Chapter 5 - The Watch That Had Stopped at 11:47
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By six that evening, Luca Moretti had turned his father's old sitting room into a place of investigation.
There were bank statements on the table.
Photographs beside the fireplace.
Giovanni's leather diary lay open beneath a reading lamp.
And the silver key rested in a small dish where everyone could see it.
I stood near Teresa's wheelchair, trying to make sense of everything.
A few hours earlier, I had been a maid returning a discarded wedding photograph to the mantel.
Now I knew that photograph had hidden a letter describing possible financial crimes.
And someone had been searching for it.
Luca's attorney, Daniel Mercer, arrived shortly after sunset.
He was a serious-looking man in his early fifties, with silver-rimmed glasses and a black leather briefcase.
He listened while Teresa explained what had happened.
Then he examined Giovanni's letter.
“This is potentially significant,” he said.
Luca folded his arms.
“Potentially?”
“The original records may establish what happened to the foundation's money. But we'll need to verify the documents and review the transactions.”
Luca pointed toward the silver key.
“Can we access the box tonight?”
Mercer shook his head.
“The private vault closes at five. I'll arrange a visit tomorrow morning with Mrs. Moretti's authorization.”
Teresa nodded.
“I'll come.”
Luca turned toward her.
“Ma, you don't have to.”
She lifted one eyebrow.
“My husband left me the key.”
He smiled faintly.
“Yes, Ma.”
Mercer examined the list Isabella had apparently been using.
Then stopped at Giovanni's gold watch.
“Why is this marked with a red circle?”
I leaned closer.
It was true.
Every object had a handwritten date beside it.
But the watch was circled twice.
Teresa looked concerned.
“I don't know.”
Luca turned toward Anthony.
“Find the watch.”
Anthony nodded.
“Where should I start?”
“Every storage room. Every locked cabinet. Anywhere Isabella has access.”
Mercer raised a hand.
“Document what you find, and don't disturb anything that may need to be examined by investigators.”
Anthony nodded.
Two hours later, he returned.
He carried a small wooden box.
Inside lay a gold wristwatch.
Its leather strap was cracked.
The crystal was scratched.
But Teresa recognized it immediately.
“Oh.”
Her voice broke.
She reached for the watch.
“Giovanni.”
Luca gently placed it in her hands.
She turned it over.
Then froze.
“What is it, Ma?”
She stared at the back.
“That's strange.”
Luca leaned closer.
“What?”
“My husband had our anniversary engraved here.”
She showed him.
The back of the watch was smooth.
Completely smooth.
No engraving.
Teresa looked up.
“This isn't his watch.”
A cold silence fell over the room.
Anthony frowned.
“But it was in Isabella's storage cabinet.”
Teresa shook her head.
“It looks the same. But Giovanni's watch had our wedding date on the back.”
Luca examined it.
“June fourteenth.”
She nodded.
“Nineteen eighty-five.”
I stared at the watch.
Someone had replaced the original with an almost identical one.
Why?
Then I remembered something.
“Mrs. Moretti, did your husband wear the watch when he died?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did you get it back afterward?”
“Of course. It was returned with his personal belongings.”
Luca looked toward Mercer.
“My father's watch may contain something Isabella wanted.”
Mercer nodded.
“Or someone wanted to hide what happened to the original.”
Teresa suddenly touched her chest.
“There was something unusual about the watch when Giovanni came home from his final trip.”
Everyone turned.
“What?” Luca asked.
“The hands had stopped.”
Luca frowned.
“Stopped?”
She nodded.
“Eleven forty-seven.”
I looked at the watch in the wooden box.
Its hands showed 3:15.
Teresa continued.
“I remember because I kept asking myself why he'd allowed the battery to die.”
Luca looked thoughtful.
“Was it a battery-powered watch?”
“No. An automatic watch. He wore it every day.”
The room became quiet.
Then Teresa said something that made my stomach tighten.
“Giovanni told me once that if he ever needed to leave me a message, he'd use something nobody would think to search.”
Luca stared at the watch.
Then whispered, “The time.”
Mercer frowned.
“What about it?”
Luca looked toward the silver key.
“Maybe eleven forty-seven isn't just the time it stopped.”
A sudden knock interrupted us.
Mrs. Romano entered.
Her expression was pale.
“Mr. Moretti?”
Luca turned.
“Yes?”
“Isabella is leaving.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“She has several suitcases. She's asked the driver to take her to the airport.”
Luca's expression hardened.
He looked at Mercer.
Then Anthony.
“Tell her the police may need to speak with her. Do not interfere with her physically.”
Anthony nodded.
But before he left, Mrs. Romano added something else.
“She sent a package to a courier this afternoon.”
My heart stopped.
“What package?” Luca asked.
“A small black box.”
Teresa looked down at the imitation watch.
And I suddenly understood.
Isabella might have finally found the original.
Luca took out his phone.
“Get the courier company's details.”
Then he looked toward me.
“Emma, when you found the wedding photograph in the trash, was there anything else in the bin?”
I thought carefully.
Old envelopes.
Tissue paper.
A torn ribbon.
Then I remembered.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A little piece of brown leather.”
Teresa's face went white.
“Brown leather?”
I nodded.
“It looked like part of a watch strap.”
She covered her mouth.
Luca stared at the replacement watch.
May you like
Then said quietly, “She took Dad's watch apart.”
And for the first time that night, I realized the person who discarded the photograph might already have found something important.
