Chapter 113 CURIOSITY

Chapter 113 CURIOSITY

~ELENA~

I am standing right in the middle of the room, staring at the three brothers who might destroy each other because of me, and battling within me if I should choose one amongst them and end everything here and right now.

“Are you sure everything will end after you choose one?? Don't you think it'll make everything worse and make the brothers really fight each other?” A voice in my head asks.

I want to reply that the others promises to step back when I make a choice, but staring at the faces of my stepbrothers who are staring right back at me makes me realize that it won't be possible.

I don't think any of them will be able to step back without a fight.

My possessive, obsessive, protective stepbrothers.

I suddenly don't have the strength to deal with them right now, and of I don't act fast, they will fight each other.

“Please, can you guys return to your room? I really need to sleep as I'm feeling tired and stressed out,” I force myself to say.

“What exactly did Vincenzo do to you?” Riccardo asks again.

I lose it immediately. I lose my cool.

“I said you all should fucking leave my room! I don't want to see any of you all right now!” I yell at them.

They all look surprised and astonished that I yelled at them, but they don't react.

They just watch me without saying a word or making a move.

Sometimes, I wonder why they behave the same way, but then I remember they're actually triplets.

Then one by one, they turn and leave my room.

I sigh in relief and quickly rush to close the door before they'll change their minds and come back.

By the time I get to the bed, I'm debating within myself why it is Vincenzo.

Why Vincenzo? Why is he the one I love the most out of the brothers??

Is it because he's the one I met first?

Or is there any other reason??

I can't even think of a reason and I keep sighing even as I pull the duvet over my body.

I wake up the next morning feeling the mood to be alone and just do my thing.

I don't want to go downstairs and bump into any of my stepbrothers because I need a clear head to think.

And so after taking my bath in the morning, I stay back in the room without going downstairs for breakfast.

And even when one of the brothers knocks on the door to check on me and why I haven't eaten or come downstairs, I don't open the door.

But soon, I am very bored as there is nothing else to do in the house, most especially in my room.

I can't go to the library or pool or anywhere else because I am avoiding my stepbrothers.

So I do the only thing I can.

I decide to search my room—Sophia’s room actually—to see if there is anything interesting I can find or maybe get a hint of her personality since some of her stuff is still here.

I had wondered why they hadn't cleared the room of her things but I understood better when I was told none of the brothers could bring themselves to enter her room after her death.

There is something beneath a draped curtain at the far end of the room, and I have always been scared to pull the curtains away and check what it was.

But today, I summon courage, walk to the curtains and pull it away.

I am surprised at what I see.

It's a shelf, filled with books.

Sophia must really love reading.

So I have some books here to read and I have been feeling so bored.

I take a good look at the shelf.

Everything is neatly arranged—books sorted by height, perfume bottles lined up in a smaller shelf.

I notice a pastel painting on the wall of a lake surrounded by mountains beside the shelf.

Does she like to paint??

I see a small chair and a table close to the shelf. This must be her favorite spot in her room seeing that everywhere here still smells like her and it's close to the window.

I am intruding into her privacy and I'm sure the brothers won't like this if they are aware. It's a good thing the door is locked.

I take a good look at the table and something catches my attention.

There’s a drawer slightly open, the edge of something pink sticking out.

Curiosity pulls me forward.

I open it fully.

Inside are several objects—hair ribbons, a glittery pen, a half-empty bottle of lavender lotion. But what catches my eye is a small wooden box pushed toward the back.

I take it out, feeling the weight of it in my hands. The wood is smooth, carved with initials:

S.R.

I instantly know it means Sophia Romano.

The box feels warm, even though the room is cold.

I lift the lid.

Inside is a collection of tiny things…..A cracked silver bracelet, A dried purple flower, A photo of her kissing one of the triplets on the cheek (Riccardo, I think) as he's still little and I remember that he's the closest to her, A folded note, And a small key attached to a ribbon

A key.

Tiny, brass, and old, with a single letter engraved on it…

A.

My heartbeat stutters.

“A…?” I whisper. “Attic?”

The room suddenly feels smaller.

I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe it stands for something else. Maybe it belonged to something insignificant. Maybe….

But my gut knows.

This key wants to open something. Something hidden. Something she wanted someone to find.

Riccardo had told me one time that he didn't think Sophia's death was natural.

I don't know how she died because none of them have talked about it.

But what if Riccardo is right? What if she's really killed? But by who? Is Sophia trying to tell us something with this key??

I pick up the folded note with trembling fingers and open it.

The ink is smudged, but still readable.

“If you’re reading this… I hope you do better than I did.”

Nothing else.

Just that.

A message from a girl who didn’t survive long enough to finish her thought.

My chest tightens painfully.

I look at the key again, turning it over in my hand. The ribbon tied to it is frayed, like someone tugged on it. Hard.

There’s only one place in the mansion that starts with an A.

The attic.

And it's down the basement.

The place the triplets told me never to go.

I close the box slowly. My hands are shaking. And for the first time since entering this mansion, I understand something clear and terrifying:

Sophia left me a trail.

And I must follow it to find out what really happened to the sister of the men I love.