Chapter 3
Thomas Reed arrived before midnight.
Seventy years old.
Mud on his boots.
No fear in his eyes until he saw Adrian.
Then everything changed.
I noticed.
“Thomas.”
“Boss.”
“How long have you been feeding birds behind the east glasshouse?”
He looked at Emma.
Not angrily.
Almost disappointed that the secret was over.
“Three years.”
Adrian cursed softly.
I ignored him.
“Why?”
Thomas looked at me.
“Because Mrs. Bellandi asked me to.”
The room seemed to narrow.
“When?”
“The week before the fire.”
My jaw tightened.
Elena expected something.
“Exactly what did she say?”
Thomas thought carefully.
“She said if anything happened to her, keep the white doves alive.”
“Why?”
“She said birds don’t respect locked doors.”
Adrian looked away.
I saw it.
My wife had prepared a communication route before she supposedly died.
Thomas continued.
“She trained two of them to return to the dining balcony.”
My eyes moved toward the pendant.
“That bird came from the glasshouse?”
“If it carried her green ribbon, yes.”
“Have you seen Elena?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Ever heard her?”
“No.”
“Then who gives you access?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Someone leaves seed outside the old service gate.”
“Who?”
“I never saw.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“So this proves nothing.”
Thomas turned toward him.
“No.”
Something in his voice changed.
“It proves somebody replaced the chain.”
Adrian went still.
I looked at Thomas.
“What chain?”
“The east service entrance was sealed after the fire.”
“I know.”
“The original chain rusted.”
Thomas looked at Adrian.
“The one there now is less than a year old.”
Silence.
I stood.
“You knew?”
Adrian stared back.
“No.”
Thomas shook his head.
“You ordered the replacement.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“You’re senile.”
Thomas smiled sadly.
“You said Salvatore must never see how unstable the ruins became.”
I felt rage settle coldly inside me.
Three years after telling me there was nothing left inside, Adrian had continued maintaining the lock.
May you like
Not to keep people safe.
To keep something—or someone—in.
