CHAPTER 8 : THE SECRET ROOM

Celine

The moment he was gone, I let out a sharp exhale, leaning back into the chair. I rubbed my throbbing head tiredly, my eyelids fluttering shut. But they snapped open almost immediately as the sound of soft footsteps sipped through my consciousness.

“You can take that away, Janice,” I said gently to the head maid, a petite woman in her mid 50s, as she approached the table holding a ceramic bowl. “I won't be having dinner.”

She placed the bowl down, her kind eyes resting on me. “Mr Gray instructed you eat–”

“Please, Janice,” I cut in, my tone conveying my exhaustion.

She paused briefly, a reluctant look flickering in her eyes, then nodded slowly.

I rose to my feet, heading up the stairs to the bedroom. Once I was in, I crawled into my bed, resting on my side. A single tear escaped my eyes and dropped onto the soft pillow, images of those dead men at the front of the villa lingering on, now mingling with the one from years ago. Blood on my face. Blood in my hands.

I squeezed my eyes shut and dragged my arm over my head, pressing it over my ears to drown out the memories. I just wanted to erase it all. Forget everything. Maybe when the sun came tomorrow, it would all have faded away with the moon.

The next morning, I awoke to the usual silence that coexisted with the Gray Villa.

The house was never truly empty, but it may as well have been; with servants whose bodies were actively present yet absent in spirit, always minding the business that pays them. They didn't talk much. Only spoke when they were spoken to. Plus the conversations were usually brief. And the icing on the cake? Laughters were never heard. Not even the faintest chuckle.

Solitude was a pattern they had all picked up from working for an overbearing boss like Antonio Gray, and silence, while peaceful, wasn't really the kind for comfort. So even though I had already grown accustomed to loneliness, it would have been nice to have some company around here.

As I stepped out of the bedroom, deciding to seek the solace of the outdoor garden which had now become some sort of a safe space, I took a hasty step back, pressing myself against the doorframe as I spotted Antonio stepping out of that room. The same mystery room whose heavy oak doors were constantly locked like a secret vault. Out of all the identical doors that lined the hallway, it was the only one that stood apart, completely painted in crimson red.

From the very first day I stepped foot here, I'd been thoroughly warned by the servants that it was the one place which was strictly out of bounds to everyone but him. He always went in there alone at odd hours. It was almost like a ritual to him. And in a few minutes he’d be out. Other times he'd stay locked up in there for as long as an hour.

I peeked cautiously, my brows creased deeply in suspicion as he shut the door and reached for the necklace around his neck which held a pendant shaped like a key, inserting it into the lock. Once the door was clicked shut, he tugged at the handle to make sure it was firmly locked, then hung the chain back around his neck and tucked it into his shirt away from sight, before disappearing into his study directly opposite the room.

I took a step into the hallway, staring into nothingness as I struggled to wrap my head around what important thing could be hiding behind that red door that he safeguarded meticulously, even to the point of always sleeping with the key around his neck. He never took it off. Not for once.

What dark secret could that room possibly hold that he wanted to keep hidden so badly? It couldn't be a dead body. What was it then? Perhaps, someone he didn't want the world to know about? Like a secret mistress or child. No, there was no reason for him to hide that. It had to be something bigger than that if the great Antonio Gray didn't want it out at all cost.

All this time, I hadn't even thought much of the fuss surrounding that odd red door and why it was such a taboo to go anywhere near it. Even though I felt it was unsettling and eerie, I never really cared. I chose not to pay attention because I already had my own stuff to worry about. But after last night, I needed to know what the story behind that room was. Who knows, it might just be my one-way ticket to freedom. And if I'm lucky, I could even get my hands on something scandalous enough to pull him down.

Whatever was on the other side, I had to find out somehow. I had to get out of this house. Far away from him. And if that secret room was the key to making it happen, I would risk everything to get in.

I jolted out of my thoughts as I spotted Matteo walking up the stairs, his head tipped down as he scanned the document in his hand. “Matteo,” I called out in haste, seeing this as my chance. If there was anyone who knew the A to Z of Antonio, it was him.

He stopped at the foot of the stairs as I walked over to him, looking up from the document to face me. “Buongiorno, Celine,” he greeted with a radiant smile.

“Buongiorno,” I returned his good morning greeting with a small smile as I came to a halt a few feet away from where he stood.

Even though Matteo was nowhere near a righteous man and his hands were soiled with as much blood as Antonio's, I preferred him a hundred times to that no-good grumpy face. He was 6ft tall, good-looking, friendly, and more importantly, a true gentleman. He had this warm presence to him. In a different scenario, he would have definitely been my ideal type of man.

“Do you need something?” he asked politely, still smiling.

“Uh…actually,” I began. “I do. Well sort of.”

He raised an eyebrow playfully, prompting me to speak.

“That room,” I said in a casual tone, turning in its direction. I could feel his gaze following me as I did, and when I looked back, he was already staring at me, the warmth in his eyes, and the smile on his lips, completely gone like they were never there.

“What about it?” he asked, his tone now serious.

“I was just curious,” I replied, trying not to carve under his scrutinizing gaze. “as to why no one's allowed to go in there besides Antonio. Is there a dead body hidden in there?” I threw in the joke with an awkward chuckle, twisting the ring on my finger in an attempt to hide my gnawing nervousness. The last thing I wanted was for him to see through my intentions.

I mean, I'd never even seen Matteo, his best friend in the whole world anywhere close to that room, and they were glued to the hips. Literally. So that only meant I was on to something.

Silence stretched between us for a few seconds, my heart thumping in my chest as his eyes remained glued to me. Then slowly, a smile resurfaced on his lips, almost wider, that I couldn't even tell if they were real or fake.

“Going close to that room will be the quickest way to die,” he said in a playful tone, but the warning behind it was clear. “If you don't want that, I’d advise you tame your curiosity. I'm sure you know Antonio's temper.” He threw me a mischievous wink, walking off.

My chest fell as I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding in, all the tension seeping out.

What was I even thinking asking him? Of course he wouldn't just leak Antonio's secret to me. He was the most loyal person I'd ever met. Either way, I wasn't going to let his words scare me. I’ll certainly find out what they were hiding one way or another. It wouldn’t be easy under Antonio's vigilant eyes, but it was a risk I was willing to take.

He said in order to survive you must either be the prey or the predator, right? Well it’s high time this prey became the predator.

I just needed to find a way in. And when I did, the almighty mafia lord wouldn't know what hit him.