Chapter 4 - THE WOODEN BEAR
Luca dropped Vanessa. She slumped back into the chair, clutching her throat where the necklace had snapped.
He snatched the hospital band from my hand, staring at the date. October 15th.
“Where is my daughter?” Luca’s voice was no longer a shout. It was a lethal, icy promise. “Tell me where Eliana is, or I swear on my mother’s life, you will not leave this room breathing.”
Vanessa glared at him, a twisted smile playing on her lips. “You really think I kept a screaming infant? I gave her away, Luca. To the system. Under a John Doe name. She’s probably in a group home right now, wearing hand-me-downs and wondering why nobody wanted her.”
Teresa let out a heartbreaking sob.
I looked at the hospital band again. Something wasn’t right. If Vanessa hated Catherine and wanted to get rid of the baby, why would she keep the hospital band encased in expensive resin? Why wear it around her neck?
“She’s lying,” I said aloud.
Vanessa’s eyes snapped to me. “Shut up, you stupid girl.”
“Why wear the band, Vanessa?” I asked, stepping closer to her. “People keep things like this for two reasons. For love, or for leverage.”
Luca looked at me, realization dawning in his dark eyes.
“You didn’t give her to the state,” Luca said, stepping closer to his fiancée. “You hid her. Because if Arthur failed to kill me, or if I ever found out what you did, you needed an insurance policy. A bargaining chip.”
Vanessa’s smile faltered. “You’ll never find her.”
“Marcus,” Luca ordered, not taking his eyes off Vanessa. “Lock the doors. Nobody leaves this house.”
Marcus nodded, pulling a heavy radio from his belt.
“And Marcus,” Luca added. “Bring Julian down here. Now.”
My heart skipped a beat. Julian was Luca’s five-year-old son, asleep in his bedroom on the third floor.
“Boss, it’s late. The boy is sleeping,” Marcus said gently.
“I said bring my son here!” Luca roared.
Marcus hurried out of the dining room.
While we waited, Teresa reached out for my hand again. “Hannah,” she whispered, her voice weak from the exhaustion of the evening. “Check the cedar box again. The lining.”
I ran back into the hallway where I had dropped the smashed cedar box. I felt along the inside bottom. The wood was loose. I dug my fingernails into the seam and pried the false bottom up.
Hidden underneath was a stack of letters, tied together with a simple pink ribbon.
I brought them back to the dining room and handed them to Luca.
He untied the ribbon. The handwriting on the envelopes was elegant, sweeping. Catherine’s handwriting.
He opened the top letter. As he read, his hands began to shake.
“She knew,” Luca whispered, tears finally breaking free and tracking down his face. “Catherine knew Arthur and Vanessa were planning something. She wrote this the day she died. She was taking Eliana to a safe house. She was going to come back for Julian and me.”
“Then why did she get in the car with Arthur?” I asked softly.
“Because Arthur had already taken Julian,” Luca read from the letter, his voice breaking. “He picked him up from preschool early. Catherine got in that car to trade herself for our son.”
The entire room was completely silent. The depth of a mother’s sacrifice hung heavy in the air.
Just then, the dining room doors opened.
Marcus walked in, carrying five-year-old Julian in his arms. The little boy was rubbing his eyes, wearing his pajamas.
“Daddy?” Julian murmured sleepily.
Luca rushed forward, taking his son and burying his face in Julian’s dark curls. “I’ve got you, buddy. Daddy’s right here.”
Julian hugged his father back. But as he shifted, something dropped from his small hand and hit the floor with a heavy thud.
I bent down and picked it up.
It was a beautifully carved wooden bear.
I stared at it. I had seen this bear before. There were photos of Catherine holding it in the old family albums Teresa had shown me. It was Catherine’s lucky charm. She never went anywhere without it.
“Julian,” I asked gently, kneeling beside Luca. “Where did you get this?”
The little boy pointed a sleepy finger straight at Marcus, the head of security.
“Uncle Marcus gave it to me tonight,” Julian said. “He told me to pack my backpack because we were going on a surprise trip.”
The blood drained from my face.
May you like
Luca froze, his eyes slowly rising to meet the gaze of his most trusted guard.
Marcus had his hand resting on his gun holster. And he was standing directly behind Teresa’s chair.
