Chapter 3 - THE SILVER BIRD
The next morning, Elena found Cole in his office.
She had barely slept.
The boys' words repeated in her mind.
A little silver bird.
Cole looked up.
“Mrs. Bennett?”
She closed the door behind her.
“Sir, I need to tell you something.”
His expression sharpened.
She explained everything.
Daniel's conversation with Noah.
The hidden object.
The strange instruction to search his mother's music box.
Cole listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he stood.
“Did Noah say Daniel asked him to break it?”
“No.”
“Did he say why Daniel wanted the bird?”
“No.”
Cole looked toward the window.
Then whispered:
“Claire used to collect silver birds.”
Elena stared.
“Sir?”
He turned.
“Tiny ornaments. Charms. Brooches. Anything shaped like a bird.”
His voice softened.
“She said birds were proof that leaving wasn't always the same as disappearing.”
Elena didn't know what to say.
Cole continued.
“After her death, I found one silver bird in her jewelry box.”
He paused.
“But I never knew there was another.”
Cole ordered the damaged music box preserved.
Not repaired.
Not discarded.
A specialist examined the fragments.
The box had been constructed with a small concealed compartment beneath the mechanism.
But it was empty.
Someone had removed whatever had been inside.
Cole stared at the photographs.
“Could it have been a silver bird?”
The specialist nodded.
“Possibly. The space is small.”
Cole turned toward his security chief, Marcus Hale.
“Who had access to the hallway?”
Marcus checked the records.
“Staff. Family. Visitors.”
“Daniel?”
“Yes.”
Cole's jaw tightened.
“Find out when he last entered the east corridor.”
Marcus nodded.
Then hesitated.
“Boss, there's something else.”
Cole looked up.
“The hallway camera stopped recording for eleven minutes yesterday.”
Silence.
Cole stared at him.
“When?”
May you like
Marcus swallowed.
“Immediately before the music box broke.”
