Chapter 2 - The Nursery Door Was Open

Luca took the stairs two at a time.

Marco followed.

So did Emma, despite Luca’s order.

Nico refused to let go of her hand.

Belini remained below with two guards.

At least that was where Luca thought she remained.

The humming came again.

Five notes.

Soft.

Familiar.

The same melody Sofia had sung when she was twelve and frightened of thunderstorms.

Luca stopped outside the sealed west wing.

The old nursery door stood open.

It had been locked for seven years.

Inside, one lamp burned beside the window.

A woman sat in the chair beneath it.

Thin.

Dark hair streaked with gray.

A small star beneath her left eye.

Luca did not move.

“Sofia?”

The woman lifted her head.

For a moment she looked past him.

Then she saw Nico.

Her face broke.

“My baby.”

Nico released Emma’s hand.

He ran.

This time Luca did not stop him.

The boy crossed the room and threw himself into Sofia’s arms.

She held him with both hands.

Not like a stranger.

Not like someone acting.

Like a mother who had spent years remembering the exact weight of a child she believed she would never touch again.

Emma covered her mouth.

Luca’s voice came out rougher than he intended.

“You’re alive.”

Sofia looked at him.

“So are you.”

He almost laughed.

Almost.

Instead he stepped closer.

“Where have you been?”

Her eyes moved toward the doorway.

“Not here.”

Marco immediately checked the hall.

Nothing.

Sofia whispered, “They’re listening.”

Luca’s expression changed.

“Who?”

Before she answered, Emma noticed something on the floor beside the chair.

A medical bracelet.

Old.

Faded.

The printed name was gone.

But a handwritten initial remained.

E.R.

Emma stopped breathing.

“My mother.”

Sofia looked at her.

For the first time, recognition entered her face.

“Elena’s daughter.”

Emma went still.

“You knew me?”

Sofia nodded.

“You were there.”

Nico looked up from her arms.

“The blue room.”

Emma’s knees weakened.

Sofia’s eyes filled.

“You don’t remember.”

“No.”

“Maybe that was the point.”

Luca stepped between them.

“What happened seven years ago?”

Sofia looked toward Nico.

Then toward Emma.

Then at her brother.

“I was pregnant.”

Luca froze.

Sofia continued.

“Alessandro was Nico’s father.”

The room seemed to contract.

Belini’s documents had claimed she was Nico’s mother.

Alessandro had never corrected them.

Now Luca understood why the lie had always felt wrong.

“Why did Alessandro allow it?”

Sofia’s jaw tightened.

“He didn’t.”

Marco looked at her.

“He was murdered eighteen months ago.”

Sofia closed her eyes.

She already knew.

That frightened Luca more than surprise would have.

“You’ve been watching us.”

“No.”

“Then who told you?”

Sofia reached beneath the blanket over her knees and removed a small black transmitter.

“I’ve been listening.”

Marco took it carefully.

Luca asked, “To what?”

“The house.”

Silence.

Sofia looked toward the ceiling vent.

“Belini never stopped using the same network.”

A sound came from the corridor.

One of the guards shouted.

Then glass broke downstairs.

Marco’s radio crackled.

“Boss—Belini’s gone.”

Luca did not react.

Not visibly.

Sofia did.

“She knows I’m here.”

Emma looked at her.

“How?”

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Sofia answered quietly.

“Because she’s the reason I disappeared.”