CHAPTER 4 — MY GRANDMOTHER'S SECRET
CHAPTER 4 — MY GRANDMOTHER'S SECRET
No one spoke.
The only sound in the nursery was the rain hammering against the windows.
Every pair of eyes remained fixed on me.
Dante's expression had changed again.
Not to trust.
Not even to suspicion.
To curiosity.
"What do you know about that symbol?" he asked.
I looked at the dead man's wrist one more time before answering.
"Not much."
Marco frowned.
"That's not good enough."
"It has to be, because it's the truth."
Dante raised one hand, signaling Marco to stay quiet.
"Then tell me what you do know."
I took a slow breath.
"When I was twelve, I found an old wooden chest in my grandmother's attic."
"What was inside?"
"Letters."
"From whom?"
"I don't know."
"They were written in Italian. My grandmother never let me read them."
I swallowed hard, remembering the day as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.
"I noticed that same raven symbol stamped on the back of every envelope."
"And?"
"She caught me looking through them."
"What did she do?"
"She took the chest into the backyard."
The memory tightened around my chest.
"She burned every letter."
Marco crossed his arms.
"That's it?"
"No."
I looked at the tattoo again.
"Before she lit the fire, she grabbed my shoulders and told me something I'd never heard her say before."
"What?"
I repeated her exact words.
"If you ever see this symbol again... run before it sees you first."
The room fell silent.
Dante stared at the dead intruder.
Marco slowly removed the glove completely, exposing the tattoo.
"The Raven Circle," he muttered.
I looked at him.
"You know it?"
Marco nodded once.
"I hoped I'd never see it again."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"You've never mentioned them."
"Because I thought they were gone."
"Who are they?"
Marco hesitated.
"They aren't a family."
"They aren't a cartel."
"They're something worse."
Dante waited.
"They sell information."
"They don't care who wins."
"They don't care who dies."
"They infiltrate powerful families, governments, corporations... then auction secrets to the highest bidder."
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"The Moretti family?"
Marco nodded.
"If someone hired the Raven Circle to target this house..."
"They're planning something much bigger than an assassination."
Dante looked toward his sleeping daughters.
"They're planning leverage."
Just then another guard hurried into the nursery.
"Boss."
"What now?"
"We searched the intruder."
"And?"
"He carried no identification."
Marco wasn't surprised.
"But..."
The guard handed Dante a small plastic evidence bag.
Inside was an old silver key.
Nothing unusual about it.
Except for the engraving.
A single letter.
L.
My heartbeat stopped.
I knew that key.
Or at least I'd seen one exactly like it.
"My grandmother had one."
Everyone looked at me.
"The same engraving?"
I nodded.
"The letter L."
Marco frowned.
"You're sure?"
"I used to play with it when I was little."
"What happened to it?"
"I don't know."
"My grandmother hid it after she caught me."
Dante examined the key through the plastic.
"Could she have belonged to the Raven Circle?"
"No."
I answered so quickly that even I surprised myself.
"How can you be certain?"
"Because she was terrified of them."
"You don't know that."
"I do."
"Why?"
I looked down.
"Every time someone knocked on our door unexpectedly, she'd lock every window in the house."
"Every single one."
"Even in the middle of summer."
Marco exchanged a glance with Dante.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not guilt.
There was a difference.
Dante noticed it too.
His voice softened for the first time.
"What else did your grandmother tell you?"
I searched my memory.
There was something.
Something I'd never understood.
"When I was sixteen, she got very sick."
I paused.
"The night before she died..."
The words came back almost perfectly.
She had gripped my hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"If anyone ever sings the lullaby..."
"Listen carefully."
"Because they're either family..."
"Or they're about to die."
A loud crash interrupted us.
Everyone spun toward the hallway.
Another guard came running around the corner.
His face was white.
"Boss!"
"What happened?"
"The security office."
"What about it?"
"It's been wiped."
Marco's eyes widened.
"What do you mean wiped?"
"Every surveillance recording."
"Every backup."
"Every hard drive."
"Gone."
The room froze.
Someone hadn't just infiltrated the mansion.
Someone had erased every trace that they had ever been there.
Marco grabbed his radio.
"Seal every exit!"
A burst of static answered him.
Then a frightened voice.
"Sir..."
"What?"
"We're missing a guard."
Dante's face turned to stone.
"Which one?"
"No one knows."
"The roster doesn't match."
Marco slowly lowered the radio.
"Someone has been inside this house..."
"...long before tonight."
As everyone rushed out of the nursery, I glanced one last time at the dead intruder.
The silver key was gone.
May you like
Someone had taken it.
And no one had seen who.
