Chapter 5 — The Woman Who Could Not Speak
Chapter 5 — The Woman Who Could Not Speak
At 6:14 a.m., the Duca estate finally became quiet.
The last guests had been escorted to the west wing.
The guards remained at every entrance.
The ballroom looked like the aftermath of a war disguised as a party.
Half-empty champagne glasses.
Abandoned plates.
Broken flowers.
A string quartet packing their instruments without speaking.
Lorenzo stood alone beside the enormous windows.
He had not slept.
He had not eaten.
And he had not taken his eyes off Serena for more than a few seconds at a time.
She was asleep upstairs.
At least, that was what the security report said.
Lorenzo no longer trusted reports.
He trusted evidence.
And evidence had a strange habit of appearing when people believed they were safe.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Marco.
Elena wants to speak with you. Alone.
Lorenzo immediately replied.
Bring her to the library.
Then he stopped.
He thought about Mia.
No guards inside.
Elena entered the library at 6:22.
She looked exhausted.
Her black uniform was wrinkled.
Her hair had fallen loose from its usual knot.
She closed the door behind her.
For several seconds, she simply stood there.
Lorenzo waited.
"Sit."
She did.
Her hands trembled in her lap.
Lorenzo noticed.
"You asked to speak with me."
Elena nodded.
"About Mia?"
Another nod.
"About Serena?"
Elena's face changed.
Fear.
Immediate and unmistakable.
Lorenzo leaned forward.
"You don't have to protect her."
Elena looked at him.
"I'm not protecting Serena."
"Then who are you protecting?"
"My daughter."
Lorenzo was silent.
Elena swallowed.
"Mr. Duca..."
"Call me Lorenzo."
She hesitated.
"Lorenzo."
"Tell me what happened."
Elena looked toward the door.
Then back at him.
"You need to understand something before I tell you."
"What?"
"My daughter doesn't speak because she doesn't trust voices."
Lorenzo frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It will."
Elena took a breath.
"Mia could speak when she was three."
Lorenzo's expression changed.
"I thought she had always been unable to."
"No."
Elena lowered her eyes.
"She was a normal child."
"Then what happened?"
"Serena happened."
Silence.
Lorenzo stared at her.
Elena's voice became quieter.
"It started two years ago."
Two years earlier, Elena had worked at another Romano property.
Not the Duca estate.
A townhouse in Manhattan.
She had been employed there for six months.
Mia was three.
A curious little girl.
Always running.
Always asking questions.
Always talking.
According to Elena, Mia talked constantly.
About birds.
About flowers.
About cartoons.
About her mother.
About everything.
Then one afternoon, Elena received an urgent phone call.
She had to leave Mia with another employee for less than an hour.
When she returned...
Mia was sitting underneath a table.
Silent.
Elena had laughed at first.
She thought it was a game.
She called her daughter's name.
"Mia?"
Nothing.
"Mia, sweetheart?"
Nothing.
The little girl looked terrified.
Elena crawled beneath the table.
"What happened?"
Mia wouldn't answer.
She only pointed toward the hallway.
Elena looked.
Serena stood there.
Watching.
She smiled.
Then walked away.
Elena had asked the other employee what happened.
The woman refused to answer.
The next morning, Elena was told to sign a confidentiality agreement.
She refused.
Three days later, she lost her job.
Mia didn't speak for nine months.
Doctors said the child had experienced severe psychological trauma.
Elena eventually found another job.
At the Duca estate.
She thought she had escaped the Romano family.
She was wrong.
"Serena came here?"
Lorenzo asked.
Elena nodded.
"Several times."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You do."
Elena looked at him.
"I think she was looking for something."
"What?"
"I don't know."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"Try."
Elena closed her eyes.
"Your father."
Lorenzo went completely still.
"My father?"
"She asked questions about him."
"What questions?"
"Where he kept documents."
"Which documents?"
"I don't know."
"Elena."
Her hands tightened.
"She asked about a room."
"What room?"
"A room underneath the house."
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"The hidden room."
Elena nodded.
"She asked if I had ever seen your father go there."
"Did you?"
"No."
"Then why was she asking you?"
"Because she thought I knew something."
"What?"
Elena looked at him.
"About Mia."
Lorenzo frowned.
"What does Mia have to do with my father?"
"I don't know."
"You're hiding something."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"I've been hiding everything."
She took a small breath.
"Because every time I told the truth, someone got hurt."
Lorenzo stood and walked toward the window.
"What did Serena do to Mia?"
Elena didn't answer.
"What did she do?"
"She didn't hurt her physically."
Lorenzo turned.
"Then what?"
"She made her watch."
"Watch what?"
Elena's face went pale.
"Your father."
Lorenzo froze.
"My father died twelve years ago."
"I know."
"Then how could Mia have watched him?"
"She didn't."
Elena whispered:
"She watched a recording."
Lorenzo stared.
"What recording?"
"I don't know."
"Where?"
"The old townhouse."
"Who recorded it?"
"I don't know."
"Elena."
"I swear."
Lorenzo walked closer.
"What did Mia see?"
Elena looked down.
"A man."
"Your father?"
"I don't know."
"What did he say?"
"I don't know."
"What did Mia tell you?"
Elena's lips trembled.
"She drew him."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"Where is the drawing?"
Elena reached into her bag.
She removed a folded piece of paper.
She handed it to him.
Lorenzo unfolded it.
A man's face.
A scar beneath the left eye.
A dark suit.
And behind him...
a red-haired woman.
Lorenzo stared.
"That's not my father."
"No."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know."
"Then why are you showing me?"
"Because Mia drew the same man three times."
Lorenzo looked up.
"Three times?"
"Three different places."
"Where?"
"The townhouse."
"The Duca estate."
"And the hospital."
Lorenzo's blood ran cold.
"What hospital?"
"The hospital where your father died."
Silence.
Lorenzo slowly looked at the drawing again.
"What does the woman represent?"
Elena shook her head.
"Mia won't tell me."
"She can write?"
"Sometimes."
"Then ask her."
Elena looked toward the door.
"She won't."
"Why?"
"Because Serena taught her something."
"What?"
Elena's voice broke.
"That speaking gets people killed."
Lorenzo sat down.
For the first time that morning, he looked shaken.
"What exactly did Serena tell her?"
Elena hesitated.
"She told Mia that if she ever told anyone what she saw, her mother would disappear."
Lorenzo's hands clenched.
"She threatened a three-year-old."
"Yes."
"And Mia believed her."
"She saw what happened to another woman."
"What woman?"
"I don't know her name."
"Where is she?"
"Dead."
Lorenzo looked up.
"How do you know?"
"Because Serena told Mia that the woman talked too much."
The room became silent.
Lorenzo's face changed.
He had seen violence.
He had ordered violence.
But threatening a child to silence her was something else.
Something colder.
Something that made his anger feel almost physical.
"Why didn't you come to me?"
Elena laughed bitterly.
"Would you have believed me?"
Lorenzo didn't answer.
She continued.
"I tried."
"When?"
"Three months ago."
"I don't remember."
"I never reached you."
"Why?"
"Your secretary intercepted me."
Lorenzo's eyes sharpened.
"Who?"
"Daniel Cross."
The name landed heavily.
Daniel.
His attorney.
The man who knew the trust.
The man Serena had been photographed with.
The man who could manipulate documents.
Lorenzo's mind connected the pieces.
"Did Daniel threaten you?"
"No."
"What did he say?"
"He said you didn't need another frightened employee filling your head with stories."
Lorenzo stood.
"And then?"
"He told me to stay away from Serena."
Lorenzo frowned.
"That doesn't sound like a threat."
Elena looked at him.
"He also told me that if I wanted to keep my job..."
She paused.
"...I should remember that powerful families don't forgive disloyal servants."
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
"Why stay?"
"I needed the money."
"And Mia?"
"She needed medicine."
"What medicine?"
Elena shook her head.
"Nothing serious."
Lorenzo stared at her.
She was lying.
He could see it.
But before he could ask again, a small sound came from the hallway.
A soft knock.
Three times.
Elena froze.
Lorenzo turned.
The door opened.
Mia stood there.
She held her notebook.
She looked at Elena.
Then at Lorenzo.
She walked toward them.
Lorenzo crouched.
"Mia."
She handed him the notebook.
A single sentence was written inside.
SERENA KNOWS ABOUT THE ROOM.
Lorenzo looked at Elena.
Then back at the child.
"How do you know?"
Mia pointed toward the ceiling.
Then toward the ballroom.
Then toward the staircase.
She drew a simple picture.
A woman.
A key.
A door.
And beneath the door...
a circle.
Lorenzo recognized it.
The symbol was carved into the wall of his father's hidden office.
He had seen it many times.
He had never known what it meant.
"What is this?"
Mia pointed toward the drawing.
Then toward herself.
Lorenzo frowned.
"You saw it?"
She nodded.
"Where?"
She pointed downstairs.
The basement.
Lorenzo stood.
"Marco."
The door opened almost immediately.
"Boss?"
"Bring me the original plans of the estate."
Marco nodded.
"Anything else?"
"Yes."
Lorenzo looked at Mia.
"Find every reference to that symbol."
Marco's expression changed.
"What symbol?"
Lorenzo held up the notebook.
"This."
Marco stared.
"I've seen that before."
"Where?"
"In the old records."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"Whose records?"
"Your father's."
Twenty minutes later, the documents were spread across the library table.
Architectural plans.
Property records.
Old correspondence.
Financial documents.
Lorenzo's father had preserved everything.
Marco pointed at a page.
"There."
A small symbol.
Same circle.
Same lines.
Same mark.
Beside it was a handwritten note.
M-17.
Lorenzo stared.
"What does M-17 mean?"
Marco shook his head.
"Nothing in the property records."
"Search everything."
They did.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Nothing.
Then Elena suddenly spoke.
"I've seen that."
Lorenzo turned.
"Where?"
"On a bottle."
"What bottle?"
"The one Serena gave Mia."
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"When?"
"Two years ago."
"What was in it?"
"I don't know."
"What did it look like?"
"Black."
"Anything else?"
Elena thought.
"A silver label."
"Was it wine?"
"No."
"Medicine?"
"I don't know."
Lorenzo looked at Mia.
The child was staring at the symbol.
She began shaking her head.
"No."
It was the first sound Lorenzo had heard from her.
Barely audible.
Broken.
But unmistakable.
Lorenzo froze.
Elena covered her mouth.
"Mia..."
The little girl pointed at the symbol.
Then toward Lorenzo.
Then she whispered one more word.
"Bad."
Lorenzo crouched beside her.
"What's bad?"
Mia pointed toward the basement.
Then toward the symbol.
Then she covered her mouth with both hands.
Lorenzo understood.
Whatever M-17 was...
Mia had seen it.
And Serena was connected to it.
At 7:48 a.m., Serena entered the library.
She looked immaculate.
Fresh dress.
Perfect hair.
No sign that she had spent the night under suspicion.
She smiled.
"Good morning."
No one answered.
Her eyes moved across the table.
Documents.
Photographs.
Mia.
Then Lorenzo.
She smiled again.
"What's going on?"
Lorenzo stood.
"Nothing."
Serena walked toward him.
"You look exhausted."
"So do you."
She laughed.
"I slept badly."
"Why?"
"I was worried about you."
She touched his face.
Lorenzo allowed it.
Her fingers were soft.
Her expression loving.
Her alibi remained perfect.
But Mia suddenly moved behind Elena.
The moment Serena looked at her, the child's body began trembling.
Serena noticed.
"What happened to her?"
Lorenzo watched carefully.
Serena's voice was gentle.
Almost motherly.
"Mia?"
The girl backed away.
Serena's smile disappeared for a fraction of a second.
Then returned.
"She's afraid of me."
She laughed softly.
"I don't know why."
Lorenzo said nothing.
Serena looked at him.
"Do you?"
Lorenzo smiled.
"No."
She stepped closer.
"Good."
She kissed his cheek.
Then whispered:
"Because you have nothing to worry about."
Lorenzo watched her walk away.
Mia slowly emerged from behind Elena.
She looked at Lorenzo.
Then pointed toward Serena.
She made a circle with her fingers.
Then crossed her arms.
Lorenzo understood.
M-17.
Serena knew.
And Mia was terrified because she had seen what happened to people who knew too much.
Lorenzo looked toward the closed library door.
His face became expressionless.
The woman he intended to marry had just walked into a room containing evidence against her.
She hadn't panicked.
She hadn't asked questions.
She hadn't even looked surprised.
She had simply smiled.
That was more frightening than guilt.
It meant Serena knew something Lorenzo did not.
And somewhere beneath the Duca estate...
there was a secret important enough to make a child lose her voice.
Lorenzo turned toward Marco.
"Seal the basement."
Marco nodded.
"No one enters."
"Not even Serena."
"Understood."
Lorenzo looked at the symbol again.
M-17.
Then at Mia.
The little girl was watching him.
For the first time in years, Lorenzo felt something he had almost forgotten.
Not fear.
Responsibility.
Someone had tried to silence a child because she had seen the truth.
Now Lorenzo intended to make sure she never had to be silent again.
But before he could uncover what M-17 meant, his phone rang.
Daniel Cross.
Lorenzo answered.
"Yes?"
Daniel's voice was unusually calm.
"We need to discuss the marriage documents."
Lorenzo looked toward the door Serena had just exited.
"Why?"
"Because Serena has signed her portion."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"And?"
"There is only one signature missing."
"Whose?"
"Yours."
Lorenzo smiled.
"Then we'll sign tomorrow."
There was a pause.
Daniel exhaled.
"Are you certain?"
"Absolutely."
"Good."
The call ended.
Lorenzo stared at the phone.
Marco asked:
"Why did you agree?"
Lorenzo looked toward the basement.
"Because I want them to believe the poison is working."
He paused.
"And I want them to think I'm about to give them everything."
His expression hardened.
"Then we'll see who comes for the signature."
Behind him, Mia quietly opened her notebook.
She wrote four words.
DON'T MARRY HER, LORENZO.
Then she drew a fifth symbol.
M-17.
May you like
And beneath it...
a grave.
