Chapter 6 - THE NAME NO ONE WAS ALLOWED TO MENTION
"Samuel Moretti?"
Vincent stared at the hospital label in my hand.
We were back in his study, with the blue jewelry box sitting between us.
Outside, the estate had finally grown quiet.
The guests were gone.
The musicians had packed their instruments.
Only a few security officers remained near the entrances.
Vincent read the label again.
"Elizabeth never mentioned a Samuel."
I laid Mom's letter beside it.
"She specifically wrote that Daniel wasn't switched."
Vincent sank into his chair.
"Then who was Samuel?"
I hesitated.
"Could Elizabeth have been expecting twins?"
He looked at me.
"No."
"Are you certain?"
"Every appointment. Every ultrasound. I was there for most of them."
Then his confidence faded.
"Except the last month."
I waited.
"Elizabeth had complications. The doctors restricted visitors during some appointments."
"Who supervised her care?"
He looked toward the label.
"Charles Laurent."
I felt cold.
Vanessa's father.
The man whose name appeared in my mother's dismissal investigation.
Vincent rubbed his forehead.
"There must be another explanation."
I wanted to agree.
But my mother's letter clearly suggested that important facts had been concealed.
Marco entered quietly.
"Sir, the laboratory called."
Vincent straightened.
"The food?"
Marco nodded.
"The hospital toxicologist examined the original meal. It contained a sedating antihistamine."
Vincent's face darkened.
"How much?"
"Enough to cause significant drowsiness in a child Daniel's size. They advised that the boy should not have been given it without medical supervision."
Vincent stood abruptly.
"That woman intended to drug my son."
"Sir," Marco said carefully, "the medication was prescribed."
Vincent stopped.
"To whom?"
"Daniel."
Silence.
Marco placed a pharmacy record on the desk.
The prescribing physician was Charles Laurent.
Vanessa's father.
Vincent stared at it.
"Why wasn't I told?"
"The household medical file lists it as an occasional sleep aid."
"Who authorized its use?"
Marco hesitated.
"Miss Laurent."
Vincent looked away.
The realization was painful.
He hadn't merely failed to notice his son's loneliness.
He had handed control of Daniel's daily life to someone who believed medication was easier than patience.
"Get a pediatrician to review his care tomorrow," he ordered. "Nobody gives him anything without my knowledge."
Marco nodded.
Then Vincent looked at me.
"What would your mother have done?"
I glanced at her old watch.
"She would have asked why a child needed to be quiet before asking why he was making noise."
Vincent closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then a small voice came from the doorway.
"Daddy?"
Daniel stood there in blue pajamas, clutching a stuffed bear.
Marco immediately stepped aside.
Vincent crossed the room.
"What's wrong, buddy?"
Daniel looked at the desk.
"Are you mad about my dinner?"
Vincent knelt.
"No. I'm mad that nobody told me you were unhappy."
Daniel considered that.
Then he asked, "Can you make pancakes tomorrow?"
Vincent almost smiled.
"I'm terrible at pancakes."
"Mommy was too."
For the first time all night, Vincent laughed.
"Then we'll make terrible pancakes together."
Daniel wrapped his arms around his neck.
I looked away to give them privacy.
But Daniel noticed the silver watch.
"That's like Mommy's."
I turned.
"What do you mean?"
He pointed.
"Mommy had a little gold watch. It made a clicking sound."
Vincent frowned.
"Elizabeth had several watches."
Daniel shook his head.
"The one she kept in her sewing basket."
A memory seemed to cross Vincent's face.
"Her sewing basket?"
Daniel nodded.
"She said it was for remembering a promise."
Vincent slowly stood.
Elizabeth's personal belongings had been packed away after her death.
He knew where.
We followed him into a small sitting room adjoining the master bedroom.
Inside an antique cabinet sat a wicker sewing basket.
Vincent opened it.
There were ribbons, buttons, embroidered handkerchiefs, and a small gold watch.
Its hands were stopped.
At 4:16.
The same time as my mother's silver watch.
I felt my breath catch.
Vincent examined the back.
There was an inscription.
For E., until Samuel comes home.
He read the words aloud.
Daniel looked confused.
"Who's Samuel?"
Vincent didn't answer immediately.
Then he noticed something else.
The initials beneath the inscription.
Not C.L.
Not E.M.
They were V.M.
Vincent's own initials.
And although he recognized the handwriting, he had never seen the watch before.
May you like
He looked at me.
"Rachel, this inscription was written by my father."
