Chapter 9 - The Blue Box Beneath the Bed|
Luca was already moving toward the staircase when I reached the study.
"Where is Lily?" he asked.
"With Maria in the conservatory."
He looked toward Daniel.
"Keep her there. Make sure someone stays with her."
Daniel nodded.
Two security guards accompanied us upstairs.
The hallway outside Lily's bedroom was quiet.
Too quiet.
Her door stood slightly open.
Luca stopped.
Then pushed it wider.
The room looked normal at first.
The pale-blue curtains.
The white canopy bed.
The shelves filled with books and stuffed animals.
But the dresser drawers were open.
Clothes lay scattered across the floor.
And the little blue memory box was missing from its usual shelf.
I covered my mouth.
"Someone searched her room."
Luca's expression darkened.
Daniel examined the window.
"Locked."
One of the guards checked the adjoining bathroom.
"Clear."
Luca looked toward the hallway.
"Who entered?"
Daniel checked his phone.
"Security footage shows a woman wearing a maintenance uniform."
I frowned.
"Who?"
"Face covered by a cap. Entered through the service corridor."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Vanessa?"
Daniel shook his head.
"She's not on the property. We confirmed her location with counsel earlier."
"Then someone working for her."
Daniel nodded.
"Possibly."
I approached the bed.
Something caught my eye.
A small scrap of blue ribbon lay near the nightstand.
I picked it up.
Then noticed the carpet beneath the bed had been disturbed.
"Mr. Moretti?"
He turned.
I knelt.
There was a shallow space between the bed frame and the wall.
Inside it sat a small object wrapped in a faded scarf.
I carefully pulled it out.
The blue box.
My heart jumped.
"It's here."
Luca approached immediately.
I placed the box on the bed.
It was locked.
A tiny brass padlock hung from the front.
Daniel examined it.
"Has it been forced?"
I shook my head.
"No."
Luca looked toward me.
"Where's the key?"
I hesitated.
"Lily might know."
He nodded.
"Let's ask her."
We brought the box downstairs.
Lily was sitting beside Maria, holding her sketchbook.
When she saw it, her eyes widened.
"My box!"
I knelt beside her.
"Sweetheart, we found it."
She reached for it.
Then stopped.
Her expression changed.
"That's not where I put it."
Luca crouched.
"Where did you put it?"
She looked toward him.
"Under my bed."
He frowned.
"Why?"
Her lower lip trembled.
"Because Vanessa tried to take it."
I felt cold.
Lily continued.
"She took it off the shelf, but I got it back when she went downstairs."
Luca stared at her.
"You hid it?"
She nodded.
"Mommy said important things should be kept safe."
I looked at the box.
Someone had searched the room trying to find it.
But Lily had been clever enough to hide it where they hadn't expected.
Luca signed carefully.
Do you have the key?
She nodded.
Then reached beneath the collar of her dress.
A tiny brass key hung from a ribbon around her neck.
She removed it.
And handed it to Luca.
"Mommy gave it to me."
His eyes filled.
He carefully unlocked the box.
Inside were photographs.
Birthday cards.
A small silver bracelet.
A drawing Lily had made when she was five.
And beneath them, a sealed envelope.
Luca lifted it.
Across the front, in Isabella's handwriting, were the words:
FOR MY LILY, WHEN YOU ARE READY TO KNOW HOW BRAVE YOU ARE.
Luca's hands trembled.
Lily looked toward me.
"Can you help me read it?"
I glanced at Luca.
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Together."
We sat on the couch.
Lily between us.
I opened the letter carefully.
The first lines were simple.
My beautiful Lily,
If you're reading this, I hope you're surrounded by people who love you.
I hope you know how proud I am of you.
And I hope you never believe that needing someone to repeat a sentence makes you difficult.
I stopped.
Lily's eyes filled.
She looked at me.
"Mommy wrote that?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
She began crying quietly.
Luca wrapped an arm around her.
I continued.
You are not difficult.
You are not broken.
You are not a burden.
You are a little girl who deserves to be heard, even when the world forgets how to listen.
Lily covered her face.
I felt tears running down my own cheeks.
The letter continued.
There are things about your father's family that I wish I had understood sooner.
Your father made mistakes, but those mistakes were never yours.
He loved you.
And I loved you more than I knew how to explain.
If anyone ever tells you that you cost too much, need too much, or make life harder, I want you to remember something.
You were never a problem to solve.
You were the answer to prayers I was afraid would never be heard.
Luca closed his eyes.
His shoulders shook.
I gently squeezed Lily's hand.
The final paragraph read:
Your uncle Luca will always love you.
But if there comes a day when he cannot protect you from someone who wants to control your life, there is another person you should trust.
Her name is Eleanor Whitmore.
She made mistakes.
So did I.
But she loves you.
And she knows where I placed the papers that explain why certain people have been so interested in your inheritance.
Luca immediately looked up.
"What papers?"
I turned the page.
The final line contained only an address.
A small church on Chicago's North Side.
Beneath it were three words.
ASK FOR FATHER THOMAS.
Luca stared at the page.
Then whispered, "I know that church."
My heart hammered.
"How?"
He looked toward Lily.
May you like
Then back at me.
"It's where Isabella married Michael."
