The drive back to the safe house was heavy with silence, punctuated only by the occasional rumble of London traffic. Naela stared out the window, her mind a whirlwind of questions she couldn't seem to untangle. The lights of the city blurred together, mirroring her jumbled thoughts. Fabricio drove with an intensity that matched the tension between them. He hadn't said another word since his cryptic remark at the warehouse, and Naela couldn't bring herself to ask him about it. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.
When they finally pulled into the secluded lot near the safe house, Fabricio turned off the engine and leaned back in his seat, his eyes closed as if drawing strength from the stillness. Naela hesitated before speaking.
"Do you think my father knew?"
Fabricio opened his eyes, his sharp gray gaze meeting hers. "Knew what?"
"That his decisions would lead to this?" she asked, her voice softer than she intended. "That they'd put me in danger?"
His expression shifted, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face. "I think your father was trying to protect you. But the world he got tangled up in doesn't play by the rules. And now…" He trailed off, shaking his head.
Naela nodded, though his words offered little comfort. "So what do we do now?"
Fabricio opened the door and stepped out without answering. She sighed, following him inside. The safe house felt smaller than before, the walls closing in as Naela paced back and forth. Fabricio sat at the kitchen table, flipping through a stack of papers he'd retrieved from a locked drawer. His focus was unshakable, but Naela's patience was wearing thin.
"What are you looking for?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Anything that connects your father to Monroe," he said without looking up. "Anything that might give us leverage."
"And what if we don't find anything?"
Fabricio's eyes flicked up to hers, his gaze sharp. "We will."
Naela crossed her arms, frustration bubbling to the surface. "You can't just keep brushing me off, Fabricio. I deserve to know what's going on."
He leaned back in his chair, the weight of the night evident in his expression. "Do you really want to know, Naela? Because the answers you're looking for aren't going to make this easier."
"I don't care," she snapped. "I'm tired of being kept in the dark. If I'm a part of this, I need to know everything."
Fabricio studied her for a moment before nodding slowly. "Fine." He stood and walked to a small safe hidden behind a false panel in the wall. After punching in a code, he retrieved a worn leather journal and set it on the table.
"What's this?" Naela asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Your father's journal," Fabricio said. "It was found in his study after his death. I've been trying to decode it for months."
Naela's breath caught as she opened the journal, the familiar scrawl of her father's handwriting filling the pages. But as she flipped through it, her brow furrowed.
"It's written in… code?"
Fabricio nodded. "Your father was cautious, especially toward the end. He didn't trust anyone, and for good reason."
Naela ran her fingers over the cryptic notes and symbols, her heart aching with every page. "Did he say anything about me?"
Fabricio hesitated before pointing to a section near the back. "Here. This part mentions you."
Naela squinted at the page, struggling to make sense of the fragmented phrases. One line stood out, sending a chill down her spine.
"Naela must never know the truth. It will destroy her."
Her breath hitched, and she stared at the words, her mind racing. "What truth?" she whispered, more to herself than to Fabricio.
"That's what we need to find out," Fabricio said, his voice unusually gentle. "But whatever it is, it's big enough to make powerful people nervous. And that's why they want you out of the picture."
Naela closed the journal, her hands trembling. "My father… he knew this would happen. He knew they'd come after me."
"He knew," Fabricio confirmed. "And he tried to keep you out of it. But now, we have to finish what he started."
Hours passed as they worked together, trying to decode the journal. Fabricio's sharp mind was an asset, but Naela surprised herself with how quickly she caught on to her father's patterns. It felt like reconnecting with a piece of him she thought she'd lost forever.
By the time dawn broke, they had managed to decipher a single passage.
"The key lies in the vault beneath the manor. Only blood can unlock the secrets."
Naela stared at the words, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten. "The manor? He means the Beaumont estate."
Fabricio nodded, his expression grim. "If this journal is right, whatever your father was hiding is still there. And it's the reason they're after you."
A shiver ran down her spine as memories of the estate flooded back the cold marble halls, the towering portraits, and the constant shadow of her stepmother's cruelty.
"We have to go back," she said, her voice steady despite the fear curling in her stomach.
"It's not going to be easy," Fabricio warned. "If they're watching you, they're watching the estate too."
"I don't care," Naela said, determination hardening her features. "If the answers are there, we have to find them."
Fabricio studied her for a moment before nodding. "Then we'll go. But we do it my way."
Naela nodded, her resolve unwavering. For the first time, she felt like she was taking control of her own destiny. But as they prepared to leave, a nagging thought lingered in the back of her mind. If the key was hidden beneath the manor, what would she have to sacrifice to uncover it?