Chapter 2: The Silver Key
Elena waited until the dinner guests were distracted before she slipped into the service corridor.
Her hands were shaking.
The mansion felt different tonight.
Usually, the long hallways seemed elegant.
Tonight, they felt like tunnels.
She reached the narrow servants' stairwell and pressed her back against the wall.
She closed her eyes.
One breath.
Then another.
Footsteps approached.
“Elena?””
She opened her eyes.
Luca stood at the bottom of the stairs.
She immediately straightened.
“Sir.””
“Why did you leave?””
“I was told to return to the kitchen.””
“By Victoria?””
Elena nodded.
Luca looked up the staircase.
“Did she hurt you before tonight?””
Silence.
“Elena.””
She looked at him.
“If you don't tell me, I can't protect you.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You can't.””
Luca frowned.
“What?””
“You can't protect me from her.””
“Why?””
Elena shook her head.
“Please go back upstairs.””
“Why are you afraid of her?””
“She knows everything about this house.””
Luca stared at her.
“So do I.””
“No.””
Elena's voice cracked.
“You know the house your family shows people.””
Luca went still.
“What does that mean?””
Before Elena could answer, footsteps echoed above them.
She panicked.
“She can't see me talking to you.””
Luca stepped closer.
“Elena, wait.””
“I need to go.””
She turned.
Luca gently caught her wrist.
Elena flinched.
He immediately released her.
“I'm sorry.””
She stared at his hand.
Then at him.
“I wasn't trying to hurt you.””
“I know.””
Luca noticed the fresh red marks around her wrist.
His face hardened.
“Who grabbed you?””
Elena didn't answer.
“Victoria?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then she whispered, “Please don't say her name.””
“Why?””
“Because she listens.””
Luca looked around.
The corridor was empty.
“There's no one here.””
Elena shook her head.
“You don't understand.””
She reached beneath her apron.
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“What are you doing?””
Instead of answering, Elena pulled out a small silver key.
It rested in her palm.
The metal was old.
Heavy.
An intricate crest had been engraved into its handle.
Luca stared at it.
He knew that crest.
His father's crest.
“Where did you get that?””
Elena looked toward the stairs.
“She dropped it.””
“Who?””
Elena's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Victoria.””
Luca took the key.
His fingers closed around it.
He turned it over.
There was a tiny scratch along the side.
His father had used the same style of key for one room in the mansion.
A room Luca hadn't entered since he was seventeen.
His father's private study.
No one had been allowed inside after his death.
Luca looked at Elena.
“How did Victoria get this?””
“She didn't.””
“What?””
“She stole it.””
Luca's expression changed.
“From where?””
Elena's breathing became uneven.
“She went downstairs.””
Luca stared at her.
“What is downstairs?””
Elena didn't answer.
“Elena.””
“She locked me down there.””
The words seemed to drain the warmth from the hallway.
Luca stepped closer.
“When?””
“Tonight.””
“Why?””
“I saw something I wasn't supposed to see.””
“What?””
Elena shook her head.
“I can't.””
“You can.””
“No.””
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“She said if I told you, I'd disappear.””
Luca's face became completely still.
“Did she say that?””
Elena nodded.
“Exactly?””
“Yes.””
Luca looked toward the dining room.
Through the doorway, he could see Victoria laughing with the guests.
She looked radiant.
Untouchable.
He turned back to Elena.
“Show me where.””
Elena immediately shook her head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because the door is locked.””
Luca held up the key.
“This opens my father's private room.””
Elena looked at the key.
Then at him.
“No.””
Luca frowned.
“What?””
“It opens another door too.””
A cold silence settled between them.
“What door?””
Elena's lips trembled.
“The one beneath the house.””
Before Luca could respond, Victoria's voice echoed from the hallway.
“Elena?””
Elena's face drained of color.
Luca stepped in front of her.
Victoria appeared at the end of the corridor.
Her red satin gown swept across the dark wood floor.
She smiled.
“There you are.””
Elena lowered her eyes.
Victoria looked at Luca.
“What are you doing down here?””
“I could ask you the same thing.””
Victoria's smile disappeared.
“I was looking for Elena.””
“Why?””
“She disappeared from dinner.””
Luca held the silver key loosely at his side.
Victoria saw it.
Her face changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Her pupils widened.
Her breathing stopped for half a second.
Luca saw it.
“So,” he said quietly.
Victoria swallowed.
“So what?””
“You recognize this.””
Victoria's eyes dropped to the key.
Then returned to his face.
“No.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“I said I don't recognize it.””
Luca stepped closer.
“This belonged to my father.””
Victoria laughed.
“You're becoming obsessed with this ridiculous situation.””
“Where were you tonight?””
“At dinner.””
“Before dinner.””
Victoria folded her arms.
“What kind of question is that?””
“Where were you?””
“I was upstairs.””
“Doing what?””
“Getting dressed.””
Luca looked at Elena.
Then back at Victoria.
“You were wearing that bracelet when you grabbed her.””
Victoria's hand immediately covered her wrist.
Her voice became sharper.
“Are you accusing me of assaulting a servant?””
“I'm asking you a question.””
“And I'm telling you you're embarrassing yourself.””
Elena whispered, “Sir…”
Luca turned.
“What?””
She pointed toward the floor.
A faint sound had come from below.
Three knocks.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Everyone froze.
Victoria's face went white.
Luca looked down.
“What was that?””
Victoria said nothing.
Elena backed against the wall.
Luca took one step toward the end of the corridor.
Then another.
Victoria grabbed his sleeve.
“Don't.””
Luca looked at her hand.
Then at her face.
“Why?””
She released him.
“I…”
Her voice failed.
Luca walked toward the hidden staircase.
Behind him, Elena whispered, “That's where she locked me.””
He stopped.
“Who?””
Elena looked at Victoria.
“She.””
Victoria's eyes filled with panic.
Then, from beneath the mansion, came another sound.
A heavy bang.
This time, every guest in the dining room heard it.
The conversations stopped.
Crystal glasses trembled on the table.
Luca slowly turned toward Victoria.
“What did you do?””
May you like
Victoria didn't answer.
And somewhere beneath their feet, something knocked again.
