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**Chapter 27: Shadows Among the Vines**
The air grew colder as Luca and Isabella ventured deeper into the grove, the morning sun struggling to pierce through the canopy of twisted branches. The vineyard seemed eerily still, as if it were holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
"Do you think Pietro will come back?" Isabella asked, breaking the silence.
Luca shook his head, his eyes scanning the ground as though searching for traces of the past. "I don't know," he admitted. "But he knows more than he's telling us. We just have to figure out what."
Their search led them to a clearing where the ground was uneven, as though something had been buried there long ago. Luca crouched down, running his fingers over the dirt. "This spot feels… off," he muttered.
Isabella knelt beside him, her heart racing. "Do you think Emilia hid something here?"
Luca didn't answer right away. Instead, he began digging with his hands, the earth cool and loose beneath his fingertips. After a few moments, his efforts unearthed a shard of broken glass—part of a bottle, perhaps—but nothing more.
"Maybe this isn't the place," Isabella said softly, sensing his frustration.
"It has to be," Luca replied, his voice tense. "I can feel it. We're close to something."
As they stood, Isabella's attention was drawn to the vines surrounding them. Their twisted branches seemed almost deliberate, as though they were guarding something. And then she saw it—a faint engraving on one of the larger branches, nearly hidden beneath layers of moss and bark.
"Luca," she said, her voice hushed. "Look at this."
He stepped closer, brushing away the moss to reveal the marks more clearly. The engraving was faint but unmistakable: a set of initials intertwined within a circular emblem—*E.D.*
"Elena DeVinci?" Isabella murmured, her pulse quickening.
Luca's eyes widened. "No," he said softly. "Emilia DeVinci. She must have carved this here."
The realization hit them both like a tidal wave. This grove wasn't just a place of memories—it was a place of significance, tied to Emilia's life and her connection to the vineyard.
"What does it mean?" Isabella asked, her voice trembling.
"I don't know," Luca admitted. "But it's a clue. And we're going to find out what it's pointing to."
As they stepped back, the sound of rustling vines echoed around them, sending a shiver down Isabella's spine. The vineyard felt alive, its whispers growing louder, as though urging them forward—or warning them to turn back.
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