Chapter 2 - THE TURN OF THE KEY
Sofia lunged forward like a cornered animal, her manicured fingernails clawing at my sleeve. "Don't! Alexander, stop! If you open that, everything we've built—our engagement, our future—is over!"
"Our future ended the moment I saw my daughter kneeling on a hardwood floor in a maid's uniform cleaning your high heels," I snarled, effortlessly brushing Sofia aside with my free arm. She stumbled backward, crashing hard against the edge of the mahogany coffee table, sending her half-empty glass of wine shattering across the Persian rug in a dark, spreading stain.
I ignored her. I walked the three paces across the living room floor, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Sofia’s deceit was already heavy, but the sound coming from inside that compartment meant something far worse than cruelty. It meant someone was alive inside a space meant only for storage. Or worse... someone had been placed there.
I knelt down in front of the cabinet doors, keeping Sofia within my peripheral vision. The brass keyhole was old, ornate, cold to the touch.
Sofia let out a broken, hysterical sob from the floor, clutching her bruised hip. "You’ll regret this! You think you know me? You think I wanted to play nanny to a dead woman's brat? Your shipping empire is only standing because my father’s syndicate backed your liquidity crisis last year! If you ruin this for me, I'll destroy you and your precious daughter both!"
The mask was completely gone now. The sweet, charitable society woman had vanished, leaving only a desperate, vicious predator exposed in the light.
I slid the silver key into the lock. It fit with a smooth, oiled click.
May you like
Behind me, Sofia covered her ears, screaming out as I turned the key counter-clockwise until the heavy deadbolt mechanism gave a deep, metallic thunk.
With my hand shaking slightly, I pulled the right cabinet door open.
