Chapter 2 - THE KEY IN THE NURSERY
By eight the next morning, the engagement dinner looked as if it had never happened. The crystal had been removed. The flowers had been carried into the breakfast room. Staff moved quietly through the mansion, pretending they had not watched Luca Moretti cancel his own engagement dinner to protect his son. Claire sat at the end of the staff table with Matteo’s wrinkled toast beside her coffee. She had barely slept. Matteo had fallen asleep in his father’s room after two in the morning, still clutching the taped white carnation meant for his mother. Vanessa had apparently slept enough to become angry again. She entered the kitchen wearing cream trousers, dark sunglasses, and the diamond engagement ring Luca had not yet asked her to return. Everyone stopped talking. Vanessa looked directly at Claire. “You’re still here.” Mrs. Carter set down the coffee pot. “Mr. Moretti told her to remain until Mrs. Carter clears her.” “I wasn’t asking you.” The head housekeeper’s face did not change. “That is fortunate. I was answering anyway.” A dishwasher coughed to hide a laugh. Vanessa heard it. Her mouth tightened. Then she placed a small velvet pouch on the table. “My grandmother’s sapphire earrings are missing.” Claire’s stomach turned. Mrs. Carter folded her jobs. “And?” “And Claire spent yesterday wandering through rooms where she did not belong.” Claire looked up. “I never entered your bedroom.” “No. You entered the private library, touched my letters, and stole a photograph.” “I found the photograph inside Mrs. Moretti’s sealed letter.” Vanessa smiled. “According to you.” Mrs. Carter stepped closer. “According to the video.” That ended the performance for several seconds. Then Vanessa opened the velvet pouch and turned it upside down. Empty. “Search her room.” Claire pushed back from the table. “You can’t be serious.” “I am the future woman of this house.” A voice came from the doorway. “No.” Luca stood there in a dark sweater and black trousers. He had not shaved. He looked more dangerous for it. Vanessa turned. “No?” “You are my fiancée. That is not the same thing.” Her face hardened. “The earrings are missing.” “Then security will review the cameras.” “She could have hidden them anywhere.” “And if you accuse one of my employees of theft again without evidence, you can explain to Daniel why your own rooms are being searched first.” The kitchen went silent. Vanessa stared at him. Claire wished the floor would open. Public rescue could feel almost as humiliating as public accusation when everyone watched you receive it. Luca noticed her discomfort. “Claire, come with me.” Vanessa laughed. “Of course.” He looked at her. “What does that mean?” “Nothing, darling.” “Say it.” She slid the sunglasses onto her head. “It means she seems to be receiving a great deal of private attention for a housekeeper.” Claire’s face burned. Mrs. Carter inhaled sharply. Luca did not raise his voice. “Your problem this morning is not Claire’s job title.” Vanessa’s smile disappeared. “Your problem is that Elena Russo wrote my aunt six weeks ago, and you knew enough about that woman to try burning the letter hiding her identity.” Vittorio entered behind Luca. He had stayed at the mansion overnight. “Not here.” Luca glanced at him. “I agree.” He looked at Claire. “Study.” Claire followed him out, feeling every pair of eyes on her back. Rosa was already waiting beside the fireplace. The letter from Elena lay open on Luca’s desk. Beside it sat the photograph. Luca shut the door. “Read the second paragraph.” Claire frowned. “There were only three lines last night.” “There was writing inside the envelope flap.” Rosa tapped the paper. “My sister used to do that when she was afraid someone would open her mail.” Claire leaned closer. A faded pencil message ran along the inside fold. If Lucia’s paper is ever needed, begin where the blue room watched over her son. The saint never moved, even when the walls did. Claire looked at Luca. “The blue room?” “My nursery.” Rosa nodded. “Lucia painted it blue before Luca was born. Antonio had it remodeled after she died.” “Where is it?” “The east wing.” Vittorio laughed from near the window. “You’re chasing riddles written by a frightened old woman.” Rosa looked at him. “You seem unusually bothered by riddles you consider meaningless.” Luca folded the envelope. “Daniel checked Elena’s address.” “And?” “She lives in an assisted-living residence outside Milwaukee.” Rosa’s eyes widened. “Alive?” “Yes.” Vittorio looked away. Claire saw it. So did Luca. Vanessa entered without knocking. “I want Claire searched before she goes anywhere else.” Luca’s expression did not change. “Why?” “My earrings.” Daniel appeared behind her. He held the sapphire earrings between two gloved fingers. “I found them.” Vanessa turned. “Where?” “In the pocket of the coat you wore yesterday.” The silence that followed was exquisite. Mrs. Carter, standing behind Daniel, did not smile. She did not need to. Vanessa reached for the earrings. Daniel did not hand them over. “Mr. Moretti asked me to log them first.” Vanessa’s cheeks reddened. “You searched my coat?” Luca looked at her. “You wanted a search.” Claire lowered her eyes before Vanessa could see the relief on her face. Luca turned toward the hall. “We’re going to the east wing.” The old nursery had become a storage room for unused furniture and framed photographs. The walls were ivory now. A faded strip of blue paint remained behind a radiator. Rosa walked slowly around the room. “The crib was there.” She pointed toward the north wall. “Lucia’s rocking chair beside the window. And the Madonna was above it.” “What Madonna?” Claire asked. “A small porcelain relief. White ceramic. Blue veil.” Luca searched the wall. Nothing. Daniel checked the storage inventory. “Renovation records say a religious plaque was removed twenty-six years ago and placed in basement storage.” Vanessa spoke from the doorway. “This is absurd.” Everyone turned. Luca’s gaze sharpened. “How did you know we were here?” She folded her jobs. “It’s my house too.” “No,” Rosa said. “It keeps becoming less so.” Vanessa ignored her. “Luca, you have a meeting in forty minutes. Your board is coming. Your wedding is in two days. And you are digging through storage because a maid found an old photograph.” Claire flinched. Luca did not. “Daniel, basement.” The storage basement smelled of cedar, stone, and dust. Rows of shelves held lamps, silver trays, boxes of winter decorations, and furniture wrapped in cloth. Daniel found the porcelain Madonna in a wooden crate marked EAST WING. Rosa touched it gently. “That’s her.” The figure was smaller than Claire expected. A woman in a blue veil holding a sleeping child. Luca turned it over. Nothing. Vanessa exhaled. “There. Mystery solved.” Claire studied the back. “There’s fresh dust around the edge.” Luca looked closer. A narrow wooden backing had been screwed behind the porcelain. The screw heads were scratched. Recently. Daniel removed them. Behind the panel was a shallow compartment. Empty. Except for a brass key. And a torn strip of blue paper. Luca picked up the paper. On it, in Lucia’s handwriting, were three words. CARUSO LEDGER. BOX 17. Rosa gripped her cane. Vittorio, who had followed them downstairs, went pale. Luca saw him. “What is the Caruso ledger?” Vittorio answered too quickly. “Nothing.” Rosa turned toward him. “That is a remarkable answer for a man who supposedly has no idea what any of this means.” Claire looked at the brass key. A number had been stamped into its head. 17. Luca handed it to Daniel. “Find every box, safe, deposit room, and archive connected to that number.” Vanessa stepped forward. “You are not postponing the wedding over this.” Luca faced her. “I haven’t decided what I’m postponing.” Her expression cracked. “You embarrass me in front of staff, let her accuse me, search my clothes, and now threaten our wedding because of a dead woman’s paperwork?” Claire could feel the cruelty gathering before Vanessa aimed it. “She wants this, Luca.” He frowned. “What?” Vanessa pointed at Claire. “She wants you to think she saved your precious family history. She wants sympathy. She wants access. Look at her. She earns barely enough to pay rent, and suddenly she’s in private rooms discussing family shares.” Claire’s throat tightened. Rosa stepped forward. But Luca spoke first. “Her bank account has nothing to do with whether you lied.” Vanessa laughed. “You always did enjoy rescuing broken things.” Luca’s face changed. “Leave.” Vanessa stared at him, then walked upstairs with Vittorio. Rosa touched the brass key. “Caruso kept the private books when the Bellinis borrowed against Lucia’s shares.” Luca looked at her. “And somebody replaced the page where she refused the debt?” “Yes.” Daniel’s phone rang. He listened, then raised his eyes. “We found Box 17. The key belongs to a private vault company downtown.” Luca stood. Daniel did not move. “There’s a problem. Someone opened that box yesterday.” Claire felt the basement suddenly become colder, though no door had opened behind them. “Who?” Daniel turned his screen around. The access.
