Chapter 5 - The Chapel Under the GroundThe chapel stood at the edge of the estate, abandoned for nearly a decade.
At sunrise, Sofia and Leonardo arrived with Detective Ramirez.
Rainwater ran down the stone angels.
Inside, candles still burned.
Someone had been there recently.
Leonardo noticed the floor.
“There.”
A section of marble looked newer.
Ramirez called forensic specialists.
They lifted the stone.
Beneath it was a metal box.
Inside were photographs, bank statements, and a handwritten journal.
Sofia opened the journal.
The handwriting belonged to her father.
If Sofia ever finds this, tell her I tried to protect her.
She stopped breathing.
Leonardo placed a hand on her shoulder.
She continued reading.
Helena believes money is power. She is wrong. Information is power. And the person who controls the Valenti offshore accounts controls the truth.
Then came a name.
Victor Kane.
Sofia stared at it.
“The lawyer.”
Ramirez nodded.
“There is more.”
Leonardo turned the page.
The final entry was dated two days before the supposed heart attack.
I have proof Helena ordered the transfer. But the person funding her is not who we think.
The next page had been torn out.
Sofia looked at the missing edge.
“Someone removed it.”
Leonardo crouched.
“Maybe not.”
He pointed toward the wall.
A faint scratch marked the stone.
Together, they pushed a hidden panel.
It opened.
Inside was a second journal.
And a photograph.
Leonardo took it.
His face drained of color.
The photograph showed Helena.
Victor Kane.
And a third person.
Leonardo stared.
“No.”
Sofia looked.
The third person was Leonardo's older brother.
A brother Leonardo had been told died in childhood.
Sofia whispered:
“Your brother is alive.”
A sound came from behind them.
Footsteps.
Ramirez drew his gun.
“Who's there?”
A man's voice answered from the darkness.
May you like
“Someone who knows why your father really died.”
The lights went out.
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