Chapter 9 - THE DAY LEO DISAPPEARED
Leo was missing for eleven minutes.
Eleven minutes that felt like a lifetime.
It happened during breakfast.
Rosa had stepped into the kitchen.
Dante was on a phone call.
I was arriving for our session.
When I entered the library, the blue stones were gone.
Leo's chair was empty.
His headphones lay on the table.
I stopped.
“Leo?”
No answer.
I checked the hallway.
The music room.
The garden doors.
Nothing.
Then I heard Rosa shouting.
“Mr. Moretti!”
Dante appeared.
“What?”
“Leo isn't in his room.”
His face changed.
Security searched the estate.
I tried to remain calm.
Leo sometimes sought quiet spaces when overwhelmed.
But this felt different.
The blue stones were gone.
Isabella was missing.
And the house had been full of tension for days.
Dante called the police.
I checked the library again.
Then noticed something.
A small paper arrow beneath the table.
Blue crayon.
Pointing toward the conservatory.
I followed it.
Another arrow appeared near the staircase.
Then another.
Leo had left a trail.
Not because he was playing a game.
Because he wanted someone to find him.
I reached the conservatory.
The door was locked.
I heard movement inside.
“Leo?”
Silence.
Then a small voice.
“Blue.”
My heart nearly stopped.
“I'm here.”
I called Dante.
Security opened the door.
Leo sat behind a large potted tree.
His hands covered his ears.
Isabella stood near the far wall.
She looked furious.
“I was trying to calm him,” she said.
Dante entered.
His face was white.
“Leo.”
The boy flinched.
I raised my hand.
“Quiet.”
Dante stopped.
I knelt several feet away.
“Hi, Leo.”
He looked at me.
“Too loud.”
“I know.”
I lowered my voice.
“Would you like to come out?”
He shook his head.
“Okay.”
I sat on the floor.
“We can wait.”
For several minutes, nobody moved.
Then Leo whispered:
“She took my stones.”
I looked toward Isabella.
She stiffened.
Dante's jaw tightened.
I kept my voice calm.
“Leo, do you want your stones back?”
He nodded.
Isabella reached into her handbag.
Dante stepped toward her.
“Give them to him.”
She dropped the stones onto a table.
Leo flinched at the sound.
I waited.
Then said:
“They're here whenever you want them.”
Slowly, Leo stood.
He walked toward me.
Not into my arms.
Just close enough to touch my sleeve.
“Soft blue,” he whispered.
I nodded.
“Soft blue.”
Dante watched.
His expression broke.
He had nearly lost his son.
Not to strangers.
Not to enemies.
But to someone inside his own house.
Police arrived shortly afterward.
Isabella was questioned about her disappearance and the incident in the conservatory.
The investigation into Elena's death continued.
And Dante made a decision.
Isabella would no longer have access to Leo.
May you like
Not until the truth was known.
For the first time, the Moretti house began to feel like it belonged to Leo too.
