Chapter 3 - THE RED MUSIC BOX
The music box had been buried beneath a false bottom in Claire's bedroom closet.
She had not touched it since the night Ethan disappeared.
Luca stood behind her as she opened the old wooden trunk.
Ivy waited beside the bed.
Claire's hands shook as she lifted folded blankets, winter coats, and a stack of old photographs.
Then she found it.
A small red music box.
The paint had chipped around the edges.
A silver ballerina stood frozen beneath the glass.
Ivy stared.
“That was Daddy's.”
Claire nodded.
“He gave it to me when you were born.”
“Why did you hide it?”
Claire swallowed.
“Because it reminded me of him.”
Luca said nothing.
Claire opened the box.
The ballerina turned.
A soft melody played.
Three notes.
Then four.
Then silence.
Ivy frowned.
“That's not the whole song.”
“No.”
Claire touched the bottom.
“I never knew why.”
Luca picked up the box.
“May I?”
Claire nodded.
He turned it over.
There was a tiny screw beneath a layer of worn red paint.
Luca looked at Claire.
“Ethan wasn't careless.”
“No.”
“He hid something.”
Claire's stomach tightened.
Luca removed the screw.
The bottom panel came loose.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
And a small brass key.
Claire covered her mouth.
Ivy stepped closer.
“What's that?”
Claire unfolded the paper.
Only six words were written.
IF IVY EVER READS THIS, TRUST LUCA.
Claire looked at him.
Luca looked equally stunned.
“I didn't know.”
Claire shook her head.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don't care what you believe.”
He pointed at the note.
“I've never seen it.”
Claire read it again.
Her hands trembled.
“Why would Ethan tell me to trust you?”
Luca stared at the words.
“I don't know.”
Ivy picked up the brass key.
“This has a number.”
Seven.
She looked at Luca.
“What's seven?”
Luca's face changed.
“Pier Seven.”
Claire frowned.
“What is Pier Seven?”
“A private storage facility.”
“Yours?”
“Formerly.”
“What's there?”
“I don't know.”
Claire looked at him sharply.
“You expect me to believe a billionaire doesn't know what's stored in his own property?”
“It was sold six years ago.”
“To whom?”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Hayashi Maritime.”
Claire froze.
“The Japanese company?”
“Yes.”
Ivy looked at the key.
“So Daddy hid this there?”
“Possibly.”
Claire stood.
“We're going.”
Luca immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if Ethan left this for us, someone may be watching the facility.”
Claire's voice rose.
“My daughter has spent seven years believing her father is dead.”
“I know.”
“And now you are telling me there is a possibility he's alive.”
“I know.”
“Then I'm going.”
Luca stared at her.
“You don't have to prove you're brave.”
“I am not trying to be brave.”
Claire's eyes filled.
“I am trying to find my daughter's father.”
That silenced him.
Twenty minutes later, Luca's convoy left the hotel.
Ivy sat between Claire and Luca in the back seat.
She held the red music box.
Rain streaked the windows.
After several minutes, she asked quietly:
“Mr. Moretti?”
“Yes?”
“Did you know Daddy?”
Luca looked toward the city.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your father once saved my life.”
Claire turned.
“What?”
Luca nodded.
“Seven years ago.”
He paused.
“I was shot outside a warehouse near the waterfront.”
Claire stared.
“Ethan found me.”
“He helped you?”
“He stopped the bleeding.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“He could have left me there. Instead, he carried me into a truck and drove me to a private clinic.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know who you were.”
Claire frowned.
“But you knew Ethan.”
“I knew a man named Ethan Doyle.”
Luca looked at her.
“I didn't know he had a wife.”
Claire looked away.
Luca continued.
“Three weeks later, Ethan disappeared.”
“And you did nothing?”
“I searched.”
“Why?”
“Because he saved my life.”
Claire was silent.
Luca reached into his coat.
He removed a folded photograph.
Ethan stood beside a black car.
A younger Luca stood next to him.
Claire stared.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
Ivy leaned closer.
“Daddy looks happy.”
Luca looked at the photograph.
“He was.”
“Why did he leave?”
Luca didn't answer.
The car entered an underground garage.
Pier Seven was supposed to have been abandoned.
Instead, a single light glowed at the far end.
Luca immediately reached for his weapon.
Claire pulled Ivy close.
“Stay behind me.”
Luca looked at her.
“You stay behind me.”
They entered the building.
The brass key fit the seventh storage unit.
The lock clicked.
Inside was nothing but a metal chair, a dusty desk, and a large wooden crate.
Claire's heart sank.
Then Ivy pointed.
“Mommy.”
On the wall was a photograph.
A photograph of Ivy.
Taken recently.
Claire stepped backward.
“No.”
Luca's expression turned murderous.
Someone had been watching them.
For months.
Maybe years.
Ivy whispered, “Why is my picture there?”
Luca pulled her behind him.
Claire stared at the photograph.
There were six more.
Ivy at school.
Ivy outside the grocery store.
Ivy sitting in Claire's car.
Ivy walking beside her mother.
Every photograph had dates.
Every photograph had locations.
The newest one had been taken three days earlier.
Luca looked at Claire.
“Someone has been tracking your daughter.”
Claire began shaking.
“Who?”
A noise came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Luca raised his weapon.
“Stay here.”
He moved toward the door.
A shadow passed beneath it.
Then a voice spoke.
“Ethan told me you would find this.”
Claire stopped breathing.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
He was older.
Maybe sixty.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
No weapon visible.
Luca aimed immediately.
“Name.”
The man looked at Claire.
“My name is Daniel Shaw.”
Claire didn't recognize him.
But Ivy did.
She stared at his mouth.
Then her eyes widened.
“He's lying.”
Everyone froze.
Luca looked down.
“What?”
Ivy pointed.
“He said his name is Daniel.”
The man smiled.
Ivy shook her head.
“He didn't say that.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“What did he say?”
Ivy looked frightened.
“He said…”
She swallowed.
“He said, 'Tell them the girl is ready.'”
The man's smile vanished.
Luca fired.
The bullet struck the wall beside the man's shoulder.
He ran.
Luca chased him.
Claire grabbed Ivy.
They heard footsteps.
A door slammed.
Then silence.
Luca returned several seconds later.
His face was grim.
“He escaped.”
Claire looked at the photographs.
“Who was he?”
“I don't know.”
Ivy stared at the wooden crate.
“Mommy.”
Claire turned.
The crate was open.
Inside was a single object.
A man's wedding ring.
Claire recognized it instantly.
Ethan's.
Beside it lay another note.
Claire picked it up.
May you like
Three words.
HE NEVER LEFT.
