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**Chapter 26: The Vineyard's Whisper**
Luca stared at Pietro, his chest tightening with suspicion and curiosity. "You were friends with Emilia, weren't you?" Luca asked, his voice steady despite the storm brewing inside him.
Pietro's expression didn't waver, but his eyes held a shadow of pain. "Emilia was more than a friend," he said softly. "She trusted me when she had no one else. But trust doesn't always save you."
Isabella stepped closer, her gaze sharp. "If you know something about what happened to her, you need to tell us. Luca deserves to know the truth."
Pietro sighed, his shoulders sagging under the weight of the memories. "I warned her to leave," he said quietly. "I told her the vineyard wasn't safe—that its roots held secrets too dark for anyone to uncover. But she didn't listen. And now she's gone."
Luca felt his breath hitch as Pietro's words sank in. "What secrets?" he demanded. "What does this place have to do with her death?"
Pietro hesitated, his gaze flickering to the grove behind them. "The vineyard is more than soil and vines," he said finally. "It's a legacy, a history written in blood and betrayal. And Emilia… she found something she shouldn't have."
Isabella's heart raced as Pietro's words hung heavy in the air. "What did she find?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Pietro's eyes darkened, his expression unreadable. "A key," he said simply. "A key to everything. But that's not the only thing she left behind."
Before Luca could press him further, Pietro turned and began walking away, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the grove.
"Wait!" Luca called, his voice desperate. "What did she leave behind?"
Pietro paused, his voice carrying back to them like a whisper on the wind. "The truth—and the question is, are you ready to face it?"
As the grove fell silent once more, Luca turned to Isabella, his mind racing. "We need to find it," he said, his resolve solidifying. "Whatever Emilia left behind—it's the only way we'll understand what's happening here."
Isabella nodded, her determination matching his. Together, they made their way deeper into the vineyard, the air thick with anticipation and unease. And as they moved further into the grove, the whispers of the vineyard seemed to grow louder, urging them closer to the secrets buried beneath its roots.
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