Chapter 10 - THE NIGHT THE ARCHIVIST WENT BACK
The old Wright Gallery stood on a quiet street in Greenwich Village.
Its windows were dark.
The brass sign had been removed.
The doors were locked.
Clara stood across the street beside Arthur.
Her heart pounded.
For twenty-four days, she had avoided this place.
Now Leo was inside.
Police surrounded the building.
Investigators coordinated the entry.
Arthur wanted to go in.
Marcus stopped him.
“Sir, you need to stay back.”
Arthur's face hardened.
“That's my grandson.”
“I know.”
Clara touched Arthur's arm.
“Let them do their job.”
He looked at her.
Then nodded.
Inside, officers found Leo in the upstairs restoration room.
He was sitting beneath a table.
Clutching a small music box.
Richard Sterling stood nearby.
He didn't resist when officers entered.
He simply smiled.
“Father will understand.”
Leo was carried outside by a paramedic.
When he saw Arthur, he began crying.
Arthur rushed forward.
“My boy.”
Leo reached for him.
“Grandpa.”
Arthur held him tightly.
“I've got you.”
Clara stood nearby.
Then Leo looked over Arthur's shoulder.
“Clara.”
She stepped closer.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
He held out the music box.
“Mommy said you would fix it.”
Clara's eyes filled.
She took the box.
“I'll try.”
Leo shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You always fix broken things.”
Clara began crying.
Because those were the words her mother used to say.
Richard was taken into custody.
The evidence against him was overwhelming.
Financial records.
Threats.
Kidnapping.
Fraud.
And information connecting him to the events surrounding the plane crash.
The investigation would take months.
But Leo was safe.
That night, Clara returned to her apartment.
She sat on the floor.
Opened the music box.
And listened to The Winter Lullaby.
For the first time since her mother's death, she allowed herself to cry.
Not quietly.
Not politely.
But fully.
For everything she'd lost.
May you like
For everything she'd discovered.
And for the little boy who had somehow brought her back to herself.
