Chapter 6 - THE FLOWERS THAT NEVER DIED
The third electronic chirp came from beneath the greenhouse floor.
Lorenzo reached for the door.
Matteo caught his arm.
"Don't."
Anna stood behind them, her face pale.
"What's in there?"
"I don't know yet," Matteo answered.
Marco immediately cleared the garden paths and instructed the household staff to keep everyone away from the west wing.
Lorenzo looked at Anna.
"Where's Sophie?"
"With Rosa."
"Keep her there."
Anna stared through the greenhouse glass.
"My husband's notebook may be in there."
"Then we'll find it," Lorenzo said. "But not at the cost of anyone's life."
Matteo called the explosives specialists who had occasionally assisted with security threats against the estate.
Lorenzo watched the empty greenhouse through the window of his study while the professionals assessed the scene.
For nearly an hour, nobody spoke.
Finally, a technician emerged carrying a sealed evidence container.
Matteo joined Lorenzo in the foyer.
"It wasn't a second bomb," he said.
"Then what was it?"
"A concealed electronic surveillance unit. Someone left it near the winter rose collection."
Lorenzo frowned.
"Why would they want to hear what happens inside my greenhouse?"
"Because someone expected you to go looking there."
Marco approached.
"The device wasn't installed this morning. The box contained replacement components. Somebody had been servicing it."
Lorenzo turned toward Anna.
She had followed him into the foyer despite his attempts to send her upstairs.
"How long has that greenhouse been monitored?" she asked.
Marco hesitated.
"We don't know."
Anna looked sick.
"That's where Sophie plays."
Lorenzo felt a rush of anger.
Not because his own privacy had been violated.
Because a child had spent countless afternoons in a place where strangers could listen to her conversations.
"Find every person who had access," he told Marco.
"And Daniel?" Marco asked.
"Keep him on ordinary duty. I don't want him aware of our suspicions."
Anna stepped closer.
"You're still going to hold that gala tomorrow?"
Lorenzo didn't answer.
She stared at him.
"One necklace was dangerous. Someone has been listening to my daughter. Your fiancée is frightened, and men are searching for my husband's belongings. How much more do you need?"
He met her eyes.
"Enough evidence to stop the right people."
"And if somebody gets hurt while you're collecting it?"
The question struck harder than any accusation.
Lorenzo had no easy answer.
By noon, the greenhouse was declared safe.
Anna walked inside with Lorenzo and Marco.
Without the usual sunlight, the place looked unfamiliar.
Empty benches.
Dry soil scattered across the flagstones.
A child's forgotten red crayon near the jasmine.
Anna picked it up.
Then she looked toward the far wall.
"Where the roses never die."
Lorenzo followed her gaze.
Against the glass stood a long wooden cabinet holding hundreds of carefully labeled rose cuttings.
Anna approached it.
"These are preserved specimens. Some came from the original garden before the greenhouse was rebuilt."
"How old?"
"Some are nearly sixty years old."
She opened a drawer.
Inside lay dried roses between sheets of archival paper.
Lorenzo watched her study the labels.
Then she stopped.
"Michael gave me this one."
A faded white rose rested beneath the glass.
Its label read:
Anna's Promise — November 14.
Lorenzo looked at the date.
"Sophie's birthday."
Anna nodded.
"Michael used to write silly names on the labels. He said when we had a daughter, he'd name a rose after her."
She carefully lifted the specimen frame.
Beneath it was a narrow recessed compartment.
Empty.
Anna stared.
"No."
Lorenzo examined the wood.
The compartment had been opened recently.
A thin layer of dust remained around the edges, except where someone's fingers had disturbed it.
"The notebook was here," Anna whispered.
Marco photographed the compartment.
"Who knew about this collection?"
"Gardening staff. Some housekeepers. Anyone who came here with permission."
"And Daniel's assistant?" Lorenzo asked.
Anna nodded slowly.
"He was standing right here yesterday."
Lorenzo turned away.
For a moment, he wanted to tear the entire greenhouse apart.
Instead, he took a breath.
"Marco, find him."
"His name is Anthony Keene."
"Bring him to me."
Anthony Keene did not run.
He was found in the service garage checking the tires on a catering van.
He was twenty-six, neatly dressed, and visibly frightened when Marco escorted him into Lorenzo's study.
Lorenzo remained behind his desk.
"Sit."
Anthony did.
"Why were you in the greenhouse yesterday?"
"Daniel sent me."
"For what?"
"To replace the monitoring equipment."
Anthony swallowed.
"I thought it was part of the security system."
"Did you remove anything from the rose cabinet?"
"No, sir."
"Someone did."
Anthony rubbed his palms against his trousers.
"I saw a woman there."
Lorenzo leaned forward.
"Who?"
"Miss Romano."
The room became still.
"Isabella?"
"Yes, sir."
"When?"
"Before I arrived. She was standing near the back cabinet. She had a small notebook in her hand."
Lorenzo looked toward Marco.
"Did you see this on camera?"
"No. The greenhouse camera was offline."
Anthony continued.
"She told me not to mention she'd been there."
"Why?"
"She said it was a surprise for the engagement gala."
Lorenzo stood.
"Did she give you anything?"
Anthony hesitated.
"An envelope."
"Where is it?"
"In my locker."
Marco retrieved it.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Please make sure the greenhouse equipment is repaired before Sunday. The family will need privacy afterward.
It was signed Isabella Romano.
Lorenzo stared at the note.
He recognized her handwriting.
But the message seemed strange.
Why would Isabella specifically want the greenhouse monitored before an event that would keep everyone inside the mansion?
Unless she was trying to make sure someone heard a conversation afterward.
Isabella was standing in the dressing room when Lorenzo confronted her.
Her engagement gown hung nearby.
For the first time, he noticed that she had packed a small overnight bag beneath the vanity.
"Going somewhere?"
She turned.
"Not yet."
"Did you take a notebook from the greenhouse?"
Her expression changed.
"Who told you?"
"Answer me."
"Yes."
Lorenzo felt the accusation settle between them.
"Where is it?"
"Safe."
"With whom?"
She looked toward the door.
"Margaret."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel's people were looking for it."
Lorenzo stopped.
"How did you know?"
"Margaret warned me somebody had been asking about Michael Carter's belongings. I went to the greenhouse to find the notebook before they did."
"And the surveillance unit?"
"I knew about it."
Lorenzo stared.
"You knew someone was listening to Anna and Sophie?"
"I discovered it three days ago."
"Three days?"
"I was trying to find out who installed it."
"And you didn't think I should know?"
Isabella's eyes filled.
"Every time I tell you something, you ask whether I'm lying."
"Because you keep hiding things."
"Because your family's secrets have consequences!"
She took a step toward him.
"My father is not the man you think he is."
Lorenzo watched her.
"Then tell me who he is."
She looked down.
"He's been using our engagement to get access to your businesses."
"How?"
"By making everyone believe the Romano and Belucci families are becoming one."
"That was the agreement."
"Not the agreement you thought you made."
She opened a drawer and removed a leather folder.
Inside were architectural plans for several properties belonging to the veterans' charity.
Each had been marked for redevelopment.
Lorenzo recognized the addresses.
"These are the buildings my father financed."
"Yes."
"What does Victor want with them?"
"He wants the remaining residents removed before the accounts are examined."
Lorenzo stared at her.
"Residents?"
"Veterans. Widows. Families who were promised affordable housing."
He looked at the redevelopment schedules.
All the buildings were marked for clearance within ninety days.
"And the gala?"
Isabella's voice became almost inaudible.
"Tomorrow night, Victor intends to announce a joint investment company."
"With my signature?"
"Yes."
"I haven't signed anything."
"He believes he can make you."
Lorenzo felt cold.
"By threatening you?"
She didn't answer.
He looked at the overnight bag.
"Isabella."
Her tears finally fell.
"My younger brother, Nicholas, lives in one of those buildings. My father controls his medical care and housing. Nicholas has been trying to live independently since his spinal injury. If I challenge my father, he loses both."
Lorenzo took a slow breath.
For the first time, Isabella's fear made sense.
She had not simply wanted wealth or status.
She had been trying to protect someone whose survival depended on a man who understood exactly how to use that dependence.
"Did you know about the bomb?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"No."
"Do you know who placed it?"
"No."
"Then where is Michael's notebook?"
Isabella wiped her face.
"I gave it to Margaret."
"When?"
"At Snyder Avenue."
Lorenzo stared.
"The day Marco followed you?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Before you showed me the photograph."
"Yes."
He turned toward the window.
Everything seemed to circle back to the little watch shop.
Then a thought struck him.
"Why did Margaret give you the key afterward if she'd already received the notebook?"
Isabella frowned.
"Because she said the notebook wasn't enough."
"Not enough for what?"
"To prove who authorized the payments."
Lorenzo looked at the blue ledger on his desk.
Several pages were missing.
Somebody had taken them.
Somebody who knew exactly where they were.
He turned back to Isabella.
"Did Margaret say what those pages contained?"
Isabella nodded.
"Signatures."
"Whose?"
"She wouldn't tell me."
Before Lorenzo could ask another question, Seraphina appeared in the doorway.
She had heard enough to understand.
"The missing pages weren't taken by Victor," she said.
Lorenzo stared at his mother.
"How do you know?"
Seraphina lifted her chin.
"Because I removed them myself."
Lorenzo looked at her in disbelief.
"Why?"
May you like
His mother took a folded packet from inside her black cardigan.
"Because one of the signatures belongs to me."
