CHAPTER 3 – THE BASEMENT OF SECRETS
CHAPTER 3 – THE BASEMENT OF SECRETS
"Stop her!"
Alejandro's command exploded through the mansion.
Vivian ripped off her high heels and sprinted barefoot toward the east wing, her expensive dress whipping behind her as she disappeared through a narrow hallway hidden behind an antique bookshelf.
The bookshelf slowly swung shut.
Only the echo of her footsteps remained.
"Seal every exit!" Alejandro shouted.
Within seconds, armed security flooded every corridor.
The mansion transformed from a luxurious home into a fortress under lockdown.
But Vivian knew the estate better than anyone.
For three years, she had controlled every room, every servant, every hidden passage.
She smiled to herself as she raced down the dim stone staircase.
Just a few more minutes.
If she reached the basement first...
Every piece of evidence would disappear forever.
Above ground, Alejandro helped Elena to her feet.
The moment she stood, her knees buckled.
Three years of abuse had left her body weak.
Without hesitation, Alejandro caught her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
His voice broke.
"I promised I would always protect you."
Elena stared at him through tear-filled eyes.
"You searched for me?"
Alejandro looked as though someone had stabbed him.
"Every day."
"I hired investigators in Spain..."
"Italy..."
"France..."
"Germany..."
"I searched hospitals."
"Morgues."
"Refugee shelters."
"I even offered ten million dollars for information."
His breathing became uneven.
"They told me you were dead."
Elena slowly shook her head.
"No."
"They wanted you to believe that."
Alejandro gently cupped her face.
"Who?"
For several seconds she couldn't answer.
Finally...
"My kidnapping wasn't random."
Alejandro froze.
"They planned everything."
Three years earlier...
Elena had been driving home after attending a charity gala.
Her car suddenly broke down on an isolated road.
A tow truck had arrived only minutes later.
She remembered feeling relieved.
Until the driver injected something into her neck.
Darkness.
When she woke...
She was already inside a windowless room.
Hands chained.
Unable to move.
Vivian was sitting in front of her.
Smiling.
Holding Elena's wedding ring.
"I've always wanted your life."
Those were the first words Vivian ever spoke.
Back in the present...
Alejandro clenched his fists so tightly blood dripped from his palms.
"She admitted that?"
Elena nodded weakly.
"Not once."
"Many times."
"She wanted me to know."
"She wanted me to understand why she was destroying me."
The servants nearby began crying quietly.
Many had suspected something terrible.
None had imagined this.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A violent explosion shook the mansion.
The chandeliers swayed violently.
Glass shattered.
Smoke poured from beneath the east wing.
"The basement!" someone screamed.
Alejandro's eyes widened.
"She's destroying the evidence!"
Without another word, he ran.
Flames rolled out from the underground corridor.
Sprinklers activated instantly.
Water rained from the ceiling.
Security officers fought through thick smoke.
Inside the hidden cellar...
Rows of filing cabinets were already burning.
Hard drives melted.
Documents turned to ash.
Vivian stood in the center of the inferno, laughing hysterically.
"If I lose everything..."
"...so do all of you!"
She threw another folder into the fire.
Then another.
Then a laptop.
Alejandro pushed through the smoke.
"Move!"
Two guards restrained him.
"The ceiling is collapsing!"
"I don't care!"
He tore free and charged into the flames.
Because among the burning files...
He saw something.
A small pink notebook.
Elena's handwriting.
He grabbed it seconds before a burning beam crashed onto the floor.
The impact sent him flying backward.
Security dragged him from the collapsing room just as the ceiling caved in completely.
The underground archive disappeared beneath fire and rubble.
Vivian watched from across the room.
Then...
She smiled.
"You were too late."
Alejandro looked down at the notebook.
Only half had survived.
The edges were blackened.
But inside...
Every page was written by Elena.
A diary.
Three years of captivity.
The first surviving page read:
Day 19
"Alejandro... if you're alive... please don't stop looking for me."
Another page.
Day 104
"Vivian says you've already remarried."
"I know she's lying."
Another.
Day 287
"Today they cut off all mirrors."
"They said I don't deserve to remember my own face."
Alejandro could barely breathe.
Then he reached the final surviving page.
Unlike the others...
It wasn't addressed to him.
It contained only one sentence.
"The person who gave Vivian the keys... still lives inside this house."
Alejandro slowly lifted his head.
Someone inside the mansion...
Had helped imprison Elena.
May you like
And that person...
Was still standing among them.
