Chapter 4 - The Room Vanessa Ordered Us Never to Enter|
The blue room was located at the far end of the mansion's oldest wing.
I had walked past its locked door hundreds of times during my employment.
Vanessa always claimed the room contained nothing except dusty furniture and belongings Luca was too sentimental to discard.
She had forbidden the housekeeping staff from opening it.
Now, as we stood outside, I realized she might have been protecting something far more valuable than old furniture.
Luca held a brass key in his palm.
"My mother gave me this when I was twenty."
Margaret smiled sadly.
"She always said you would need it someday."
He slipped the key into the lock.
The mechanism resisted.
Then it turned with a sharp click.
The door opened.
A faint scent of lavender drifted into the hallway.
The walls were painted pale blue.
White curtains framed tall windows overlooking the garden.
An old upright piano stood against one wall, beside shelves filled with books and framed photographs.
Everything looked strangely untouched.
I noticed a small porcelain vase containing dried flowers.
Margaret stepped inside slowly.
"Oh, Maria."
Her voice was barely audible.
Luca approached the piano.
A photograph rested on its wooden surface.
It showed a much younger Luca, perhaps seven years old, standing beside his mother.
Maria wore a simple cream dress.
Her arms were wrapped protectively around her son.
Luca picked up the photograph.
"She used to bring me here when my father was angry."
Margaret nodded.
"She wanted this to be the one room in the house where nobody had to be afraid."
His jaw tightened.
"That makes what happened to her even worse."
For a moment, I forgot he was a mafia boss.
I saw only a grieving son standing in the last place his mother had felt safe.
Margaret moved toward a small writing desk.
"She hid her important papers here."
She opened the top drawer.
It was empty.
Then the second.
Also empty.
Luca began searching the shelves.
I examined the desk more carefully.
There were rectangular marks in the dust where something had recently been removed.
"Mr. Moretti?"
He turned.
"Someone's been here."
I pointed toward the polished patches of wood.
"The rest of the room is covered in dust, but these areas have been wiped clean."
Luca approached.
Margaret looked horrified.
"Maria kept her financial notebook in that drawer."
"What notebook?"
"A blue leather book containing the foundation's original accounts."
Luca studied the empty drawer.
"Why would anyone take a fifteen-year-old notebook?"
"Because it contained the names of everyone involved."
Margaret clutched the edge of the desk.
I noticed something caught behind the lower drawer.
It was a narrow strip of faded blue ribbon.
"Wait."
I pulled the drawer out completely.
Behind it lay a small, folded card.
The handwriting matched the letter from Margaret's purse.
I handed it to Luca.
He read the message aloud.
"When the pages disappear, remember what I taught you about the music."
Luca stared at the piano.
"Music?"
Margaret suddenly smiled through her tears.
"Your mother used to hide your birthday presents beneath the piano bench."
We hurried toward it.
The bench was upholstered in faded blue velvet.
Luca lifted the seat.
Inside were several music books, an old metronome, and a small wooden box.
The box was locked.
Margaret began searching her handbag.
She removed the wedding invitation once more.
Then she carefully untied its faded blue ribbon.
Attached beneath the ribbon was a tiny brass key.
"Maria gave this to me when she first discovered the missing money."
My heart began pounding.
Luca inserted the key.
The lid opened.
Inside was a silver locket, a folded photograph, and a small recording cassette labeled in Maria's handwriting.
June 17, 2011.
Margaret covered her mouth.
"That's the night she died."
Luca gently lifted the recording.
His fingers trembled.
"She recorded what happened?"
"I don't know."
He turned the cassette over.
Along the bottom was another handwritten message.
If I cannot speak, let this speak for me.
Suddenly, a voice interrupted us.
"Mr. Moretti?"
Daniel, the security chief, stood in the doorway.
His expression was serious.
"There's something you should see."
Luca carefully placed the cassette back inside the box.
"What is it?"
"Security footage."
I frowned.
"From where?"
"The hallway outside this room."
Daniel explained that the mansion's cameras had recently been upgraded.
The new system covered the older wing, including the blue room's entrance.
"Someone entered this room nine days ago."
Margaret looked at Luca.
"Who?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Mrs. Vanessa Moretti."
Luca's expression hardened.
"Show me."
We followed Daniel to the security office.
He opened the recording on a large monitor.
The footage showed Vanessa walking down the hallway shortly after midnight.
She was wearing a black coat.
A few minutes later, she emerged carrying a narrow metal case.
Behind her walked a man I recognized immediately.
His name was Anthony Bellini.
Vanessa's cousin.
He had accompanied her father to the mansion several times.
Luca leaned toward the screen.
"Where did they take it?"
Daniel changed the camera angle.
The recording showed Anthony placing the case inside a black SUV.
Then Vanessa looked directly toward the camera.
She reached up.
And switched it off.
Margaret began crying.
"That's Maria's notebook."
Luca stood silently for several seconds.
Then he turned to Daniel.
"Preserve the original footage and every access record."
"Yes, sir."
"Nobody deletes anything."
As Daniel began working, I looked more closely at the frozen image.
Something about Vanessa's expression disturbed me.
She wasn't smiling triumphantly.
She looked terrified.
Then I noticed an unexpected detail.
Before switching off the camera, Vanessa had glanced toward the passenger seat.
Someone was already sitting inside the SUV.
The window was partly lowered.
A man's hand rested on the door.
He wore a distinctive gold ring shaped like a lion.
I had seen that ring before.
At the wedding rehearsal dinner.
On Victor Bellini's hand.
And suddenly I understood.
May you like
Vanessa hadn't stolen Maria's notebook for herself.
She had delivered it to the man who had frightened Maria fifteen years earlier.
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