Chapter 4 - THE GIFT NINA REFUSED|
Valentina placed the white box on the garden table.
"For our little detective," she announced.
Nina stared at it without moving.
Rosa approached from the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Miss Rinaldi, may I ask what this is?"
"Just a gift. A little thank-you for helping Mr. Castellano feel better."
Adriano stood.
"Why would you give my employee's daughter a gift?"
Valentina turned toward him with a hurt expression.
"Because I don't want there to be any misunderstanding. The poor child has become frightened by all this talk of medicine and cameras. I thought something cheerful might help."
Nina shook her head.
"I don't want it."
Valentina's smile froze.
"That's not very polite."
"My mom says I don't take presents from people who make me scared."
Rosa went pale.
"Nina!"
But Adriano lifted a hand.
"Let her finish."
Nina looked at Valentina.
"You said my mommy might lose her job if I kept talking."
The garden became silent.
Valentina laughed, though the sound was brittle.
"I was explaining that making false accusations can have consequences."
"I didn't make anything up."
Adriano moved the box away from Nina.
"Marcus, keep it sealed. We don't know what's inside."
Valentina stepped back.
"You're treating me like a criminal."
"I'm treating an unexplained event seriously."
She turned toward Rosa.
"Your daughter is becoming a problem. Perhaps she should no longer be allowed on the estate."
Rosa immediately stepped forward.
"Please, Miss Rinaldi. Nina has done nothing wrong."
"Then teach her to stay out of matters that don't concern her."
Adriano's voice hardened.
"That's enough."
Valentina faced him.
"You're choosing a housekeeper's child over me?"
"I'm choosing not to threaten a nine-year-old."
Her expression changed.
For the first time, the mask slipped, revealing anger sharp enough to frighten even Rosa.
Valentina picked up the gift box.
"Fine. Keep your detective."
She walked back toward the mansion.
Nina waited until she was gone.
Then she opened her notebook.
Adriano crouched beside her.
"What are you writing now?"
"That she brought me something, but she didn't tell me what it was."
"Very sensible."
He glanced at the box in Marcus's hands.
"Let's find out."
The security chief opened it in a controlled room while two independent technicians recorded the process. Inside lay a silver bracelet with a small engraved star and a card that read:
For Nina, who sees everything.
The bracelet was harmless, but the gesture troubled Adriano.
"Why would she give Nina a gift with that message?"
Marcus examined the card.
"There may be a camera in the box."
The technicians checked it.
Nothing.
But when Marcus turned the bracelet over, he found a tiny inscription on the clasp.
V.R.
Valentina Rinaldi.
Nina leaned toward the table.
"That's like the glass."
Adriano looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"The scratch on the glass. It always faces your chair. Then it faces the window. Someone changed it."
She thought carefully.
"Maybe the bracelet isn't the important part. Maybe she wanted us to notice the letters."
Adriano turned the bracelet over again.
Beneath the initials was a sequence of numbers.
A room number.
And a date.
May you like
The date was three weeks earlier.
The room was at the private medical center where Dr. Ferro had treated Adriano after his first memory lapse.
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