Chapter 9 - WHAT LAY BENEATH THE ROSES|
"UNDER YOUR MOTHER'S ROSE GARDEN."
Luca looked at Dr. Kessler as though the man had lost his mind.
"The garden has been rebuilt twice."
Kessler nodded.
"I know."
"Then whatever Thomas hid could have been destroyed years ago."
"Not if Daniel followed his instructions."
Clara glanced toward Sofia.
"Did Uncle Daniel know about the evidence?"
Sofia lowered her eyes.
"He knew Thomas was trying to protect us."
Kessler leaned forward.
"Daniel was supposed to secure the records if Thomas disappeared."
Luca rubbed his jaw.
"Then we need to find Daniel."
Detective Mercer raised her hand.
"First, we need to establish what we're looking for and obtain any necessary permissions."
Luca nodded.
"I'll cooperate."
"Good."
She looked toward Clara.
"And you're not obligated to participate in any search simply because your father may have left something behind."
Clara touched her necklace.
"I understand."
But she knew she couldn't stay away.
For the first time, she had something tangible from Thomas Reed.
Not a rumor.
Not an accusation.
Something he had personally arranged to leave for her.
That evening, the Moretti mansion looked completely different.
The wedding decorations had been removed.
The ballroom was empty.
White tablecloths lay folded in storage carts.
The enormous floral displays were gone.
Only a faint scent of roses remained.
Clara stood at the garden window with Sofia beside her.
Eleanor was resting upstairs.
The reunion with her daughter had left her exhausted but happy.
For the first time in years, the old woman had asked to eat dinner with her family.
Sofia looked toward the darkened greenhouse.
"I used to come here when I was little."
Clara smiled.
"Grandma showed me her favorite roses."
Sofia turned toward her.
"Grandma?"
Clara looked embarrassed.
"I mean Mrs. Moretti."
Sofia smiled through sudden tears.
"No."
She touched Clara's cheek.
"Grandma is exactly right."
Clara looked away.
The word still felt unfamiliar.
But it also felt strangely warm.
Sofia studied her.
"You have Margaret's kindness."
Clara looked surprised.
"You barely knew her."
"I knew enough."
Sofia smiled sadly.
"She held you the night you were born and promised she wouldn't let anyone hurt you."
Clara's eyes filled.
"She kept that promise."
"I know."
For several moments, they stood quietly.
Then Clara asked the question she'd been avoiding.
"Did you ever stop loving Thomas?"
Sofia looked toward the garden.
"No."
"Even after twenty-five years?"
Sofia nodded.
"Love doesn't always disappear just because someone does."
Clara swallowed.
"Do you think he's alive?"
Sofia didn't answer immediately.
"I used to."
"And now?"
"I don't know."
She touched Clara's necklace.
"But I'd like to find out."
The following morning, Detective Mercer returned with a search team.
Walter met them in the garden.
The old gardener carried his battered notebook.
"I've kept records of every major change to these beds since 1978."
Luca looked at him.
"Then perhaps you can tell us where the original roses were planted."
Walter opened the notebook.
"Right here."
He pointed toward the oldest section of the garden.
A stone path curved between two rows of rosebushes.
At the center stood a weathered marble statue of an angel holding a small lantern.
Clara recognized it immediately.
"Grandma visits that statue every Sunday."
Walter nodded.
"Her favorite place."
Sofia stepped closer.
"That's where Thomas proposed to me."
Clara turned.
"Really?"
Sofia smiled.
"He didn't have a ring."
"What did he use?"
"A little white rose."
Clara laughed softly.
"That's romantic."
"He was terribly nervous."
Sofia looked toward the statue.
"He said he couldn't promise to give me the world, but he could promise never to make me face it alone."
Her smile faded.
Clara gently took her hand.
"We'll find out what happened to him."
Detective Mercer examined the area.
"Do we know what the number 317 refers to?"
Walter looked thoughtful.
"March seventeenth?"
Luca shook his head.
"Maybe a locker number."
Kessler, who had provided his statement and was cooperating with investigators, had suggested that Daniel may have used the number as a private reference.
But he didn't know what it meant.
Clara looked at the statue.
"Could it be a measurement?"
Everyone turned toward her.
She pointed toward the base.
"Three feet, seventeen inches doesn't make sense."
Walter frowned.
"No."
"Or three-one-seven could be a date."
Sofia shook her head.
"Thomas didn't use dates as codes."
Luca looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"He used page numbers."
Clara turned.
"What?"
Sofia smiled faintly.
"He loved old books."
She looked toward the mansion.
"Whenever he wanted to surprise me, he'd leave a note telling me to open a particular page."
Luca nodded slowly.
"Three hundred seventeen."
Walter snapped his fingers.
"Mrs. Moretti's gardening encyclopedia."
Everyone looked at him.
"It's in the greenhouse office."
Luca turned immediately.
"Show us."
The encyclopedia was an enormous green book published decades earlier.
Its pages smelled of dust and dried leaves.
Walter carefully opened it to page 317.
The heading read:
ROOT STRUCTURES AND TRANSPLANTING MATURE ROSES.
Clara leaned closer.
A thin pencil mark circled a sentence near the bottom.
The deepest roots are often found beyond the visible crown.
Sofia covered her mouth.
"Thomas."
Luca studied the page.
"Does that mean anything to you?"
Sofia pointed to the margin.
A tiny drawing of an angel appeared beside the text.
Below it was a number.
4.
Walter looked toward the garden statue.
"Four feet?"
Mercer instructed the search team to document the book and inspect the statue's base without damaging the surrounding plants unnecessarily.
An hour later, a ground survey identified an unusual hollow space beneath the stone path several feet from the statue.
Clara watched from behind the temporary barrier.
Her heart pounded as the workers carefully lifted several paving stones.
Below them was a narrow concrete compartment.
A metal box rested inside.
Its lid bore a familiar engraving.
317.
Walter made the sign of the cross.
Sofia gripped Clara's hand.
Luca stared at the box.
"Thomas actually did it."
Detective Mercer photographed the compartment.
The box was removed by the evidence team and brought to a secure location.
Nobody opened it in the garden.
Clara felt frustrated by the wait, but she understood why it mattered.
Whatever was inside might help establish the truth.
And she wanted that truth to survive every challenge that followed.
Later that afternoon, Mercer called the family together.
The box had been opened under documented conditions.
Inside were several sealed packets of documents, a small recording device, and two envelopes.
One envelope was addressed to Sofia.
The other was addressed to Clara.
Her name was written in Thomas Reed's handwriting.
Clara began crying before she opened it.
The letter was short.
Thomas wrote that he hoped his daughter would grow up believing she deserved love without having to earn it.
He apologized for whatever circumstances had separated them.
He asked her never to confuse the Moretti fortune with her own worth.
And he ended with a promise.
If I cannot be there when you need me, remember that I loved you before I ever saw your face.
Clara held the letter against her chest.
Sofia covered her mouth and cried.
Luca quietly left the room to give them privacy.
But the recording device contained something even more important.
An investigator played a brief authenticated segment after examining the old media.
A man's voice filled the room.
"My name is Thomas Reed."
Clara stopped breathing.
"If you're hearing this, I may not have been able to return."
Sofia began trembling.
The recording continued.
"Everything you need is in the documents."
Then his voice changed.
"They've been watching our family."
Clara leaned forward.
"Richard Bellini is involved, but he isn't the person giving the orders."
Luca turned sharply.
The recording crackled.
Thomas spoke one final sentence.
"THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE IS SOMEONE LUCA HAS TRUSTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE."
At that exact moment, Marco entered the room.
His face was pale.
"Boss, we've got a problem."
Luca turned.
"What?"
Marco swallowed.
"Someone accessed the old greenhouse security archive last night."
"Who?"
Marco looked toward the door.
May you like
Then he answered.
"Your family attorney."
