Chapter 2 - The Name Beneath the Velvet
Damiano turned before the door had opened six inches.
His hand moved beneath his jacket.
Serena noticed.
That single movement confirmed every rumor she had tried not to believe.
“Don’t,” Rosa said.
The elderly woman stood beside the dressing table, trembling.
The bathroom door opened.
Mia’s fiancé, Nathan Cole, stepped out.
His face was drained of color.
Mia stared at him.
“Nathan?”
“I can explain.”
Damiano’s voice was quiet.
“You have about ten seconds.”
Nathan raised both hands.
“I followed someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Damiano stepped closer.
“You followed an unidentified person into my sister’s bridal suite and somehow ended up locked in the bathroom?”
“It sounds bad.”
“It sounds impossible.”
Nathan looked at Mia.
“I saw someone come upstairs. I thought they were staff. Then I saw them go into this room.”
“The camera showed one person,” Damiano said.
“That wasn’t me.”
“Prove it.”
Nathan pulled out his phone.
“I texted Mia when I saw them.”
Mia checked hers.
There it was.
11:42 a.m.
Someone just went into your room. Checking it.
The security recording showed the unknown figure entering at 11:41.
Nathan continued.
“When I came in, nobody was here. The bathroom door was open. I heard something inside. I checked, and somebody shoved me in and locked it.”
“From where?” Serena asked.
Everyone looked at her.
Nathan pointed.
“There’s another door inside.”
Damiano crossed the room.
The bathroom connected to a service corridor.
The second door was ajar.
“So whoever took the cameo escaped through there,” Mia whispered.
“Except the message said it wasn’t stolen,” Serena said.
Damiano looked at the paper bearing her name.
Rosa suddenly sat down.
Serena noticed.
“Mrs. Vercelli?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Rosa’s eyes remained fixed on the paper.
“You know why my name is there,” Serena said.
Rosa didn’t answer.
Damiano unfolded it.
The paper was old.
Not wedding stationery.
Not recent.
A handwritten note covered one side.
Rosa,
If anything happens to me, find Evelyn Sinclair. She knows what happened to Marco. Do not trust anyone wearing the family ring.
—Lucia
Damiano read it twice.
“Who is Evelyn Sinclair?”
Serena’s throat tightened.
“My mother.”
Silence.
Damiano looked at her.
“Where is she?”
“Dead.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
Rosa covered her mouth.
Serena’s anger returned.
“You knew her.”
It wasn’t a question.
Rosa’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your mother worked for our family.”
Serena stared at her.
“My mother was a nurse.”
“Before that.”
“What did she do?”
Rosa hesitated.
“She cared for my youngest son.”
Marco.
Damiano’s dead brother.
Serena looked at the dinosaur.
Leo had given it to her.
The initials M.V. suddenly felt heavier.
“Why did my mother never tell me?”
Rosa whispered, “Because she was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
Before Rosa could answer, Damiano’s phone rang.
His security chief.
Damiano listened.
“When?”
His expression hardened.
“Lock the building.”
Serena stepped forward.
“What happened?”
He ended the call.
“The security server was wiped.”
Nathan swore.
“Can they recover it?”
“Maybe.”
Serena reached for her purse.
“I’m leaving.”
“No,” Damiano said.
She laughed once.
“You cannot possibly think I’m staying.”
“Whoever did this knew your mother.”
“That sounds like your family’s problem.”
“They also knew you were here.”
That stopped her.
Damiano showed her the note.
“Your name wasn’t written today. That paper is at least twenty years old.”
Serena examined it.
He was right.
Her mother’s surname.
Her own first name.
A connection written long before she had ever heard of Sweet Mercy.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
She hated the answer because she believed him.
Mia touched Serena’s arm.
“Please stay until we understand this.”
Serena looked at the bride.
Her wedding was supposed to begin in less than an hour.
Instead, her family was standing around a ripped jewelry box discussing a supposedly dead child.
“I’ll stay,” Serena said. “But nobody touches my belongings again.”
Damiano nodded.
“And I’m not your suspect.”
Another pause.
“No.”
“I want to hear you say it properly.”
His gaze met hers.
“You’re not a suspect.”
“Good.”
Damiano wasn’t accustomed to being corrected.
Serena apparently considered it a hobby.
Rosa asked for the dinosaur.
Damiano handed it to her.
Her fingers trembled when she saw the initials.
“Marco carved this.”
“You’re certain?” Damiano asked.
“He carved his initials into every toy he owned.”
Serena felt cold.
“This belongs to Leo.”
“Who is Leo?” Rosa asked.
“A boy who lives above my bakery.”
“How old?”
“Seven.”
“His mother?”
Serena hesitated.
“Elena Vale.”
Rosa’s face changed.
Damiano saw it.
“You know that name too.”
“No.”
“Nonna.”
Rosa looked away.
That was answer enough.
Damiano immediately called his security chief.
“Find Elena Vale.”
Serena grabbed his wrist.
“No.”
The room went still.
“Take your hand off me,” Damiano said.
“Stop treating everyone like property.”
“I’m trying to find out why a dead man’s toy ended up with a child connected to you.”
“And I’m telling you Leo is seven years old.”
“I’m not going to hurt him.”
“You don’t exactly inspire confidence.”
Something passed between them.
Anger.
Challenge.
And something neither wanted to examine.
Damiano lowered the phone.
“Then take me to him.”
“No.”
“Serena.”
“The wedding.”
Mia looked down at her gown.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Mia straightened.
“I’m getting married.”
Nathan blinked.
“Now?”
“Yes, now. If someone wanted to ruin today, they don’t get that satisfaction.”
Rosa smiled faintly.
“That’s my girl.”
The ceremony happened thirty-five minutes late.
Serena stood at the back.
Damiano stood beside his grandmother.
Neither watched the vows as closely as they should have.
Serena kept thinking about her mother.
Damiano kept thinking about Marco.
Afterward, while guests moved toward cocktails, Serena checked her phone.
Seven missed calls.
All from the same number.
Elena.
Serena called back.
No answer.
Then she noticed a voicemail.
She pressed play.
Elena’s voice whispered through static.
“Serena, don’t bring him here.”
Serena’s pulse jumped.
“Leo found something in the wall. I think they know.”
A crash sounded.
Then Elena screamed.
The recording ended.
Serena ran.
Damiano followed.
They reached Sweet Mercy twenty-five minutes later.
The front door was open.
A chair had been overturned.
Flour covered the floor.
“Leo!” Serena shouted.
No answer.
They climbed the stairs.
Elena’s apartment door stood open.
The living room was empty.
On the floor lay another green dinosaur.
Serena picked it up.
There were no initials.
Instead, someone had carved three numbers into its belly.
Damiano stared at them.
“I know that number.”
“What is it?”
His voice changed.
“An address.”
“Whose?”
“My father’s.”
Then footsteps sounded inside the bedroom.
Serena moved toward the door.
Damiano caught her arm.
“Stay behind me.”
The handle turned.
A small hand appeared.
Leo stepped into the hallway.
His face was wet with tears.
“Miss Serena?”
She rushed to him.
“Where’s your mom?”
Leo pointed toward the bedroom.
“She told me to hide.”
“Why?”
“Because the man came back.”
Damiano crouched.
“What man?”
Leo stared at him.
Then his eyes widened.
He reached into his pocket and removed an old photograph.
He looked from the photograph to Damiano.
Then back again.
“That’s you.”
Damiano took it.
His blood ran cold.
It wasn’t him.
The photograph had been taken eighteen years earlier.
The boy in it was Marco.
On the back, someone had written an address.
417 Bellmore Avenue.
And beneath it were three words.
May you like
HE NEVER DIED.
Before Damiano could speak, the bedroom closet clicked open from the inside.
