Chapter 4 - TEETH AND THREADS
Mara pulled Lila tighter against her chest, stepping back until her spine hit the doorframe. "That's impossible! I've never met your brother! I don't even know who your family is!"
"Then explain why Viktor's signature is on her admission papers!" Damian slammed his hand onto the desk, the loud crack echoing through the high-vaulted library.
Lila buried her face in Mara’s neck, her tiny fingers clutching her worn cloth rabbit so hard the seams strained.
"Boss," Marco called out from the far corner of the library, his flashlight beam cutting through the shadows near a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. "You need to see this."
Damian tore his eyes away from Mara and stepped toward Marco. Behind a stack of forgotten law books, a brass wall safe stood wide open. Inside, a velvet-lined box sat empty, save for a small, torn envelope.
Marco picked up the envelope with gloved fingers. "The original documents regarding your wife's disappearance... someone took them."
"Not someone," Damian whispered. He reached into the safe and pulled out a single item left behind on the velvet bottom: a mother-of-pearl button tied with a strip of dark red silk.
Damian’s jaw tightened until the bone showed through his fair skin. He knew that silk. It was from the lining of the coat his wife was wearing the night her car went over the cliff four years ago—the crash where no body was ever recovered.
Suddenly, Lila squirmed out of Mara's arms. She walked fearlessly toward the open safe, her little hands reaching into the gap between the dark wood paneling and the steel box.
"Lila, no!" Mara gasped, rushing forward.
Lila didn't stop. Her small hand darted into the crevice and pulled out a small, metallic object stuck in the narrow space. She turned and handed it directly to Damian.
It was a heavy gold signet ring, tarnished with age. On the face of the ring was a coat of arms—a crest featuring a striking silver hawk.
Damian stared at it, his breathing shallow. "This isn't Volkov crest."
"No," Marco said, his voice dropping into a dangerous hush as he recognized the emblem. "That belongs to the Moretti family. Your wife’s maiden family."
Damian turned the ring over in his palm. On the inner band, freshly scratched into the metal, was a date: OCTOBER 12.
Today's date.
May you like
"Someone didn't just break in here to hide," Damian said, looking up at Marco. "They were waiting for us to find this."
At that exact moment, the heavy oak door of the library slammed shut behind them, and the sharp sound of an electronic lock engaging echoed through the room.
