Chapter 4 - Someone Inside the Restaurant
The road curved north through dense trees as rain struck the windshield.
Adrian drove.
Elena sat beside him.
Marco and Nico followed in another vehicle.
Claire had remained with Mr. Bellini.
“Where are we going?” Elena asked.
“Westchester.”
“That’s not specific.”
“An old house near Bellhaven.”
“You own it?”
“My family does.”
“You have a lot of houses.”
“It stops being impressive when half of them contain terrible memories.”
Elena looked at him.
For once, Adrian seemed less like the intimidating man from the restaurant and more like someone who had spent his life carrying ghosts.
“How did Luca die?”
Adrian gripped the steering wheel.
“His car went through a guardrail.”
“Claire said it wasn’t an accident.”
“Yes.”
“You believe her?”
“I didn’t yesterday.”
“And now?”
“My family lied about you. My mother lied. Samuel Bellini lied. At this point I’d believe the waiter from table seven before my own records.”
Elena smiled despite herself.
Adrian glanced sideways.
“There. You remember.”
“What?”
“That smile.”
“You cannot possibly remember my smile from eighteen years ago.”
“Crooked on one side.”
She stopped smiling.
He laughed.
It was the first time she heard him laugh naturally.
It changed his entire face.
Then the gates of an abandoned estate appeared.
The mood disappeared.
The house beyond them was covered in ivy.
Adrian parked.
“This belonged to Luca?”
“It was supposed to.”
They entered through a side door.
Dust covered everything.
The air smelled like wood and rain.
Adrian walked toward a narrow staircase.
“Police found his car four miles from here.”
“Then why would Samuel say the key was where Luca died?”
“Because the official location might not be the real one.”
They searched.
Bedrooms.
Study.
Basement.
Nothing.
Then Elena entered a room filled with old shelves.
Something pulled at her memory.
A flash.
Luca kneeling beside a fireplace.
If you’re ever scared, count the birds.
Elena froze.
“Adrian.”
He appeared.
“What?”
She looked at the wallpaper.
Faded swallows were printed across it.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
“Count the birds.”
“What?”
“I remember Luca saying that.”
Adrian stared at the wall.
They began counting.
Most birds were identical.
But above the fireplace, three swallows flew in the opposite direction.
Adrian touched them.
The wooden panel moved.
Behind it was a small safe.
Elena’s pulse raced.
The pendant fit a tiny slot beside the dial.
Click.
The safe opened.
Inside lay an envelope.
A second silver swallow.
And a cassette tape.
Adrian picked up the envelope.
His name was written across it.
He sat.
Elena remained beside him as he opened it.
The letter was from Luca.
Adrian,
If you’re reading this, then something happened to me. Ellie is alive. I found her and her mother. Dad knows more than he admits. Do not trust Vincent, but Vincent isn’t working alone. Someone close to us helped him.
Adrian stopped.
Elena touched his arm.
He continued.
Daniel’s evidence can destroy them, but the keys must stay separated. Samuel has one. Ellie has another. I hid the third. If anything happens to me, find Ellie first. She is the only one who saw the man leave Bellhaven after the fire. She just doesn’t remember yet.
Elena’s skin went cold.
The letter ended.
Protect her. And forgive me for not telling you sooner.
Luca.
Adrian remained silent.
Elena saw his eyes shine.
He turned away.
“You don’t have to hide it.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
He laughed weakly.
“You’ve known me for one day.”
“Apparently I’ve known you since I was eight.”
That broke something.
Adrian pressed a hand over his eyes.
For nearly a minute, neither spoke.
Then Elena noticed the cassette.
“We need to hear that.”
The old house still contained an ancient stereo.
The tape crackled.
Luca’s voice emerged.
Young.
Nervous.
“If Adrian finds this…”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Luca continued.
“I saw Uncle Vincent meet someone after the fire. I couldn’t identify him, but Ellie might. She was hiding near the garden gate.”
The recording skipped.
Then:
“Dad thinks Vincent acted alone. He didn’t.”
Another skip.
“I found payments from a company called Northstar Holdings.”
Adrian opened his eyes.
“I know that name.”
“What is it?”
“One of Samuel Bellini’s companies.”
The tape continued.
“If Samuel is involved, then everything is worse than I thought.”
Elena frowned.
“That contradicts Claire.”
Adrian nodded.
“Maybe Samuel wasn’t helping your mother.”
“Maybe he was watching her.”
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Both froze.
Adrian motioned for silence.
Another creak.
Someone was in the house.
He pulled Elena behind him.
She whispered, “Do you carry a gun?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you do.”
“This isn’t the best time for judgment.”
He drew it.
Footsteps moved toward the stairs.
Adrian positioned himself beside the doorway.
A figure appeared.
Elena gasped.
Mr. Bellini.
Her manager.
He raised both hands.
“Please don’t shoot.”
Adrian lowered the weapon slightly.
“What are you doing here?”
Bellini looked at Elena.
“My father contacted me.”
“You were in the hospital.”
“I left.”
“Why?”
“He told me to stop you from opening that safe.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“A little late.”
Bellini saw the pendant.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
“My father said if you found all three keys, someone would come.”
“Who?”
Bellini’s eyes moved toward the window.
“The real person who ordered the Bellhaven fire.”
Headlights swept across the room.
Several vehicles entered the property.
Adrian looked outside.
Men emerged.
Nico’s voice exploded through his phone.
“Adrian! Move!”
Gunshots cracked somewhere near the driveway.
Elena ducked.
Adrian grabbed the letter and necklace.
“Back exit.”
They ran through the kitchen.
Bellini followed.
Another shot shattered a window.
They reached a side hallway.
A masked man appeared.
Adrian slammed him against the wall before Elena could react.
Bellini shouted.
Marco burst through another door.
“This way!”
They escaped into the woods.
Rain soaked them instantly.
Elena ran until her lungs burned.
Adrian kept hold of her hand.
Behind them, the abandoned house erupted in flames.
Elena stopped.
Fire filled the windows.
And suddenly she was eight years old again.
Bellhaven.
Smoke.
Her mother screaming.
A man standing beside Vincent.
Not Samuel Bellini.
Someone else.
Someone wearing a distinctive ring.
A black stone surrounded by silver.
Elena gasped.
Adrian caught her.
“What?”
“I remember.”
“What?”
“The man at Bellhaven.”
“Who?”
Elena looked at him, terrified.
“I’ve seen that ring before.”
“Where?”
She thought of the Grand Aurelia.
Her first interview.
A hand sliding her résumé across a desk.
But Mr. Bellini had not been alone that day.
Another man had entered.
An elegant older gentleman.
He had shaken Elena’s hand.
His ring had been black stone and silver.
She had forgotten his name.
Until now.
“Elena?”
She whispered it.
“Richard Moretti.”
Adrian went completely still.
May you like
“My father.”
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