Chapter 11 - The Bunker
We reached the hunting property after midnight.
Only the stone chimney remained above ground.
Matteo found the bunker entrance beneath a rusted shed.
The door was unlocked.
That worried me.
Inside, the lights were on.
A kettle was still warm.
Someone had been there minutes earlier.
"Grace!" I shouted.
No answer.
We searched three rooms before finding a fourth behind a sliding wall.
There was a mattress, clean bandages, baby formula, and a chair facing a small television.
On the screen was a live camera feed of Nicholas sleeping in the convent.
My stomach turned.
Sofia had found him.
"She knows where the baby is," I said.
Matteo cursed.
Then a weak voice came from behind us.
"Luca?"
I turned so fast I hit the table.
Grace stood in the doorway.
For one second, neither of us moved.
She was pale. Thinner. One wrist was bandaged. But she was alive.
I crossed the room and caught her before her knees gave out.
"I'm here," I said into her hair. "I'm here."
She started crying without sound.
I did too.
Then she pulled back.
"Nicholas. Where is he?"
"Safe at the convent."
Terror replaced relief.
"No."
"Matteo said-"
"Your mother knows about the convent."
"We just saw the feed."
Grace shook her head.
"That isn't the convent camera. Sofia installed it herself. She wanted me to watch him."
"Why?"
"To make me sign."
"Sign what?"
Grace looked at Matteo.
"A statement saying Luca was violent, unstable, and unfit to inherit control of Rossi Maritime."
The room went silent.
May you like
Then Grace whispered the part that changed everything.
"I signed it."
