Chapter 3 - THE BLUE RIBBON
The first clue arrived in the form of a child's hair ribbon.
It was faded blue cotton, frayed along one edge, and decorated with a tiny embroidered sunflower.
Mia wore it almost every day.
Elena had never questioned why.
Matteo had given it to their daughter shortly before his death.
“He said it was lucky,” Elena explained.
Lorenzo sat across from her in the library.
“Did he give Mia anything else?”
“A stuffed rabbit. A wooden music box. Some photographs.”
“Where are they?”
“In our apartment.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“May I see them?”
Elena hesitated.
Then agreed.
They examined the objects together.
The rabbit contained nothing unusual.
The photographs showed ordinary family moments.
But the music box had a damaged hinge.
Inside, beneath the mechanism, Lorenzo's security specialist discovered a small compartment.
It was empty.
Elena stared.
“Someone's been inside.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“Who had access to your belongings?”
She thought.
“Only me.”
Then her expression changed.
“And the moving company.”
Two months earlier, Elena had hired a moving company in Bologna.
The workers had arrived late.
One had insisted on packing Mia's belongings separately.
At the time, Elena thought he was being helpful.
Now she wasn't sure.
Lorenzo's security team began checking the company.
Meanwhile, Mia wandered into the library carrying Biscuit.
The puppy had gained weight and developed an alarming interest in expensive furniture.
“Uncle Lorenzo?”
Elena froze.
Lorenzo looked up.
“Uncle?”
Mia nodded.
“Biscuit says you're family.”
Lorenzo glanced at Elena.
She looked mortified.
“Mia, you shouldn't—”
“It's fine,” Lorenzo said.
The words surprised even him.
Mia climbed onto the carpet.
Then pointed at the music box.
“Daddy's song.”
Elena's face softened.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
Mia tilted her head.
“It's broken.”
“We know.”
“No,” Mia said.
She pointed at the hinge.
“Daddy said the song was hiding.”
Lorenzo went still.
“What did he say?”
Mia looked at him.
“The song was hiding.”
Lorenzo examined the music box again.
The mechanism had been altered.
A small brass cylinder was missing.
Without it, the melody stopped halfway through.
He looked at Elena.
“Did Matteo ever repair clocks or music boxes?”
She nodded slowly.
“He loved them.”
Lorenzo studied the empty compartment.
Then he understood.
Matteo hadn't hidden the evidence in the music box.
He had hidden the key to finding it.
And someone had already removed it.
That night, Lorenzo received a call from his security chief.
“We found the moving company.”
“And?”
“It doesn't exist anymore.”
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
“Who owned it?”
A pause.
“Vittorio Bellini.”
Lorenzo looked toward the garden.
Mia was chasing Biscuit through the grass.
Elena followed behind, laughing for the first time since arriving.
He lowered his voice.
May you like
“Find the missing cylinder.”
Because whatever Matteo had hidden was important enough for a dangerous man to chase a widow and her three-year-old daughter across Italy.
