Chapter 6 - THE VIOLIN THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
“Copies?”
Luca repeated the word as though it belonged to another language.
My mother nodded.
“Not ordinary copies. Convincing reproductions with forged histories.”
She explained that Giovanni's foundation had owned several valuable instruments.
Some were genuine antiques.
Others were modern reproductions used by students who couldn't afford expensive equipment.
The distinction mattered.
A good reproduction might cost thousands.
A rare original could sell for millions.
“Samuel changed the records,” Mom said. “He made modern instruments appear to be antiques, then used the foundation's reputation to support false valuations.”
Luca frowned.
“And Richard sold them?”
“Through outside dealers. At least, that's what Giovanni believed.”
I stared at her.
“Why use a charity?”
“Because people trusted it.”
Her answer was simple.
And terrible.
Luca looked at the photograph Daniel had sent.
“The Belladonna was one of those instruments?”
Mom shook her head.
“The Belladonna was real. Giovanni kept it as a reference piece, and its documented history helped him spot false records attached to other instruments.”
“Then why steal it tonight?”
“Because its case contained something Samuel couldn't falsify.”
I leaned forward.
“What?”
“A written inventory Giovanni prepared himself.”
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
“Then whoever removed the violin knew we were getting close.”
He called Daniel.
“Secure the exits, but cooperate fully with Detective Harris. Find out who had access to the collection tonight.”
I listened to Daniel's reply through the phone.
“Sir, we're reviewing cameras. There's something you should know. The case was opened using the authorized code.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Whose code?”
“Mrs. Bellini's.”
My stomach dropped.
Vanessa had been upstairs while everyone was distracted.
Luca asked Daniel to bring Vanessa to the music room and have Harris present.
Then he turned toward me.
“Emily, stay with your mother. I'll call you once we know more.”
I stood.
“No.”
He looked surprised.
“This involves my family too.”
“Emily—”
“My mother spent twenty-five years being afraid. Margaret spent months trying to tell everyone what was wrong. I'm not going to disappear because somebody thinks I should.”
He studied me.
Then nodded.
“Your choice.”
Before we left, Mom squeezed my hand.
“Take care of each other.”
I looked at Luca.
Neither of us knew what to say.
Back at the mansion, the remaining guests had been released after giving their statements.
Police vehicles stood near the front entrance.
The tables had been cleared.
Only wilted roses and half-empty water glasses remained from the engagement dinner.
It looked like the morning after a celebration nobody wanted to remember.
Margaret was resting in her room.
Antonio waited beside the piano.
Vanessa sat in a chair near the fireplace.
Richard stood several feet away, speaking quietly with his attorney.
When Luca entered, Vanessa rose.
“I didn't take the violin.”
Luca stopped.
“Your code opened the cabinet.”
“I know.”
“Then explain.”
She looked toward Richard.
He said nothing.
Vanessa swallowed.
“My father asked me to authorize an appraisal.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“For what purpose?”
“He said we needed updated insurance values before the wedding.”
Luca shook his head.
“You don't have authority to commission appraisals of my mother's property.”
“I know that now.”
“You knew it then.”
She lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
Luca studied her.
“Who else had the code?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“My father.”
Richard stepped forward.
“That's not evidence I removed anything.”
Detective Harris approached.
“No one said it was. We're establishing access.”
Daniel brought in a tablet showing the corridor camera.
At 7:42 p.m., while guests were eating dessert, someone had entered the upstairs music room.
The figure wore a dark overcoat and carried a rectangular case.
I leaned closer.
“That isn't Vanessa.”
Luca agreed.
The person was taller.
Broader.
But the camera angle concealed the face.
Harris paused the recording.
A distinctive silver cuff link glinted beneath the coat sleeve.
Antonio inhaled.
“I've seen that before.”
Richard gave a small, humorless laugh.
“Hundreds of men wear silver cuff links.”
Antonio ignored him.
“Giovanni gave a pair like that to Samuel Price.”
Luca frowned.
“Samuel has been dead for twelve years.”
“His son inherited them,” Antonio said.
“His son?”
“Thomas Price.”
Daniel looked up.
“Sir, Thomas is the insurance consultant working on the Bellini waterfront project.”
Richard's face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Harris noticed.
“Mr. Bellini, did you invite Thomas Price here tonight?”
Richard folded his arms.
“He's a business associate.”
“Was he among the guests?”
“No.”
Luca looked at Daniel.
“Then how did he get into my house?”
Daniel checked the access log.
“His temporary credentials were approved yesterday.”
“By whom?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Vanessa.”
She covered her face.
“I thought he was coming to inspect the collection.”
Luca stepped back.
He didn't shout.
That made her cry harder.
“You gave him access to my mother's private rooms.”
“I believed my father.”
Richard interrupted.
“Thomas has been handling insurance matters for years. You're making an innocent business arrangement sound criminal.”
Detective Harris spoke quietly.
“Then you won't object to providing his contact information.”
Richard's attorney placed a hand on his arm.
“Answer through counsel.”
Harris continued reviewing the footage.
Thomas had entered the music room at 7:42.
He left at 7:49.
But when the detective examined the earlier camera feed, something strange emerged.
At 7:36, Margaret's wheelchair had been positioned outside the music room.
Someone had taken her upstairs before dinner.
“Who brought her there?” Luca asked.
Daniel checked another angle.
“Mrs. Bellini.”
Vanessa looked startled.
“Yes. Margaret asked to hear the piano. I brought her up before the guests arrived.”
I shook my head.
“She was already dressed for dinner then.”
“Yes.”
“Did you leave her alone?”
“Only for a minute.”
Margaret had witnessed something.
That explained her panic at the table.
It explained the clapping.
And it explained why Vanessa had wanted me to take her upstairs rather than listen.
Luca looked toward his mother's bedroom.
“She saw Thomas.”
Antonio nodded.
“And she recognized the danger.”
I remembered the pocket watch.
Its engraved brass link.
The year 1948.
I took it from Luca.
“Your father's birth year might be a code.”
Antonio looked interested.
“For what?”
I glanced at the piano.
“Maybe the inventory.”
He opened the black ledger.
Its entries were numbered.
We turned to page nineteen.
Then page forty-eight.
Nothing.
Finally, Antonio examined the brass link beneath the lamp.
“There's another marking.”
He rotated it.
A tiny arrow pointed toward a narrow seam.
Using a small instrument-repair tool, he eased the link open.
Inside was a tightly folded strip of paper.
Only one sentence was written on it.
THE ORIGINAL INVENTORY IS WITH THE ONE WHO NEVER LEFT.
I stared at the words.
Luca looked at Antonio.
“Who never left?”
The elderly pianist began trembling.
He slowly raised his eyes.
“Giovanni asked me to protect that inventory.”
Luca stepped closer.
“Where is it?”
Antonio looked toward Margaret's bedroom.
May you like
Then whispered:
“I HID IT IN YOUR MOTHER'S WEDDING RING.”
