The Nursery with the Locked Drawer
Chapter 03 - The Nursery with the Locked Drawer
Luca went home with Gabriel and one trusted guard, Matteo, leaving Sophie free to return to her apartment. Before they parted, he handed her a number that reached him directly.
"No intermediaries," he said. "Call this if anyone contacts you."
Sophie looked at the card. "Please remember what I said about the house."
He promised only that he would listen. Promising more before he knew the truth felt too much like lying.
At the Romano estate, Rocco waited in the entrance hall, polished and cheerful. Thirty-two years old, he had inherited their father's easy charm without his patience. He kissed Gabriel's forehead, and the boy immediately began sobbing.
"He's overtired," Rocco said.
"Where's Nina?"
"The nanny? Left suddenly. Some personal problem."
"Did she resign?"
"That's what she told housekeeping."
Luca studied his brother's face. "Bring me her letter."
Rocco hesitated before nodding.
Upstairs, Luca found the nursery curtains drawn and Gabriel's music box missing from the shelf. The nanny had kept it close because its melody soothed him. In the lower drawer of the changing table, Luca discovered a folded sheet of paper in Nina's handwriting. It wasn't a resignation. It was a list of dates when Gabriel had cried until he vomited after being left with particular household attendants.
At the bottom, Nina had written: *Rocco says not to tell Luca. He says the boy needs to toughen up.*
Luca stood still, hearing Elena's voice in his memory: *He isn't one of your soldiers. He's our baby.*
He inspected the drawer above Nina's notes. It was locked. The key was missing. Matteo brought the household locksmith, who opened it in Luca's presence. Inside lay a small memory card wrapped in tissue and a printed photograph of Elena standing outside a country clinic. She was alive in the photograph; a handwritten date showed it had been taken six weeks earlier.
Luca had not known she was alive six weeks ago. Someone else had.
He sat beside Gabriel's crib until dawn, turning the photograph over and over. At three in the morning, he finally called Sophie.
"I found proof," he said when she answered sleepily. "Elena may still be alive."
May you like
Sophie gave a broken little gasp. "Then don't tell Rocco."
He looked toward the bedroom door. In the hallway, footsteps stopped, waited, and moved away.
