Chapter 174: Find
Denzel remained crouched beside the wooden box.
The paper was still in his hand.
She trusted you once.
The words refused to leave his mind.
Not because they frightened him.
Because they were carefully chosen.
Someone wanted him thinking about Sophia’s trust.
Someone wanted him questioning what she had done.
Denzel slowly turned the paper over.
Nothing.
He checked the box again, running his fingers along the inside edges. The wood was old, but the bottom felt slightly thicker than the rest.
His eyes narrowed.
’Too convenient.’
He pressed his thumb against the corner.
The wooden panel shifted.
The Knight noticed immediately.
"What?"
Denzel didn’t answer.
He slid the panel aside.
A second compartment opened beneath it.
Inside was a folded piece of cloth.
Denzel pulled it out.
The cloth was dark blue.
He recognized it immediately.
"The cloak."
The Knight frowned.
"Sophia’s?"
Denzel nodded.
He had seen her wear it countless times. The small silver clasp near the collar was unmistakable.
He unfolded the cloth.
Something metallic fell onto the stone floor.
Clink.
Denzel looked down.
A small brass key.
The Knight crouched beside him.
"Was that inside her cloak?"
"Apparently."
She picked up the key and examined it.
"No markings."
Denzel took it from her.
There was, however, something scratched into the underside.
Three short lines crossed by a circle.
The same symbol.
His expression hardened.
"The door."
The Knight looked at him.
"The underground door?"
Denzel nodded.
"The one with this symbol."
She stared at the key.
"Then this isn’t random."
"No."
Denzel folded the cloak again.
"They wanted us to find it."
The Knight’s eyes narrowed.
"You think the person who left the box expected us to search it?"
"I think they expected us to keep looking after they ran."
"Why?"
Denzel slipped the key into his pocket.
"Because running was the easy part."
He stood.
"The real question is what they wanted us to find afterward."
The Knight looked toward the passage.
"So we’re following the key."
"We’re following the only real lead we have."
"Even though someone deliberately left it for us?"
Denzel glanced at her.
"You have a better one?"
"No."
"Then we’re following it."
They moved deeper into the passage.
The tunnel became narrower as they went.
The walls changed from rough stone to old brick. Moisture gathered between the cracks, dripping occasionally onto the floor.
Denzel kept his eyes forward.
The Knight walked behind him.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
Then she broke the silence.
"You haven’t asked."
"Asked what?"
"Why Sophia would leave her cloak behind."
Denzel’s steps slowed.
"I noticed."
"Then why haven’t you said anything?"
He continued walking.
"Because I don’t know what it means yet."
"You usually have something to say."
"I usually have information."
The Knight smiled faintly.
"That’s a surprisingly honest answer."
"Don’t get used to it."
They reached another turn.
Denzel stopped.
A faint draft brushed against his face.
He looked ahead.
There was light.
Not lantern light.
Daylight.
He approached cautiously.
The passage ended behind a loose section of brick.
Denzel pushed it aside.
Cold morning air rushed into the tunnel.
He stepped through.
The Knight followed.
They emerged into an alley.
Denzel looked around.
The city was still quiet.
The buildings surrounding them were older than the ones they’d left behind, their walls darkened by years of rain and neglect.
A bell rang somewhere in the distance.
The Knight stepped out beside him.
"Where are we?"
Denzel looked at the street sign.
His eyes narrowed.
"North Quarter."
She stared at him.
"That’s several streets from where we entered."
"More than several."
She looked back at the hidden passage.
"So it connects half the district."
"Apparently."
Denzel looked down at the brass key.
There was a number scratched into its side.
17.
He looked across the street.
A row of abandoned buildings stood beneath the pale morning sky.
One of them had a faded number above the door.
17.
Denzel’s expression became still.
The Knight followed his gaze.
"That’s too obvious."
"Agreed."
"Which means?"
Denzel started walking.
"Which means it’s probably exactly where they want us to go."
She sighed.
"You’re really bad at leaving traps alone."
"I’ve been told."
They crossed the street.
The building was smaller than the others.
Three floors.
Boarded windows.
A rusted sign hung above the entrance, but most of the letters had faded away.
Denzel stopped in front of the door.
The key fit the lock.
He didn’t turn it immediately.
The Knight watched him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You’re thinking."
"I always think."
"Unfortunately."
He looked at her.
She gave him an innocent expression.
Denzel turned the key.
Click.
The door opened.
Dust drifted through the narrow entrance.
The building smelled abandoned.
But only at first glance.
Denzel noticed the footprints immediately.
Fresh.
Someone had walked through recently.
He crouched.
"Two people."
The Knight looked down.
"You can tell?"
"One heavier."
He touched the edge of one print.
"The other lighter."
She studied the floor.
"And?"
Denzel stood.
"The lighter one dragged her left foot."
The Knight’s expression changed.
"Sophia?"
"Maybe."
Denzel entered.
The Knight followed without another word.
They moved through the first room.
Empty shelves.
Broken furniture.
A fireplace filled with ash.
Denzel stopped beside it.
The ashes were warm.
His eyes hardened.
"Someone was here."
The Knight crouched beside him.
"Recently."
Denzel looked around.
The room wasn’t abandoned.
It was staged to look abandoned.
He noticed a cup on the table.
Still wet.
A chair pulled away from the table.
A blanket folded neatly against the wall.
Someone had been staying here.
He walked farther inside.
Then stopped.
A small object rested on the floor beside the stairs.
Denzel crouched.
A silver hairpin.
His fingers closed around it.
He knew it.
Sophia wore it often.
The Knight watched his face.
"That’s hers."
"Yes."
Denzel stood.
For the first time since entering the building, something in his expression softened.
She had been here.
Not a possibility.
Not another message.
Not another carefully constructed lie.
She had actually stood in this room.
He looked toward the staircase.
"When?"
The Knight examined the dust.
"Not long ago."
Denzel nodded.
"Then we’re close."
He climbed the stairs.
The second floor was empty.
The third was too.
But near the end of the hallway, Denzel noticed a door that hadn’t gathered dust beneath it.
He approached.
The Knight stayed beside him.
Denzel touched the handle.
Unlocked.
He pushed it open.
A small room waited inside.
There was a bed.
A table.
A chair.
And a single window overlooking the street.
Denzel stepped inside.
The room was cleaner than the rest of the building.
Someone had stayed here.
Recently.
He walked toward the table.
A plate sat on it.
Half-eaten bread.
A cup.
And beside them—
A folded piece of paper.
Denzel stopped.
The Knight came closer.
"Another message?"
"I don’t know."
He picked it up.
The paper wasn’t written in the same handwriting as the previous messages.
Denzel unfolded it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
The Knight noticed.
"What does it say?"
Denzel didn’t answer immediately.
He read it again.
Then handed it to her.
There were only six words.
If you’re reading this, I left willingly.
The Knight’s eyes widened.
She looked at Denzel.
He remained completely still.
For several seconds, the room was silent.
Then he spoke.
"She wrote it."
The Knight looked at the handwriting.
"You’re sure?"
"Yes."
He took the paper back.
His fingers tightened around it.
The previous messages had been designed to make him doubt Sophia.
This one did the opposite.
It gave him something real.
Something he could recognize.
Her handwriting.
Her words.
Her choice.
But it created a far worse question.
Denzel looked toward the window.
"If she left willingly..."
The Knight finished the thought.
"Then she wasn’t kidnapped."
Denzel said nothing.
His eyes remained fixed on the street below.
Someone had brought Sophia here.
Someone had let her leave.
And Sophia had chosen to go.
But why?
He looked down at the paper again.
There was something written beneath the first line.
A second sentence.
Denzel read it silently.
Then his expression changed.
The Knight noticed immediately.
"What?"
He turned the paper toward her.
The second line read:
Don’t trust the people who tell you they’re helping.
The Knight stared at the words.
Neither of them spoke.
Then Denzel slowly looked at her.
She met his eyes.
"What?"
Denzel’s voice was quiet.
"How many people know about Sophia?"
The Knight’s expression tightened.
"Not many."
"How many?"
She hesitated.
"Enough."
Denzel folded the paper.
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the only one I have."
He looked toward the door.
Then back at the message.
Sophia had left willingly.
She had known he would come.
And she had warned him not to trust the people helping him.
Denzel slipped the paper into his coat.
"Then we have our first real lead."
The Knight frowned.
"What lead?"
Denzel looked at the silver hairpin in his palm.
"She wants me to find her."
His gaze hardened.
"But she doesn’t want me to find her with them."