Chapter 4 - THE FORGERY OF TRUST
The train car felt suffocatingly small.
Luca stood up, still holding Lily tightly against his chest. He reached out and took the folded document from my hand.
His dark eyes scanned the page, reading the legal jargon that essentially gave Marcus Bellini full power of attorney over Lily’s educational and medical decisions.
At the bottom of the page, in dark blue ink, was a perfect replica of Luca’s signature.
“This is a forgery,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a terrifying, deadly calm. “A masterpiece, but a forgery.”
“Daddy?” Lily whispered, looking at his face. “Are you mad at me?”
Instantly, the mafia boss vanished, replaced entirely by the father. Luca kissed her forehead. “No, my sunshine. I could never be mad at you. I’m just... figuring things out.”
He looked at me. “We’re going home. Not to Clara’s. To our house.”
The ride back to the mansion was tense. Lily fell asleep in the backseat, her head resting on my lap. I gently stroked her damp curls.
Luca drove in silence, the forged document sitting on the console between us.
When we finally pulled through the estate gates, the decorators were gone. The house was quiet.
Vanessa was sitting in the grand living room, a glass of red wine in her hand. When she saw us walk in, she immediately stood up, plastering a look of relieved concern on her face.
“Oh, thank God!” Vanessa rushed forward. “Luca, Clara called me. I was terrified! Is she alright?”
Luca didn’t speak. He carried the sleeping Lily past Vanessa, ignoring her completely, and walked up the grand staircase.
“Take her to her room, Hannah,” Luca said softly, handing her to me at the top of the stairs.
I nodded, carrying the little girl into her bedroom and tucking her beneath her heavy quilt. I stayed for a moment, making sure she was deeply asleep, before walking back out to the landing.
Down in the living room, the storm had finally broken.
“What is wrong with you?” Vanessa was demanding. “I was worried sick!”
Luca stood by the fireplace. He didn't raise his voice, but the entire room seemed to vibrate with his anger.
He threw the leather wallet and the forged document onto the glass coffee table.
“Explain this,” he said.
Vanessa looked at the wallet. She swallowed hard, but quickly recovered. “That’s Marcus’s wallet. Where did you find it?”
“Under the seat on the train my daughter was trying to run away on.”
“Well, he must have dropped it,” she said smoothly. “He takes the train to the city sometimes.”
“And the document inside it?” Luca asked.
Vanessa glanced at the paper. Her composure slipped for a fraction of a second. “I... I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s a transfer of guardianship, Vanessa. Giving your brother control over where Lily goes.” Luca took a step toward her. “You forged my signature.”
“I did no such thing!” she cried indignantly. “Luca, you sign hundreds of papers a week for the business. You probably signed it without reading it! We talked about boarding schools, you agreed it was best—”
“I never agreed to send my daughter away!” Luca roared. The sound made the crystal chandelier rattle.
Vanessa took a step back, genuine fear in her eyes. “Luca, be reasonable. The girl needs discipline. Since Elena died, she’s been running wild.”
“Do not say my wife’s name,” he warned softly.
He walked over to the coffee table and picked up the paper.
“You know, Vanessa,” Luca said, his eyes scanning the document. “You and your brother are very smart. But you missed one detail.”
Vanessa didn’t speak.
“My business signature,” Luca explained, tracing the ink, “always includes my middle initial. I only ever omit the initial when I sign personal family documents.”
He looked up at her. “This document has my middle initial. Whoever forged it copied it from a business contract. Not a family paper.”
Vanessa’s face went chalk white.
“Pack your things,” Luca ordered.
“Luca, please—”
“Pack your things and get out of my house. The engagement is over.”
Vanessa stared at him, realizing he was entirely serious. Her fear morphed into something vicious and ugly.
“You think you can just throw me out?” she sneered. “My family invested twenty million dollars into your shipping company last month. You break this engagement, my father pulls the funding. You’ll lose the docks.”
“I’ll gladly burn the docks to the ground before I let you near my daughter again,” Luca replied.
Vanessa grabbed her wine glass and hurled it into the fireplace. It shattered into a hundred pieces.
“You’ll regret this, Luca,” she spat, storming out of the room.
I stood quietly on the stairs, watching her leave. The house suddenly felt lighter.
Luca sighed heavily, leaning his hands on the mantelpiece.
I slowly walked down the stairs. “Mr. Moretti? Should I make you some tea?”
He turned to look at me. “Hannah. You don’t have to serve me right now. Come sit.”
I hesitantly sat on the edge of the sofa.
Luca sat across from me. He looked exhausted, the weight of the night pressing down on him.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For finding that wallet. For finding her.”
“I’m just glad she’s safe.”
Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out the broken silver locket we had found in the guest room in Oak Park.
“Lily’s chain is broken,” he said, tracing the silver metal. “I need to get it fixed tomorrow.”
He absentmindedly pressed the clasp of the locket. It popped open.
Inside was a tiny, faded picture of Elena.
But as the locket opened, something small and metallic slipped out from behind the photograph, falling onto the glass coffee table with a soft clink.
I leaned forward.
It was a tiny brass key. Barely an inch long.
“What is that?” I asked.
Luca picked it up, his brow furrowing in confusion.
May you like
“I have no idea,” he whispered. “Elena wore this locket every day. She never mentioned a key.”
TITLE: THE MUSIC BOX
