Chapter 3 - The Gold Lion Leo Was Afraid Of

Clara did not sleep at the Moretti mansion.

She barely sat down.

The house was enormous.

Gray stone.

Tall windows.

Security cameras tucked beneath every roofline.

It should have felt safe.

Instead, Clara noticed how many doors locked behind her.

Leo noticed too.

He refused the nursery.

He refused his father’s bedroom.

He finally curled up on a sofa in the library while Clara sat in an armchair six feet away.

Rico remained by the fireplace.

At one in the morning, Leo whispered, “Light.”

Rico reached for a lamp.

Leo shook his head.

“Hall light.”

Clara understood.

“The door?”

Leo nodded.

Rico left the library door open.

The hallway light spilled across the carpet.

Only then did the little boy close his eyes.

At two thirty, Dante returned.

He carried a tablet.

“There were four blue SUVs registered to Moretti Security six months ago.”

Rico stood.

“Where are they?”

“Two were sold. One was in Connecticut. The fourth was listed as out of service.”

“Listed?”

Dante’s mouth tightened.

“It left the garage that night.”

Rico went still.

“Who authorized it?”

“The digital log says Elena.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I know.”

Clara looked between them.

“Why?”

Rico answered.

“My wife hated changing security vehicles without telling me.”

Dante enlarged the record.

“The request was entered at 4:11 p.m. The charity event started at seven.”

“Who had access?”

“Half a dozen people.”

“Names.”

Dante hesitated.

“Me. You. Elena. Transportation staff.”

“And?”

Dante looked at him.

“Gabriel.”

Clara saw something change in Rico’s face.

Not fear.

Resistance.

“Gabriel was with me that night.”

“Most of it.”

Rico’s eyes hardened.

“All of it.”

Dante did not argue.

Clara looked away.

Gabriel was clearly someone she was not supposed to question.

At seven the next morning, Leo woke screaming.

Clara found him beneath the library table.

She did not crawl after him.

She sat on the carpet.

“Bad dream?”

He shook his head.

“Okay.”

She found paper and crayons on a low shelf.

“Do you want red or blue?”

He stared at them.

Then pointed.

“Red.”

Clara rolled the crayon toward him.

Leo drew for ten minutes.

Lines.

Circles.

A car.

Three stick figures.

Then something that looked like a yellow sun.

Except the sun had four legs.

Clara tilted her head.

“What’s that?”

Leo touched the drawing.

“Lion.”

Rico entered behind her.

“What lion?”

Leo immediately covered the paper with both hands.

Clara looked back.

“Give him a second.”

Rico stopped.

A doorbell sounded somewhere in the front of the mansion.

Footsteps followed.

Then a man’s voice.

“Rico?”

The reaction was immediate.

Leo crawled backward beneath the table.

Clara looked at him.

His breathing changed.

Fast.

Shallow.

Rico turned toward the doorway.

A man in his mid-thirties entered the library.

He looked enough like Rico to be family.

Same dark hair.

Same expensive tailoring.

Less exhaustion.

More charm.

“Gabriel.”

Rico crossed the room.

“You’re early.”

“I heard about last night.”

The man looked at Clara.

“And apparently about the waitress.”

Clara stood.

Gabriel Moretti smiled.

Rico introduced them without enthusiasm.

“My cousin.”

Gabriel offered his hand.

“Gabriel Moretti.”

Clara shook it.

Then she saw the ring.

Gold.

Heavy.

A lion’s head carved into the face.

Her eyes dropped to Leo’s drawing.

Yellow lion.

Four short lines beneath it.

She felt cold.

Gabriel noticed her looking.

“Family ring.”

He turned it slightly.

“My grandfather had six made.”

Clara looked beneath the table.

Leo had gone completely still.

Not crying.

Not screaming.

Worse.

Frozen.

Gabriel crouched.

“Hey, little man.”

Leo pressed himself against the wall.

Gabriel’s smile faded.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Clara stepped between them.

“Please don’t move closer.”

Gabriel slowly stood.

His expression changed.

Not much.

Just enough for Clara to see he disliked being told what to do.

Rico saw it too.

“Give him space.”

Gabriel lifted both hands.

“Of course.”

Then he looked at Clara.

“You got him talking?”

“A little.”

“What did he say?”

Rico answered.

“That is none of your concern.”

For the first time, the cousins looked less like family and more like two men measuring distance.

Gabriel laughed.

“Jesus, Rico. I’m trying to help.”

“You can help by telling Dante who had access to Elena’s vehicle log.”

Gabriel’s face became still.

“What?”

“The blue SUV.”

Something flickered in his eyes.

Gone almost immediately.

“I don’t remember.”

“You authorized transportation for the foundation event.”

“I authorized twenty vehicles that week.”

“Then remember.”

Gabriel looked at Clara again.

Then at Leo.

The little boy’s eyes were fixed on the lion ring.

Gabriel noticed.

He covered it with his other hand.

Clara’s stomach tightened.

A few minutes later, Gabriel left the library to speak with Dante.

Rico followed him.

Clara stayed with Leo.

The child did not move until the footsteps disappeared.

Then he crawled toward her.

His face was pale.

“Clara.”

“I’m here.”

He reached for her hand.

This time, his fingers were ice cold.

Clara waited.

She did not ask about Gabriel.

She did not ask about the ring.

She simply breathed with him.

Slowly.

After almost a minute, Leo whispered three words.

“Bad lion man.”

Clara’s heart stopped.

“What did you say?”

Leo looked toward the open doorway.

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Then pulled Clara’s hand closer to his chest.

“Mommy said don’t tell.”