Chapter 4 - THE HOUSE OF SILENT CHILDREN
By dawn, Evelyn was inside the Belandi mansion, a place she had once seen only in newspaper photographs. It rose above the lake behind iron gates and bare November trees, all marble columns and windows glowing against the gray sky.
She had not agreed to become an employee. She had agreed to stay for one day, in a guest room, while Detective Ruiz investigated the threat against the children. Adrien had offered money. Evelyn refused it. He had offered a contract. She refused that too.
“I'm here because Sofia may know something about Lily,” she told him. “Not because you bought my time.”
Adrien nodded. “Then you can leave whenever you choose.”
“Even if you don't like what I find?”
“Especially then.”
The triplets occupied a bright upstairs wing. Their rooms were filled with expensive toys, but almost nothing had been touched. The nursery walls were decorated with cheerful animals. A row of therapy schedules hung beside the door, each marked with small stickers and notes about progress.
Evelyn studied the schedules. “When did they stop speaking?”
“Two years ago,” Adrien said. “After their mother died.”
“An accident?”
“A fire at our country house. My wife, Isabelle, was trapped inside.”
“Were the children there?”
Adrien's jaw tightened. “They were found in the garden.”
“Who found them?”
“My aunt Celeste.”
Evelyn looked up.
Adrien stared at the schedule as if he had never noticed the name printed at the bottom of each page. CELESTE BELANDI FOUNDATION FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT. His aunt had selected the specialists, organized the appointments, and insisted the children needed strict routines.
“Does she visit often?” Evelyn asked.
“Every Thursday.”
It was Thursday.
At breakfast, Evelyn sat on the floor rather than at the enormous dining table. She spread out colored pencils and a sheet of paper. Nico watched from the doorway. Luca sat beside him. Sofia approached only when Evelyn began drawing a ridiculous dog with ears longer than its legs.
“That's supposed to be a dog,” Evelyn said. “But I think it might be a mop.”
Luca's mouth twitched.
Evelyn did not celebrate the reaction. She simply drew another animal, this one with four crooked tails. Within minutes all three children were sitting near her.
Sofia chose a blue pencil and drew a square. Nico added a staircase. Luca drew a red door.
Evelyn's pulse quickened, but she kept her voice steady. “Is this somewhere you remember?”
Sofia nodded.
“Would you like to show me more?”
Three little heads bent over the page. Nico drew a tree outside the square. Luca added a window with bars. Sofia drew a girl with long hair, standing behind the door.
Evelyn's throat tightened. “Who is she?”
Sofia looked toward the hall. Her fingers began to shake.
A woman's voice floated through the doorway. “What a charming little art lesson.”
Celeste Belandi stood beneath the archway in a cream coat, her silver hair perfectly arranged. She smiled at Evelyn without warmth.
“I'm told you've caused quite a stir.”
Evelyn placed the drawing face down. “The children were having fun.”
Celeste's gaze dropped to the paper. “How lovely. Their therapist discourages overstimulation.”
“They chose to draw.”
“And you are qualified to interpret their choices?”
“No. I'm qualified to listen when they want to show me something.”
Celeste's smile vanished for an instant.
Then she reached into her handbag and produced three small red candies.
Sofia recoiled so violently that her chair toppled.
May you like
Nico covered his sister's eyes. Luca crawled under the table.
Celeste looked at the frightened children and said, too softly for anyone but Evelyn to hear, “Some memories are safer buried.”
