Chapter 2 - THE SILVER ROSARY IN THE SAFE

I reached into the dark metal box inside the wall.

My fingers brushed against a stack of thick papers, but that wasn't what caught my attention.

Resting on top of the documents was a silver rosary.

I recognized it instantly.

It didn't belong to Elena. It belonged to my older brother, Arthur.

He had carried it every day since our mother died. But four years ago, right after the fire, he claimed he’d lost it while helping the firefighters clear the wreckage.

Why was it locked in my dead wife’s safe?

My private investigator, Vance, stepped closer. "Mr. Vega? What is that?"

I didn't answer. I pulled out the papers beneath it.

They weren't legal documents. They were bank statements.

"Answer One, Open Two," I muttered, remembering an old game Elena used to play with the boys. She had found Arthur's rosary. That answered how it went missing.

But it opened two massive questions: Why had she locked it away instead of returning it? And why were there offshore bank transfers circling millions of dollars out of my company’s accounts—authorized by Victoria?

Victoria. My sister-in-law. Arthur's wife.

For four years, she had been a fixture in my home, helping raise my boys after Elena’s death. I thought she was stepping up for family.

I looked closer at the dates on the transfers.

The last one was dated the morning of the fire.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was Isabel.

"Mr. Alejandro," her voice trembled. "You need to come back."

"Isabel, what’s wrong? Are the boys okay?"

"They are safe in their room, but Victoria... she’s packing."

"Let her pack. I want her out of my house anyway."

"You don't understand," Isabel whispered, her voice dropping to a terrified hush. "She isn't packing her own things. She’s packing the boys' winter coats. And she told them they’re taking a long trip with Uncle Arthur tonight."

My blood ran ice cold.

"Lock their door," I ordered. "Do not let her near them. I’m ten minutes away."

I grabbed the rosary and the statements, shoving them into my coat.

I bolted out of the lake house, my mind racing. Victoria wasn't just trying to hide Elena's cane. She was trying to hide what Elena knew.

I pulled into my driveway, tires screeching against the gravel.

The front door was wide open.

I sprinted inside. "Isabel!"

Silence.

I took the stairs two at a time, rushing toward the boys' room.

The door was smashed open. The wood was splintered around the lock.

"Mateo! Lucas!"

The room was empty.