Chapter 5 - whispers in the study
"Get the specialists out of here," Vincent commanded, standing up in one swift motion.
The three medical doctors hastily gathered their notes and hurried out the side door. The maid reached down to pull Ellie away, her face filled with anxiety. "Mr. Moretti, please... we will leave right now—"
"No," Vincent said, looking at the maid and her perceptive little daughter. "You two stay. Sit by Isabella."
The maid hesitated, but seeing the quiet comfort Ellie was providing the traumatized child, she nodded gently and sat on the plush sofa, keeping Ellie close to her side. Ellie immediately held out her gray stuffed rabbit to Isabella. Isabella reached out a small hand and touched the rabbit's soft ear, her breathing finally slowing down.
Vincent walked over to his massive marble desk, setting the music box under the bright reading lamp. Dominic remained standing near the center of the room, flanked by the two silent guards.
"Dominic," Vincent said, pulling a sleek pocket knife from his trousers. "My wife gave Isabella this music box three days before she passed away in that car accident. You were the one who brought it back from her personal belongings at the accident scene."
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"Yes," Dominic replied, his voice regaining a fraction of its smooth composure. "I recovered her personal effects from the investigators as a courtesy to you."
Vincent slid the fine tip of the blade into the tiny seam on the wooden base. With a light click, a false bottom popped open, revealing a tiny silver micro-SD card tucked neatly into a velvet slot.
