Chapter 2: The Locked Door
Chapter 2: The Locked Door
The silence shattered when Vivian forced out a laugh.
"You can't be serious, Alejandro. She's confused. The poor woman has been unstable ever since she disappeared."
Alejandro didn't even look at her.
Instead, he slowly knelt before Elena.
For three years he had imagined this moment a thousand different ways.
None of them looked like this.
Her hands were raw and bleeding.
Tiny scars crossed her fingers.
Her once-beautiful wedding ring was gone, replaced by calluses from endless labor.
He gently reached toward her face.
"Elena... look at me."
She hesitated.
When their eyes finally met, he saw something worse than fear.
She expected him not to believe her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Alejandro frowned.
"For what?"
"For surviving."
His heart broke.
He carefully removed his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm the one who's sorry."
Behind them, Vivian rolled her eyes.
"This performance is getting ridiculous."
Alejandro slowly stood.
"Security."
Two guards stepped forward.
"From this moment on, Vivian Moretti is not to leave this property."
Vivian laughed.
"You don't own me."
"No," Alejandro replied calmly.
"But the police will."
For the first time, Vivian's confidence cracked.
"You have no proof."
Alejandro looked around the room.
"I don't need to ask twice."
No one spoke.
Every servant lowered their head.
Then an elderly housekeeper stepped forward.
Her hands shook as she folded them together.
"I'll testify."
Vivian spun around.
"Margaret!"
The old woman ignored her.
"I've worked here for twenty-six years."
She looked directly at Alejandro.
"Your wife was locked in the old wine cellar every night."
Another maid stepped forward.
"They changed her name."
Another.
"They told us she'd stolen from the family."
Another.
"They beat anyone who tried to help her."
The truth poured out like a dam breaking.
Vivian's smile disappeared completely.
Alejandro turned to one of his attorneys, who had just arrived.
"I want every room searched."
Within an hour, officers discovered a locked steel door beneath the mansion.
Inside was a tiny windowless room.
A thin mattress.
Chains bolted to the wall.
A journal.
And three years of Elena's handwritten entries.
Every page ended the same way.
"Alejandro... if you're alive, please don't stop looking for me."
Alejandro collapsed into the chair holding the journal.
May you like
He had never stopped looking.
He had simply been searching everywhere except home.
