CHAPTER 5 — THE GHOSTS OF THE FIRE
CHAPTER 5 — THE GHOSTS OF THE FIRE
Rain fell steadily over New York the following morning, turning the gardens of the Moretti estate into a blur of silver and green.
For the first time in years, Lucas Moretti didn't begin his day with business reports or security briefings.
Instead, he walked toward the guest cottage carrying a small paper bag from the bakery his wife had once loved.
He knocked gently.
The door opened a few seconds later.
Lily stood there in oversized slippers, her curly hair still a mess from sleep.
Her eyes lit up.
"Mister Lucas!"
Lucas smiled—a genuine smile that surprised even him.
"I heard someone here likes strawberry pastries."
Lily gasped.
"My favorite!"
Emma appeared behind her, embarrassed.
"Sir, you didn't have to—"
"I wanted to."
Lily accepted the bag carefully, as though it contained treasure.
"Thank you."
Lucas looked at her for a long moment.
Daniel had loved strawberry pastries too.
The memory hurt.
But for the first time in three years...
It didn't only hurt.
It also warmed him.
Meanwhile, Marco Bellini had spent the entire night investigating the missing inhaler.
His search uncovered something disturbing.
Every electronic keycard used inside the mansion left a digital record.
Every door.
Every office.
Every storage room.
Except...
Someone had manually erased exactly seven minutes of access logs.
Marco hurried into Lucas's office.
"They cleaned the records."
Lucas wasn't surprised.
"Can they be recovered?"
"Most of them."
Marco placed a printed timeline on the desk.
"One keycard appears before the deletion."
Lucas studied the page.
The card belonged to...
Victor Romano.
Marco spoke quietly.
"It could have been cloned."
"It could."
"It could have been stolen."
"It could."
Marco sighed.
"But you don't believe that."
Lucas folded the paper.
"I believe someone intelligent is leaving just enough evidence to make me doubt everything."
Across the estate, Lily explored the enormous gardens while Emma worked nearby.
She stopped beside the old fountain where a stone angel stood with folded wings.
Someone was already there.
An elderly gardener trimming roses.
His weathered face softened when he noticed her.
"You must be Lily."
She nodded.
"I'm Arthur."
"Do you live here too?"
The old man smiled.
"Longer than almost anyone."
Lily sat beside him.
"Were you here when Mister Lucas had a little boy?"
Arthur's pruning shears stopped moving.
"I was."
"What was he like?"
Arthur's eyes drifted toward the mansion.
"Daniel?"
"He laughed all the time."
"He believed butterflies carried secret messages."
"He used to hide cookies for the birds."
Lily smiled.
"I like him already."
Arthur chuckled.
"So did everyone."
His smile slowly faded.
"Until that terrible night."
Lily hesitated.
"My mommy says people become stars."
Arthur looked at the child with misty eyes.
"Maybe they do."
Lily pointed toward the burned east wing, still closed off despite years of repairs.
"Why doesn't Mister Lucas fix that part?"
Arthur answered softly.
"Some broken things aren't made of bricks."
Later that afternoon, Lucas unlocked a room he hadn't entered since Isabella's death.
Her music room.
Dust floated through beams of sunlight.
The grand piano stood exactly where she'd left it.
A single sheet of music still rested on the stand.
Lucas traced his fingers across the worn ivory keys.
One quiet note echoed through the empty room.
Then another.
Suddenly, he noticed something unusual.
The bench wasn't sitting flat.
He knelt.
One of the wooden legs had been repaired.
Poorly.
Curious, he turned it over.
Inside the hollow leg was a tiny velvet pouch.
His heartbeat quickened.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a gold necklace.
Isabella's.
Beneath it lay a folded envelope.
Written in familiar handwriting.
For Lucas—Only If Something Happens To Me.
His hands began to shake.
Isabella had written this before she died.
Why had no one found it?
He unfolded the letter.
My love,
If you're reading this, then my greatest fear has come true.
You always believed danger would come from strangers.
I don't.
Please don't be angry that I never told you sooner.
I wanted to believe I was imagining things.
But I can't anymore.
For months I've noticed someone watching the house.
Not from outside...
From within.
Lucas stopped breathing.
He continued reading.
Someone knows your schedule before you tell anyone.
Someone enters rooms after everyone is asleep.
Three weeks ago I heard voices in your father's old office.
One voice belonged to Victor.
Lucas froze.
The letter slipped slightly in his trembling fingers.
The other voice...
I didn't recognize.
Victor said something I can't forget.
"When Lucas finally walks away from the family, everything will belong to us."
Maybe I misunderstood.
God, I hope I did.
Please don't confront him because of this letter alone.
Promise me you'll find proof.
I love you.
Always.
Bella.
For several minutes, Lucas simply stared at the page.
His wife had known.
She had suspected betrayal before the fire.
And she had tried to warn him.
Too late.
That evening, Victor entered the mansion's private chapel to light a candle for appearances.
He found Lily already there.
She sat quietly in the front pew.
"What are you doing?" he asked pleasantly.
"I'm talking to Mister Lucas's wife."
Victor smiled politely.
"And what did you tell her?"
Lily looked toward the stained-glass window.
"I said I'm taking care of him until she can."
Something about the innocent answer unsettled him.
Children shouldn't sound so certain.
She looked back at him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Were you sad when Daniel died?"
Victor's smile remained perfectly in place.
"Very sad."
Lily studied him with the blunt honesty only children possessed.
"Hmm."
"What?"
"You smile different."
Victor felt an unfamiliar chill.
"What do you mean?"
"When Mommy is sad..."
"She smiles with her eyes."
"You only smile with your mouth."
For the first time in years...
Victor Romano had no answer.
That night, Lucas gathered Marco in his private office.
He laid Isabella's letter on the desk.
Marco read it twice before looking up.
"My God..."
Lucas folded it carefully.
"No one else sees this."
"What are you going to do?"
Lucas walked to the window overlooking the dark estate.
"For three years..."
"I've been hunting my family's killer."
He turned slowly.
"Today I realized something."
Marco waited.
"I'm not hunting anymore."
"I'm being hunted."
Silence settled over the room.
Finally Lucas spoke the words that would change everything.
"Starting tomorrow..."
"We stop reacting."
"We make Victor believe..."
"...his first attempt almost worked."
Marco's eyes widened.
"You want him to try again?"
Lucas nodded.
"Because desperate men make mistakes."
Neither of them noticed the shadow standing outside the office window.
A figure disappeared silently into the darkness before the curtains were drawn.
Someone had heard enough.
May you like
And somewhere on the estate...
A second plan for Lucas Moretti's death was already beginning.
