Chapter 18 - The Last Door
Beatrice stood.
Lily clutched her rabbit.
“Bee.”
“Stay behind me.”
Gianni pounded again.
“Open the door.”
Beatrice did not answer.
“I’m trying to help you.”
She almost laughed.
“You watched Victoria lock her in here.”
Silence.
“Beatrice, Sterling’s men are inside the house.”
“And you brought them?”
“No.”
“Then leave.”
“I know how to get Lily out.”
“We don’t need you.”
The handle rattled.
Gianni’s voice changed.
“You don’t understand.”
“What?”
“They’re not here for the flash drive.”
Beatrice froze.
“What are they here for?”
“Lily.”
The child pressed closer.
“Why?”
“Sterling created a contingency.”
“What does that mean?”
“If he was arrested, Lily becomes leverage.”
Beatrice felt sick.
Gianni continued.
“He has evidence against people far more dangerous than him.”
“Why does Lily matter?”
“Because Leo would trade anything for her.”
That part was true.
Beatrice looked at Lily.
Gianni lowered his voice.
“I made terrible choices.”
Beatrice stared at the door.
“You helped kill her mother.”
“I know.”
“You watched Victoria hurt her.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get to fix that by saying you’re sorry.”
“I know.”
For the first time, Gianni sounded completely broken.
“But I can stop one more thing from happening.”
A burst of gunfire sounded upstairs.
Lily jumped.
Beatrice made a decision.
She opened the inner viewing slot.
Gianni stood outside.
Blood covered one sleeve.
He held no weapon.
“Where is Mateo?”
“North hall.”
“Leo?”
“Fighting his way here.”
“Who else knows this entrance?”
“Sterling’s contractor.”
“How long?”
“Maybe two minutes.”
Beatrice closed the slot.
She looked around.
The cellar had another exit.
The old wine tunnel.
Sofia’s secret room had exposed the mechanism.
“Lily.”
The child looked up.
“We’re going through Mommy’s secret door.”
They opened the hidden panel.
Cold air moved through the passage.
Gianni remained outside the main door.
“Go.”
Beatrice stopped.
“What are you doing?”
“Buying time.”
“You don’t have a weapon.”
“I know.”
“You’ll die.”
Gianni smiled through the narrow opening.
“Maybe.”
Beatrice stared at the man who had helped destroy Sofia.
She felt no forgiveness.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
But redemption and forgiveness were not the same thing.
Sometimes a person could finally do one right thing after a lifetime of wrong ones.
Beatrice closed the panel.
She and Lily entered the tunnel.
Behind them, the cellar door crashed open.
Men shouted.
Then Gianni’s voice roared.
“You’re not taking that child.”
Beatrice pulled Lily forward.
The tunnel curved beneath the garden.
At the far end, another steel door opened into the greenhouse.
Mateo stood there.
“Thank God.”
He grabbed Lily.
“Where’s Gianni?”
Beatrice looked back.
A distant sound echoed through the tunnel.
Then silence.
Mateo understood.
Leo appeared seconds later.
His shirt was torn.
Blood marked his temple.
He saw Lily.
Everything else disappeared.
“Daddy!”
She ran into his arms.
Leo lifted her from the floor.
Beatrice watched him hold her.
Then he reached one arm toward Beatrice.
He did not ask.
She stepped into it.
For several seconds, the three of them stood together beneath the broken greenhouse lights.
Outside, sirens filled the night.
May you like
Sterling Kensington’s last move had failed.
But its price had not yet been counted.
