Chapter 3 - The Letter Hidden Inside the Dollhouse
Luca Moretti had not slept.
Neither had Clara.
The phrase kept repeating in his head.
Daddy must not trust the roses.
For years, Luca had believed his wife's death had been the consequence of a war between rival organizations.
Elena had been caught in the middle.
That was the official story.
That was the story he had told Mia.
That was the story he had told himself.
But now his six-year-old daughter was repeating words Elena had supposedly said years ago.
Luca brought Clara into his study.
“You said Mia knows something.”
“I said she remembers something.”
“What is the difference?”
“Memory is not proof.”
He studied her.
“You speak like someone used to doubting people.”
Clara looked away.
“My mother taught me.”
“Where is she?”
“Dead.”
He paused.
“I’m sorry.”
Clara nodded.
“She worked two jobs. She taught me never to trust a story that only has one witness.”
Luca almost smiled.
“Your mother was right.”
Clara noticed the silver key on his desk.
“Mia believes it opens something in here.”
Luca picked it up.
“I've searched every drawer.”
“Maybe she means the room, not the desk.”
They searched.
Nothing.
Then Clara looked at the bookshelf.
There was an old dollhouse on the top shelf.
“Mia plays with that?”
“Never.”
“Why keep it?”
“It belonged to Elena.”
Clara studied it.
A handmade house.
Six rooms.
Tiny wooden furniture.
One miniature door painted red.
Her heart skipped.
“The red door.”
Luca looked at her.
“What?”
“Mia draws a red door.”
He pulled the dollhouse down.
The back panel was locked.
He inserted the silver key.
It clicked.
Inside was a tiny compartment.
A folded letter.
And a small memory card.
Luca picked up the letter.
The handwriting was Elena's.
His hands tightened.
He read silently.
Then handed it to Clara.
“My dearest Luca,
If you are reading this, then something has happened that I feared would happen.
Do not trust anyone who uses the scent of roses around Mia.
Someone has been trying to frighten her.
They believe she saw something she did not understand.
She heard voices the night I confronted them.
She saw the red door.
She saw the man carrying the black case.
I begged him to stop.
He laughed.
Mia was hiding behind the curtains.
If anything happens to me, protect our daughter.
And please remember:
The danger is not outside the house.
It is already inside.”
Clara's hand shook.
Luca closed his eyes.
Elena had known.
Someone inside the house had been involved.
The memory card contained a short video.
The image was poor.
But recognizable.
Elena was sitting at a desk.
“Mia's father trusts people too easily when he believes they are loyal.”
A noise interrupted her.
She turned.
“Who is there?”
The video ended.
There was no date.
No context.
But Luca recognized the room.
His old office.
Before he remodeled it.
The question was who had recorded it.
Marco arrived.
Luca showed him the letter.
Within minutes, the household staff was assembled.
Everyone denied involvement.
Mrs. Gable cried.
“I have served your family for 27 years.”
Luca looked at her.
“And who is Elias Vance to you?”
She stopped.
“He was Elena's brother.”
“I know.”
Luca stepped closer.
“You lied about where you got the perfume.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
She said nothing.
Then Clara noticed her hands.
They were trembling.
But not from fear.
From guilt.
“Mrs. Gable,” Clara said quietly.
The older woman looked at her.
“Do you know who has been frightening Mia?”
Mrs. Gable's lips parted.
She looked toward Luca.
Then whispered,
“I don't know who he is.”
Luca froze.
“He?”
“Yes.”
“Describe him.”
“I never saw his face.”
“Then how do you know it is a man?”
Mrs. Gable stared at the floor.
“Because of the voice.”
“What voice?”
“The one from the wall.”
Silence.
Marco stepped forward.
“Where did you hear it?”
Mrs. Gable pointed toward the east wing.
“In the service corridor.”
Clara remembered something.
The smell of metal.
The sound of footsteps.
The basement.
She turned to Luca.
“There is another way into the east wing.”
“Where?”
“The old service corridor.”
Mrs. Gable stared at her.
“You've been there?”
“I cleaned it once.”
Luca ordered the corridor opened.
Behind a hidden panel was a narrow passage leading beneath the house.
They found an old security room.
Inside were monitors.
The estate's cameras had been accessed remotely.
The system had been altered.
Someone had been watching Mia.
For months.
On one monitor, footage showed a figure entering the child's hallway at night.
The person wore a black coat.
Face hidden.
A small silver ring visible on one hand.
Luca stared.
“I know that ring.”
Marco asked,
“Who?”
Luca didn't answer.
He walked out.
Clara followed.
“Who wears it?”
Luca stopped.
“My brother.”
Clara's eyes widened.
“Your brother is alive?”
“Yes.”
“What is his name?”
“Matteo.”
Luca had not spoken to Matteo in eight years.
They had separated after a brutal dispute over leadership.
Matteo had disappeared.
Now someone was using his brother's signature ring.
But there was another problem.
Mia had begun crying.
Clara rushed to her.
The little girl pointed toward the window.
A black car sat beyond the gates.
The engine was running.
Luca looked outside.
The car drove away.
Marco sent two vehicles after it.
Minutes later, his phone rang.
“We lost them.”
Luca's face hardened.
Then Mia whispered,
“Red door.”
Clara turned.
“What red door?”
“The one Mommy saw.”
They searched Elena's old bedroom.
Behind the wallpaper was a narrow red-painted door.
It opened into a hidden storage room.
Inside was nothing but old documents.
Until Clara noticed a loose floorboard.
She lifted it.
Underneath was a metal box.
Inside:
A photograph.
An envelope.
And a list of names.
The names belonged to people in Luca's organization.
One of them made Luca go completely still.
Mrs. Gable's nephew.
The household driver.
And Matteo Moretti.
Clara looked at Luca.
“Your brother is involved.”
“Maybe.”
“No,” she said.
“He's on your list.”
Luca stared at the photograph.
Matteo stood beside a man Clara recognized.
The family doctor.
Dr. Adrian Vale.
The man who had evaluated Mia after Elena's death.
Clara's stomach tightened.
“Why would your doctor work with your brother?”
Luca's eyes became cold.
“He wouldn't.”
But the photograph existed.
And the date on it was two days before Elena died.
That night, Luca confronted Adrian.
The doctor denied everything.
Until Clara noticed a tiny rose-shaped pin on his lapel.
The same scent.
The same symbol.
Mia screamed from upstairs.
Everyone ran.
The child's bedroom door was locked.
Luca broke it open.
Mia was gone.
The window was open.
A rope hung outside.
Luca's face turned white.
He looked at Clara.
May you like
For the first time, the feared Mafia boss looked like nothing but a father.
“Find my daughter.”
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