House Full Of Secrets

Morning arrived quietly over the De Luca estate.

Golden sunlight streamed through the tall windows, replacing the storm that had raged through the night. Birds sang somewhere beyond the gardens, and for a brief moment, the mansion looked less like the headquarters of a feared criminal empire and more like an elegant palace hidden from the world.

Adrian opened his eyes slowly.

For a few seconds, he forgot where he was.

The room around him was larger than his entire apartment. Dark oak furniture, marble floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked rows of cypress trees swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Someone had changed his wet clothes while he slept. Fresh clothes lay folded neatly on a chair beside the bed.

There were no chains.

No locked cuffs.

No guards standing inside the room.

Only silence.

"Strange..." Adrian whispered.

He expected to be treated like a prisoner.

Instead, he had been treated like a guest.

That frightened him even more.

A soft knock echoed from the door.

Before Adrian could answer, an elderly woman entered carrying a silver tray with breakfast.

She smiled kindly.

"Good morning."

Adrian stood immediately.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Sofia."

She placed the tray on the table before him.

"Miss De Luca asked me to make sure you had something to eat."

Adrian stared at the breakfast.

Fresh bread.

Fruit.

Coffee.

Everything looked perfectly prepared.

"I don't understand."

Sofia smiled gently.

"Very few people understand this house."

Before Adrian could ask another question, she quietly left the room.

The door remained unlocked.

Adrian hesitated only a moment before stepping into the hallway.

The mansion was already alive.

Staff moved calmly through the corridors. Guards stood at discreet positions, speaking softly into earpieces. Expensive paintings decorated every wall, telling stories of battles, victories, and families whose names had shaped history.

As Adrian wandered farther, he noticed something unexpected.

Several children were laughing in a bright courtyard garden.

A young teacher sat beneath a tree reading to them.

He stopped.

Children?

Inside a mafia estate?

One little girl noticed him and waved cheerfully.

"Hello!"

Before Adrian could respond, a guard gently led the children back inside another building.

He watched them disappear.

His confusion only grew.

Everything he believed about this place seemed to contradict itself.

Later that morning, Adrian was escorted to the mansion's library.

It was enormous.

Thousands of books stretched from floor to ceiling, covering history, economics, law, languages, and philosophy.

Standing beside one of the shelves was Miss De Luca.

She was dressed in a simple black suit, a book resting in her hands.

Without looking up, she said,

"You've been exploring."

"I thought prisoners weren't allowed to walk freely."

"You aren't free."

"Then why leave my door unlocked?"

She finally looked at him.

"Because locked doors don't create trust."

Adrian folded his arms.

"And you expect me to trust you?"

"No."

"Then what do you expect?"

She closed the book carefully.

"I expect you to ask questions."

A faint silence settled between them.

Adrian looked around the library.

"You read all of these?"

"Most of them."

"I didn't expect that."

"What did you expect?"

He hesitated.

"A criminal."

For the first time, she laughed.

It wasn't loud.

It wasn't mocking.

It lasted only a second.

"You've been reading too many novels."

Adrian couldn't stop himself from smiling.

It was the first genuine emotion he had seen from her.

Just as the silence became almost comfortable, the library doors burst open.

One of her guards entered hurriedly.

"Boss."

His voice was tense.

"We have a problem."

She immediately became serious again.

"What happened?"

"The eastern warehouse has been attacked."

"Casualties?"

"Three guards injured."

"The shipment?"

"Gone."

Another silence.

The guard lowered his voice.

"We found this."

He placed a crimson playing card on the table.

A raven was painted across its center.

Miss De Luca's expression changed for the first time since Adrian had met her.

Not fear.

Recognition.

She picked up the card carefully.

"So..."

she whispered,

"they've returned."

Adrian frowned.

"Who?"

She didn't answer.

Instead, she slipped the card into her coat pocket.

Turning toward the guard, she gave a calm order.

"Prepare the cars."

The guard nodded and disappeared.

She looked back at Adrian.

"I need to leave."

"For what?"

"To stop a war before it begins."

She started toward the door.

Adrian spoke before he could stop himself.

"Will you come back?"

She paused.

For a brief second, neither of them moved.

Then she answered without turning around.

"I always do."

The doors closed behind her.

Adrian stood alone in the silent library, his eyes drawn to the empty space where the crimson card had rested.

Outside, the engines of several black cars roared to life.

The peaceful morning had ended.

Somewhere beyond the gates of the estate, an invisible enemy had just declared the first move in a dangerous game.

And Adrian was already becoming a part of it.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***