Chapter 4 - THE BOY WHO REMEMBERED TOO MUCH|
By morning, the mansion felt like a house waiting for a storm.
Security guards stood near every entrance.
The staff spoke in whispers.
Vanessa had locked herself inside the east wing, refusing to answer anyone except her attorney.
And Luca Moretti had not slept.
At seven o'clock, I found him sitting at the kitchen table with a cold cup of coffee.
He was still wearing yesterday's black shirt.
His suitcase remained untouched beside the entrance hall.
"Good morning, Mr. Moretti."
He looked up.
"How's Benjamin?"
"Sleeping."
"Any nightmares?"
"Two."
Luca closed his eyes.
"He kept asking whether the men were coming back."
I placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of him.
"He needs time to feel safe again."
Luca stared at the steam.
"How long has he been afraid of my wife?"
I considered lying to protect him from the answer.
Then I remembered Benjamin's trembling hands.
"Longer than I realized."
Luca nodded slowly.
"Tell me."
I sat across from him.
"About six weeks ago, Benjamin stopped eating breakfast whenever Vanessa was in the kitchen."
"Why?"
"She told him children who made trouble didn't deserve special treatment."
Luca's hand tightened around the cup.
"Two weeks later, he asked whether boarding schools had locks on their bedroom doors."
"Did he say why?"
"He said Vanessa wanted him to learn independence."
Luca stared at the table.
"And I thought she was helping him mature."
Before I could respond, footsteps sounded in the doorway.
Benjamin stood there wearing blue pajamas and holding a stuffed bear.
His hair was messy.
His eyes looked enormous in his pale face.
"Daddy?"
Luca stood immediately.
"Hey, buddy."
Benjamin walked straight into his arms.
I looked away as Luca held him.
Some moments deserved privacy.
When they separated, Benjamin noticed the untouched suitcase through the kitchen doorway.
His face tightened.
"You're still not going?"
Luca followed his gaze.
"No."
"Not even tomorrow?"
"Not tomorrow."
Benjamin hesitated.
"Can you stay until I stop being scared?"
Luca knelt.
"I should have been here before you got scared."
The boy looked confused.
"Does that mean yes?"
"It means I'm going to do everything I can to make this house safe."
Benjamin wrapped his arms around his father's neck.
A few minutes later, Luca asked him about the man he had seen in the study.
I worried the questions would frighten him again.
But Luca spoke gently and let Benjamin stop whenever he wanted.
He even brought out colored pencils instead of demanding a description.
"Would drawing help?" Luca asked.
Benjamin nodded.
While I prepared pancakes, the boy began sketching.
He drew a tall man wearing a gray coat.
The man's hair was white near his temples.
On one hand, Benjamin drew a crooked line across the thumb.
"What is that?" Luca asked.
"A scar."
"You're sure?"
"He put his hand on Daddy's desk."
Benjamin frowned in concentration.
"And he wore a ring with a black stone."
Luca stared at the drawing.
"Did he say his name?"
Benjamin shook his head.
"Vanessa called him something."
"What?"
The boy closed his eyes.
"Mr. Voss."
Luca went completely still.
I noticed the change immediately.
"Mr. Moretti?"
He did not answer.
Benjamin continued.
"Vanessa said he shouldn't come to the house again."
"Why?"
"Because somebody might recognize him."
Luca stood so suddenly that his chair scraped against the floor.
I moved closer to Benjamin.
"You're doing very well, sweetheart."
He looked worried.
"Is Daddy mad at me?"
"No."
Luca immediately crouched again.
"Never, buddy."
He took his son's small hands.
"I'm angry because somebody frightened you."
Benjamin looked relieved.
Then his expression changed.
"There's another thing."
Luca waited.
"The man said Grandma should have listened when she was told to stop asking questions."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The kitchen clock seemed impossibly loud.
Luca finally whispered, "What else?"
Benjamin swallowed.
"He said the old woman hid something before she died."
Luca's breathing changed.
"And Vanessa told him not to say that around me."
I felt cold.
The man had not simply known Rosa Moretti.
He knew about the secrets she had been investigating before her death.
Luca gently pulled Benjamin closer.
"Thank you for telling me."
The boy looked down.
"Did Grandma die because she found out something bad?"
Luca's face twisted with pain.
"I don't know."
Benjamin's eyes filled with tears.
"Am I going to die because I found out something too?"
I dropped the dish towel.
Luca pulled his son into his arms.
"No."
His voice was fierce.
"Listen to me, Benjamin."
He held the child's face between his hands.
"You are not responsible for what any adult has done."
Benjamin began crying.
"I didn't mean to go into your office."
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"I just wanted to find my dinosaur drawing."
Luca kissed his forehead.
"I know, buddy."
The doorbell rang.
Mateo appeared moments later.
"Boss, your sister is here."
Luca stood slowly.
"Send her in."
A tall woman in a navy coat entered the kitchen.
She had Luca's dark eyes and the same stubborn expression.
But when she saw Benjamin, her face softened immediately.
"There's my favorite nephew."
"Aunt Olivia!"
Benjamin ran into her arms.
She held him tightly.
Then she looked at Luca.
"We need to talk."
Luca handed her the drawing.
Olivia examined it.
Her smile disappeared.
She looked at the scar, the black ring, and the gray coat.
Then she slowly lowered the paper.
"Where did Benjamin see this man?"
"In my study."
Olivia's hand began to shake.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
She looked toward her nephew.
Then she whispered, "Because that is Silas Voss."
Luca stared at her.
"Mom's former financial adviser?"
Olivia nodded.
"The man she was preparing to report before she died."
She reached into her handbag and removed an old funeral photograph.
Near the cemetery gates stood a man in a gray coat.
On his left hand was a black ring.
And beside him, partially hidden behind a black umbrella, stood a woman.
Olivia pointed toward the woman's wrist.
"Look at that bracelet."
I leaned closer.
It was a delicate gold bracelet with a ruby charm.
I had seen it dozens of times.
Vanessa wore it almost every day.
Olivia looked at her brother.
"Luca, your wife was at Mom's funeral."
His face went white.
"That's impossible."
May you like
Olivia shook her head.
"She was there three years before you supposedly met her."
