Chapter 2 - The Hidden Safe
The Vance estate was a fortified stone fortress hidden deep within the private forests of Lake Forest. Heavy iron gates swiveled open as the black sedan swept up the long, winding driveway, stopping before a grand double-staircase entry.
Sofía was guided inside, her filthy, oversized shoes dragging across pristine white marble floors. The house was dead quiet, smelling of expensive polish, old paper, and stale whiskey.
Matteo led her past grand oil paintings and crystal chandeliers into his private study—a massive, mahogany-paneled room lined with hundreds of leather-bound books and equipped with state-of-the-art security monitors.
"Clear the room," Matteo barked to his guards as he stepped behind his heavy oak desk. "Clear the entire floor. No one comes up these stairs until I say so."
The guards bowed their heads respectfully, pulling the heavy double doors shut until a solid click echoed through the room.
Left alone with the most dangerous man in Chicago, Sofía stood nervously in the center of the Persian rug, clutching her dirty blanket like a shield.
Matteo didn't sit down. He walked over to a heavy oil painting depicting a tempestuous sea scene, pulled the frame forward, and revealed a heavy, biometric steel safe built into the brickwork.
He pressed his thumb against the scanner. A sharp electronic beep chimed, followed by the heavy mechanical clunk of heavy deadbolts sliding back.
Matteo reached inside the dark steel vault. He didn't pull out stack of cash, gold bars, or unregistered firearms.
He pulled out a small, faded leather album.
With steady, deliberate hands, Matteo opened the velvet cover and withdrew a single, yellowed photograph. The edges were frayed, and the colors had faded into soft sepia tones, but the image was crystal clear.
He walked over to Sofía and laid the picture flat on his desk.
Sofía stepped forward cautiously, leaning over the dark wood.
The photograph showed two little girls, no older than six and four, sitting together on a wooden porch swing under a bright yellow sun. The older girl had her arm wrapped protectively around the younger sister's shoulders. Both wore matching silver lockets around their necks.
It was Elena and Sofía.
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Sofía’s breath hitched in her throat. Her eyes welled with sudden, hot tears. "Where... where did you get this?" she gasped. "My mother lost this photo twenty years ago when our house burned down!"
Matteo looked down at the photograph, then lifted his eyes to Sofía. "Your mother didn't lose it, Sofía. I took it."
