...Medical records?"
The investigator nodded grimly.
"They document repeated sedation."
"Memory-altering drugs."
"Physical injuries."
"Psychological conditioning."
The folder slipped from Alejandro's hands.
Pages scattered across the marble floor.
One photograph landed face up.
Elena.
Strapped to a hospital bed.
Eyes barely open.
Bruises covering both arms.
The date made Alejandro's blood run cold.
It had been only...
...four days after she disappeared.
For three years...
She had never left this house.
Alejandro slowly turned toward Elena.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"My God..."
"They kept you here..."
Elena finally looked into his eyes.
"I tried to escape."
Her voice was hollow.
"So many times."
Vivian suddenly shouted.
"She's lying!"
But another voice interrupted.
"No."
Everyone turned toward the staircase.
An elderly butler—who had served Alejandro's family for over forty years—walked forward with tears streaming down his weathered face.
"I can't stay silent anymore."
Vivian's expression twisted with panic.
"Arthur."
"Don't."
The old man ignored her.
He slowly knelt before Alejandro.
"Forgive me."
"They threatened my granddaughter."
"I obeyed because I believed they would kill her."
Alejandro's face hardened.
"What are you saying?"
Arthur reached into his pocket.
With trembling hands...
...he placed a tiny silver key into Alejandro's palm.
"I've hidden this for three years."
"What does it open?"
Arthur looked toward the basement.
His lips trembled.
"The room..."
"...where your wife begged for you every single night."
The entire mansion fell into stunned silence.
Elena burst into tears.
Vivian spun toward the entrance.
Then—
She ran.
Straight for the hidden hallway leading to the underground level.
Because deep beneath Alejandro Castillo's mansion...
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There was one secret...
She would rather burn alive than let anyone discover.
