Chapter 4 – The Drawing That Remembered the Truth

Luca’s heart hammered against his ribs as he stared at his sleeping daughter in the backseat of the SUV.

He had just left Lily inside the house with Ruth. How could she be in the car?

He reached out, his hand shaking, and touched the girl’s shoulder. The child stirred, rubbing her eyes. She looked up at him, confused.

“Daddy? Why are we in the car?”

It was Lily. But how?

Luca looked back at the house. The front door was wide open, rain blowing into the grand foyer.

He threw the car in park, scooped Lily into his arms, and sprinted back inside. “Ruth!” he bellowed.

He found Ruth in the kitchen, sitting on the floor, holding an ice pack to her head. She looked up, disoriented.

“She was here,” Ruth slurred slightly. “Vanessa. She came through the service entrance.”

“She didn’t take Lily,” Luca said, checking Ruth’s pupils. “Lily was in my car.”

“No,” Ruth said, her eyes widening in terror. “She didn’t come for Lily. She came for the box.”

Luca froze. “What box?”

“The cedar box under Isabella’s bed,” Ruth whispered. “She took it.”

Luca carried Lily upstairs, his mind racing. Isabella’s cedar box had always been locked. He had never forced it open, respecting his late wife’s privacy even in death.

Under the bed, where the box used to sit, there was only a dusty rectangle on the hardwood. But next to it lay a crumpled piece of paper.

Lily wriggled out of Luca’s arms and picked it up. “My drawing,” she said.

Luca took the paper. It was a child’s drawing Lily had made years ago, right after Isabella died. It depicted the lake house. There was a stick-figure Isabella in the water. But standing on the dock wasn’t Luca, as everyone had assumed.

It was a woman with bright red hair. Vanessa.

“Lily,” Luca said softly. “Why did you draw Vanessa on the dock?”

“Because she was there,” Lily said matter-of-factly. “She pushed Mommy.”

Luca felt the floor drop out from under him. The police had ruled it an accidental drowning. They said Isabella slipped on the wet wood.

“Why didn’t you tell me, little bird?” Luca choked out.

“I tried,” Lily said, looking down. “But Uncle Marco said if I told you, you would go away too.”

Uncle Marco. His trusted head of security.

Luca pulled out his phone, ready to call the police, the FBI, anyone. But he stopped.

If Marco was working with Vanessa, the police couldn’t be trusted either. Marco had contacts in every precinct in the city.

He needed to go to Blackwood Pines. Tonight. And he needed leverage.

He walked to his personal safe, spun the dial, and pulled out an engraved gold watch. It had belonged to Marco’s father. Marco had pawned it years ago to pay off gambling debts, and Luca had bought it back for him, keeping it safe.

It was the ultimate symbol of Marco’s loyalty. A loyalty that was entirely fabricated.

Luca loaded his gun and tucked it into his waistband.

As they walked down the stairs, Ruth was waiting by the door, wearing a heavy raincoat.

“You aren’t leaving me behind,” Ruth said firmly. “I promised Isabella I would protect this child.”

Luca didn’t argue. But as they stepped out into the rain, a pair of headlights blinded them in the driveway.

A figure stepped out of the idling car.

It was the young nanny, Sarah. She was soaking wet, holding something in her hands.

“Mr. Moretti,” she cried, holding out a delicate silver rosary. “Vanessa told me to give you this. She said you need to come alone. Or she’ll finish what she started.”

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