Chapter 10 - THE CHILD IN THE LEDGER
I stared at the message until the words blurred.
"What child?" Luca asked.
"I don't know."
We gave the phone to Detective Ruiz that night. She asked us not to contact Rebecca Price or post anything publicly. We agreed.
The next few days were almost unbearable because nothing dramatic happened.
That is how fear really works. You keep making coffee. You fold towels. You check your phone too often. You wonder whether every strange car contains someone who wants to hurt you. And then you feel guilty for thinking about yourself when a little boy is learning how to sleep without nightmares.
Ethan began meeting with a child therapist recommended jointly by Claire and Luca. His parents attended when invited and kept his conversations private. He was starting to understand that Vanessa's cruelty was not his responsibility.
On Wednesday, he called me to report a triumph.
"I asked the waiter about my food."
"And?"
"He checked the ingredients. Mommy said I did great."
I had to cover my mouth to keep from crying.
Later that day, Detective Ruiz returned to the estate with permission to share a narrow piece of the investigation. Rebecca Price had confirmed Daniel kept records of suspicious property transfers. One account involved money meant to be held for the child of a deceased employee. The money had allegedly been diverted years before Ethan was born.
"So it isn't Ethan?" I asked.
"Not that account," the detective said. "But the same methods may appear in the newer paperwork. We can't draw conclusions until the records are examined."
Rebecca had also provided a photograph of a young Adrian with another man outside the harbor warehouse. The second man wasn't Luca's father. He was Dominic Moretti.
Luca looked stunned.
"Dominic told me he'd never been there."
The detective didn't ask Luca to interpret the photograph. She asked whether he could identify when it was taken and whether he had any documents that might help.
After she left, Luca called Dominic. He did not threaten him. He simply asked him to speak with counsel and cooperate with investigators. Dominic hung up.
Two hours later, the office received a resignation from the chief financial officer of one of Luca's property companies. He cited family reasons and refused to answer calls.
Miriam began an independent review of the relevant accounts. Luca temporarily stepped back from decisions touching the questioned entities. It hurt him to do it. I could see that. But he told me a frightened child deserved a family that wasn't built on silence.
That night, I found an envelope waiting outside the staff quarters. Inside was an old photo of a young woman holding a baby near the harbor. On the back, someone had written: HE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE FORGOTTEN.
I handed it to Marco without touching it further. He documented where it had appeared and passed it to police.
I didn't understand why someone wanted me to see it. I only knew the threats were becoming less predictable.
My mother came to stay at my aunt's for another week. We spoke every night. She sounded steadier, and she was proud I'd stopped blaming myself.
Near midnight, Luca knocked on the kitchen doorway.
"Claire says Ethan wants to come home Sunday for dinner," he said.
"That's good."
"He asked whether you would eat with us. At the table."
My heart contracted.
"I'm an employee, Luca."
He seemed to hear the boundary in my voice.
"Then I'll ask you as a guest, off the clock. And it's completely your choice."
I considered the boy with the notebook and the blue-star cake.
"I'd like that."
Luca smiled faintly.
Then his phone rang.
Miriam had located the missing archive photographs.
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The earliest image showed Adrian Bellini transferring funds through an account linked to Dominic. The latest image, dated only a month ago, showed a new document bearing Luca's electronic signature.
A signature he said he had never given.
