Chapter 6 – THE ROSARY IN THE DUST

Sebastian stared at the rusted iron lever.

Without hesitating, he grabbed it and pulled downward with all his strength.

A heavy grinding noise echoed behind the stone wall.

Slowly, a section of the masonry swung inward, revealing a narrow, pitch-black tunnel smelling of damp earth and old bricks.

“It’s real,” Vivienne whispered, her voice trembling.

“Megan,” Sebastian said, looking at me with absolute awe. “You saved us.”

“We’re not saved yet,” my father said grimly, keeping his shotgun raised toward the dark doorway of the dining room. “We have to move.”

“Everyone, into the tunnel. Now,” Sebastian ordered.

Ruth and Frank went first.

Vivienne held her mother’s hand, guiding her father through the narrow opening.

Julian Vance watched from the floor, his bloody face twisting into a scowl.

“He’s going to find you,” Julian spat. “My son knows this house better than any of you.”

Sebastian grabbed Julian by the collar and dragged him to his feet.

“Then you’re coming with us as a shield,” Sebastian growled, shoving Julian into the tunnel.

I went next, followed by Sebastian and my father, who pulled the heavy stone door shut behind us.

The tunnel was completely dark.

Sebastian used his phone flashlight to lead the way.

The air was cold, and the walls were lined with old, crumbling brick.

“Keep moving,” Sebastian whispered. “The carriage house is about two hundred yards outside the main gates.”

We walked in silence for several minutes.

My father stayed close to me, his hand resting protectively on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Meg,” my dad whispered in the dark. “I never meant to bring this trouble to you.”

“You didn’t, Dad,” I whispered back. “You were just trying to survive.”

Suddenly, Sebastian stopped.

The flashlight beam hit a dead end.

A solid steel door blocked the path.

There was no handle.

Just a heavy electronic keypad.

“Damn it,” Sebastian muttered. “Antonio upgraded the security.”

Julian chuckled darkly from the back of the group.

“You think your father would leave an escape route unprotected? You need a six-digit code. Get it wrong twice, and the tunnel floods with gas.”

Vivienne gasped.

“We’re trapped.”

Frank Ellis stared at the steel door.

His hands began to shake.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his old, faded wallet.

“Mr. Ellis?” Sebastian asked gently.

Frank pulled something out of the wallet.

It was an old, tarnished silver rosary.

He held it up to the flashlight beam.

“The night of the fire,” Frank whispered, his voice shaking, “Antonio Romano dropped this.”

Sebastian stared at the rosary.

“My father’s rosary.”

Frank nodded.

“He was holding it when he ordered Thomas to drive the truck away. He dropped it in the mud.”

Frank turned the small silver cross over.

“I kept it. To remind me of the devil I saw that night.”

He pointed to the back of the cross.

There were numbers engraved on the silver.

04-18-82.

“Antonio told Julian it was the day his empire was born,” Frank said.

Sebastian’s eyes widened.

He looked at the keypad.

He typed the numbers in.

0 – 4 – 1 – 8 – 8 – 2.

A loud beep echoed in the tunnel.

The heavy steel door clicked, unlocking.

Sebastian pushed the door open.

Fresh, cold night air rushed into the tunnel.

We stepped out into the abandoned carriage house, surrounded by old wooden crates and forgotten antiques.

We were outside the main gates.

We were free.

But as I stepped into the room, I noticed something sitting on an old wooden table.

It was a small, velvet jewelry box.

Exactly like the one Sebastian had used for Vivienne’s engagement ring.

Sebastian saw it too.

He walked over and slowly opened the box.

Inside wasn’t a ring.

It was a single, folded piece of paper.

Sebastian unfolded it.

His face drained of color.

“What is it?” I asked, my heart pounding.

Sebastian handed me the paper.

It was a birth certificate.

The name of the child was Julian Vance Jr.

But the name of the mother wasn’t a stranger.

The name of the mother was Ruth Ellis.

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