In the shadowy world of organized crime, Cassandra de Ville is no stranger to tragedy. When her powerful mafia lord father and beloved mother, along with her elder sister, are brutally murdered, Cassandra's world shatters. Haunted by the memories of...
While sitting on the edge of her bed, a sudden thought struck Cassandra like a lightning bolt, prompting her to head to the living room. Her mother had always cherished this space, adorning it with personal touches and decorations. If there were any clues to be found, she felt certain they would be here. The room was now a maze of boxes and old furniture, remnants of a life she had left behind.
Cassandra's heart pounded as she found a box labeled "Family Archives" and began sifting through it. Inside were photo albums, sentimental letters exchanged over the years, but the one thing she sought—her mother's journals—were nowhere to be seen. She knew her mother had written in them every night, chronicling the day's events in meticulous detail, but there was no trace of them.
"It's okay, Cassandra," she muttered to herself. "There has to be some clue here. Keep searching, don't give up now."
Determined, she delved deeper into the box, but despite her efforts, nothing useful surfaced. Undeterred, she moved on to a second box, tearing through it with an increasing sense of urgency and desperation. Yet, she found nothing. Frustration welled up inside her and she felt like punching something right now.
"What on earth? There should be something. Either someone already took it and destroyed it, or our parents hid it so well that no one could access it. But if they hid it, where could it be?" she thought, her mind a whirlwind of possibilities and doubts.
Suddenly, a memory flickered in her mind—her father's office. It was a place steeped in mystery, where he had spent countless hours working on things she was never fully privy to. With renewed determination, she raced to the office and searched every nook and cranny, opening drawers, rifling through papers, and peering into every shadowed corner.
Still, nothing.
Just as she was about to leave in frustration, she noticed something suspicious about a section of the wall opposite the desk. It seemed slightly misaligned, and upon closer inspection, she discovered a small, almost imperceptible rope hidden in the woodwork.
Her heart raced, curiosity and hope mingling in her mind. She grasped the rope and gave it a gentle tug. To her astonishment, a section of the wall opposite the desk slid open, revealing a passageway, a dark stairwell leading down into the depths of the earth.
With a mixture of apprehension and determination, Cassandra steeled herself and descended into the hidden passage, every step echoing with the promise of long-buried secrets waiting to be unearthed. The stairway seemed endless, winding deeper and deeper underground until she finally reached the bottom. The passageway opened into a dimly lit, hidden basement.
The air was cool and musty, filled with the scent of aged paper and wood. Shelves lined the walls, filled with old books, documents, and relics of the past. In the center of the room stood a large wooden desk, its surface covered in papers and artifacts that looked untouched by time. Cassandra's eyes widened as she realized this must have been her father's secret workspace, a place where he had hidden the most valuable and dangerous secrets.
As she walked further into the room, her gaze fell upon a locked chest in the corner. It looked old and sturdy, with intricate carvings that hinted at its importance. Cassandra's heart raced with anticipation as she approached it, her hands trembling as she searched for a way to open it. She knew that whatever lay inside this chest could hold the key to unraveling the mysteries of her parents' deaths and the legacy they had left behind.
What are your thoughts on this chapter? Any ideas what Cassandra might find? And top on that, she first needs to find the key to the locked chest. Will she find it?
And thank you so much for giving my book a chance>3
Here's a sneak peek at Cassandra's look ⬇
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