Chapter 3
Luciano slept in Ellie’s room that night.
Not because she asked.
Because she woke at 2:14 a.m. and walked silently toward the door with the stuffed rabbit tucked under her arm.
Luciano sat up.
“Where are you going?”
Ellie froze.
“Bathroom?”
She shook her head.
“Where?”
“Need hide.”
The sentence tore through him.
“From who?”
She would not answer.
Luciano got out of the chair and crouched beside her.
“No hiding tonight.”
Ellie looked toward the hallway.
“Celina comes?”
“No.”
“Marianne?”
Luciano paused.
“No.”
The girl relaxed enough to return to bed.
That pause bothered him for the rest of the night.
By morning, he had hired Dr. Sarah Levin, a child psychologist unconnected to the Vescari family.
Sarah made one rule immediately.
“You do not question Ellie about the adults.”
Luciano disliked it.
He agreed.
“You can ask about feelings and safety. I’ll handle the rest carefully.”
During the first session, Ellie said little.
She drew.
A house.
A rabbit.
A woman with long hair.
A black square.
Sarah did not interpret the drawing dramatically.
Children drew black squares.
Luciano respected that.
Afterward, Sarah gave him only what was clinically appropriate.
“Ellie seems familiar with being placed somewhere dark when adults want her quiet.”
Luciano felt his jaw tighten.
“Familiar.”
“Yes.”
“More than once?”
“I am not giving you a courtroom conclusion.”
He looked through the glass toward his daughter.
“But?”
“But nothing about her reaction suggests last night felt completely new.”
That confirmed only what the scratches had already suggested.
The estate staffing records added another piece.
Five months earlier, Celina began making unusual changes to Ellie’s schedule.
She moved the child’s afternoon playtime away from the main floor on days when Luciano hosted business guests.
She instructed kitchen staff to serve Ellie upstairs during certain dinners.
She canceled two outings with Mrs. Parker.
Reason on paper:
Child overstimulation.
Luciano had approved none of it.
Celina had been treated as future mistress of the house.
Staff obeyed.
That angered him.
Not only at Celina.
At himself.
He had allowed proximity to become authority.
A housekeeper named Denise finally approached Grant privately.
She had seen Celina bring Ellie toward the guest corridor twice.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Denise looked ashamed.
“Miss Ward said you wanted Ellie kept away from business.”
Luciano stared at her.
“Did that sound like me?”
Denise said nothing.
That answer hurt.
Apparently it had sounded plausible enough.
Then she added something unexpected.
“Mrs. Vescari knew.”
“Marianne?”
Denise nodded.
“She saw Miss Ward carrying Ellie down that corridor once.”
“What happened?”
“She told me to go downstairs.”
“Did she stop Celina?”
“No.”
“Did she ask what was happening?”
“Not where I could hear.”
Luciano stood silently.
Marianne may not have locked Ellie away herself.
May you like
But at least once, she had seen the child being taken toward a hidden room and dismissed the only witness.
That was no longer mere association.
