CHAPTER 10 — THE CHILD AT THE GRAVE
CHAPTER 10 — THE CHILD AT THE GRAVE
The rain had stopped by the time we reached the cemetery.
But the sky remained dark.
Heavy clouds covered the moon, leaving the old Moretti family cemetery covered in shadows.
Dante didn't wait for the car to fully stop.
The moment the door opened, he ran.
Not like a mafia boss.
Not like a powerful man who controlled an empire.
Like a father who thought he had lost his child again.
"Isabella!"
His voice echoed between the stone graves.
A security team followed behind him, sweeping the area with flashlights.
Then I saw her.
A small figure sitting in front of Elena's grave.
Barefoot.
Still wearing the same blue pajamas from the mansion.
Her stuffed rabbit was pressed tightly against her chest.
"Isabella!"
Dante dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms.
For a moment, he simply held her.
No questions.
No anger.
Only relief.
"I thought I lost you."
The little girl wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'm sorry, Daddy."
His voice cracked.
"How did you get here?"
She looked past him.
Toward me.
"She brought me."
Everyone froze.
I slowly walked closer.
"Who?"
Isabella pointed at the grave.
"The lady."
Dante looked confused.
"What lady?"
"The one from my dreams."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Isabella..."
I knelt beside her.
"What did she look like?"
The little girl thought carefully.
"She had pretty hair."
"What color?"
"Like fire."
My breath stopped.
Auburn hair.
The same color as Elena's.
"Did she tell you her name?"
Isabella nodded.
"Mommy."
No one spoke.
Dante stared at his daughter.
"Isabella, your mother isn't here."
The little girl looked hurt.
"She was."
"She talked to me."
Marco exchanged a worried glance with me.
Children didn't understand death the way adults did.
But there was something strange about this.
Something beyond imagination.
"Where is your sister?" Dante asked suddenly.
Isabella's face changed.
"Sofia stayed."
"Stayed where?"
"With the bad man."
Every guard immediately raised their weapons.
Dante's expression became dangerous.
"What bad man?"
Isabella pointed toward the old chapel at the edge of the cemetery.
"The one who took us."
Everyone turned.
The chapel had been abandoned for decades.
The wooden doors hung crooked.
No lights.
No movement.
Marco signaled the guards.
"Surround it."
Dante looked at me.
"Stay here."
"No."
His eyes narrowed.
"Ava—"
"She came back because of me."
I looked toward the chapel.
"She trusts me."
For a moment, he wanted to argue.
Then he remembered something.
Elena's letter.
Save my daughters.
He nodded once.
"Stay behind me."
We moved toward the chapel.
The doors opened with a violent creak.
Inside, the air smelled like dust and old wood.
The walls were covered with faded religious paintings.
At the center of the room stood Sofia.
Alive.
Unharmed.
But not alone.
A man stood behind her.
His hand rested gently on her shoulder.
Not threatening.
Almost protective.
Every guard aimed their weapons.
"Step away from the child," Marco ordered.
The man smiled.
A familiar smile.
One Dante recognized immediately.
"No."
The entire room froze.
Because the man wasn't a stranger.
He was someone who had been inside the Moretti mansion hundreds of times.
Someone Dante trusted.
Someone who had stood beside him through every crisis.
Dante's voice dropped.
"Impossible."
The man stepped into the candlelight.
Older.
Calm.
Completely confident.
"Hello, Dante."
The air disappeared from the room.
Because the man standing there...
Was Dante Moretti's closest adviser.
The man who had raised him after his father died.
The man who had helped build his empire.
Victor Bellini.
Marco's face turned pale.
"No..."
Dante stared at him.
"You."
Victor smiled sadly.
"I knew Elena would eventually find someone clever enough to uncover the truth."
Dante stepped forward.
"You kidnapped my daughters."
Victor looked at Sofia.
"I protected them."
A dangerous silence followed.
"Protected them?"
Dante's voice became colder.
"You murdered my wife."
Victor's smile faded.
For the first time...
A crack appeared in his confidence.
"Your wife discovered things she was never supposed to know."
The guards tightened their grip on their weapons.
Dante looked ready to end everything right there.
But I noticed something.
Sofia wasn't afraid.
She was holding Victor's hand.
Not because she was forced.
Because she knew him.
"Why?" Dante whispered.
Victor looked toward the children.
"Because Elena was right."
"Someone inside this family betrayed you."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"Then why take my daughters?"
Victor looked at me.
And his next words changed everything.
"Because they weren't the target."
Everyone turned.
Victor continued.
"The target was Ava."
My heart stopped.
Dante looked at me.
"What?"
Victor stepped closer.
"Lucia didn't just save Elena."
"She hid something."
"Something the Raven Circle has spent thirty years searching for."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"And your grandmother left it with you."
I shook my head.
"I don't have anything."
Victor smiled.
"Yes, you do."
"You just don't know it yet."
Before anyone could react, the chapel lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot exploded in the darkness.
Then another.
When the lights returned...
Victor was gone.
And lying on the floor beside Sofia...
Was a blood-stained piece of paper.
May you like
On it were three words.
THE GIRL REMEMBERS.
