Valentina
“You owe me the truth, Matteo,” I said softly, my voice breaking slightly. “Why did you do this to me?”
The moment Matteo walked out of the room, leaving my question unanswered, the weight of everything crashed down on me like a tidal wave.
I stood there, staring at the door he’d closed behind him, my body frozen in place.
My hands shook with a mixture of anger and disbelief.
How could he just leave? Without saying anything?
After everything I’d learned, after everything I’d asked, how could he just walk away like that?
I paced back and forth, the tension building in my chest like a coiled spring. The more I thought about it, the more furious I became. I had sacrificed so much for this life… a life I never chose.
And now?
Matteo couldn’t even give me a simple answer.
Why had he done what he did. He never needed me.
Grabbing the nearest bottle of wine from the mini shelf in the room, I didn’t even bother with a glass. I just needed something to dull the storm raging inside of me.
Each sip burned, but I didn’t care.
The more I drank, the less I thought, and that was exactly what I needed.
My mind felt too cluttered, too full of questions I had no answers to.
I thought about Isabella.
My sister.
The one who was supposed to be married to Matteo. The one who had be taken by someone close to her, leaving me to pick up the pieces of her shattered engagement.
I shook my head, taking another long drink from the bottle.
Matteo hadn’t deemed me fit to answer me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this than I ever knew.
But if he wouldn’t tell me, then what was I supposed to do?
As the wine worked its way through my system, the world began to blur around the edges, and the sharpness of my thoughts dulled. I found myself sitting in the middle of the room, the bottle half-empty beside me, staring at nothing in particular.
The silence was unbearable.
That was all I did for the next three days.
I noticed it on the fourth day… the small piece of paper, folded and tucked neatly under my pillow. My drunken mind struggled to process what I was seeing.
Who had left it there? And when?
Frowning, I crawled toward the bed and reached for the note.
My fingers fumbled as I unfolded it, the words blurry at first, but then they became clearer, burning into my mind with every word.
“Valentina, I need to talk to you. It’s important. I can’t explain everything now, but I would be able to escape for a few minutes. Meet me in the secret passage behind the east wing on thursday. No one else can know. It’s me, Isabella.”
Thursday.
That was today.
I stared at the words, the wine suddenly feeling like lead in my stomach.
Isabella had escaped. This was my opportunity to get her here. There were guards around who would arrest the person that dared kidnap her.
I stood up shakily, my mind spinning. I didn’t know what to believe, but I knew I would never be able to ignore it.
My sister was alive. She was somewhere waiting for me.
The secret passage behind the east wing. I had never been there before, but I would find it.
Glancing at the clock, I realized it was late, and the house had already quieted down. Most of the staff were probably asleep, and Matteo was still gone, off to where he had disappeared to.
I didn’t care.
Soon, I would be with the one person who would give me all the answers I deserved.
I slipped out of my room quietly, my heart pounding in my chest as I made my way down the darkened hallways.
The wine still buzzed in my head, making the world feel slightly off the edge, but I pushed through it.
The east wing was far from the main parts of the estate… an area rarely used anymore.
I had always found it strange, how a house this massive had entire sections that seemed to be forgotten.
But now, it made sense.
If this was where the secret passage was, no one would notice me sneaking in.
When I reached the east wing, I hesitated. The door to the hidden passage was just as I’d heard – a nondescript panel in the wall, barely noticeable unless you knew where to look. My hands trembled as I reached for the edge of the panel, sliding it open to reveal a narrow stone staircase leading down into darkness.
I swallowed hard, doubt creeping in as I stared into the black void. What if this was a trap? What if Isabella wasn’t there, and I was walking straight into danger? But the note had said it was her. It had to be. And if it wasn’t… I’d deal with that when the time came.
Clutching the paper in my hand, I stepped into the passage, descending slowly. The air grew cooler the deeper I went, the sound of my footsteps echoing eerily around me. The walls were lined with old, crumbling stone, and the flickering light from the small torches mounted on the walls cast long, ominous shadows.
As I reached the bottom, the passageway opened into a small room – a hidden space I’d never seen before. My heart pounded in my chest as I scanned the room, but it was empty.
No sign of Isabella. No sign of anyone.
I stood there, frozen in place, my mind racing.
Where was she? Why wasn’t she here? I clenched the note in my hand, frustration boiling in my chest.
That was when I heard it – the faint sound of footsteps behind me.
Before I could react, a hand clamped over my mouth, and something cold pressed against my side.
“Shhh,” a voice whispered in my ear, low and menacing. “Don’t scream, Valentina. It’ll only make things worse.”
Panic surged through me, and I struggled against the grip, but the hand tightened, the cold object digging into my skin.
A knife. My body froze in fear as the reality of the situation hit me like a punch to the gut.
This wasn’t Isabella. This was a trap.
I had walked right into it.