A Little Girl Made Me Laugh for the First Time Since My Wife Died—Then She Pointed at the Locked Room and Said, “The Pretty Lady Told Me.”

The air inside the sitting room smelled faintly of dried lavender and stale dust. Dante didn't touch the envelope. He stared at the cursive script, his tattooed knuckles whitening into fists.

Rosa appeared in the doorway, clutching Sophia tightly to her chest. Her face was as pale as chalk. "Mr. Falcone, I swear to you on my life, Sophia has never set foot in this room. The door is always locked. I keep her in the staff quarters."

Dante didn't turn around. "Who cleans this wing?"

"Only Mrs. Gable," Rosa whispered, her voice shaking. "And she was dismissed two weeks ago. Nobody has been in here since."

Dante turned slowly. His gaze dropped to Sophia, whose eyes were heavy with fatigue, her pink ribbons slightly crooked. "Sophia. Who opened that door?"

The little girl hid her face in Rosa's neck. "The lady in the white dress. She had pretty hair like a princess."

Rosa’s knees nearly buckled. Carmela had been buried in ivory silk.

"Take her to your room," Dante ordered softly. "Lock your door. Do not come out until my men knock."

Rosa didn't hesitate. She turned and hurried down the gallery, her heels clicking rapidly on the marble.

Dante pulled a pair of black leather gloves from his pocket and picked up the envelope. The wax was stamped with the Falcone crest—a ring Dante had buried in Carmela’s casket eighteen months ago.

He stepped back into the corridor where his head of security, Marco Falcone—his first cousin and second-in-command—stood waiting with three armed men.

"Where is the master key to this room, Marco?" Dante asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Marco furrowed his brow, stepping forward. "There are only two keys, Dante. You carry one on your chain. The other is locked inside the estate vault in the basement."

"Go check the vault."

Marco nodded and disappeared down the rear staircase. Dante waited in the corridor, refusing to open the letter until he knew how someone had breached his home.

Ten minutes later, Marco returned. His face was gray.

"The key is gone from the vault box," Marco said, keeping his voice quiet so the guards wouldn't hear. "No signs of forced entry. Whoever opened that box used the five-digit biometric code."

Dante stared at his cousin. "Only three people have that code. Me, you, and Carmela."

Marco swallowed hard, pulling a tablet from his jacket. "I pulled the vault's digital log thirty seconds ago, Dante. The code was punched in last night at two in the morning."