Chapter 4 - Bluebird
Leo Rossi had heard the word before.
He simply could not remember where.
For the next hour, he sat beside Lily while Mateo searched every secure file connected to Sofia.
Nothing appeared.
No company called Bluebird.
No account.
No property.
No known operation.
At 6:03 a.m., Leo walked into Beatrice’s hospital room.
She was awake.
Her cheek had been bandaged.
Two fingers on her right hand were splinted.
Her hair, normally pinned tightly beneath her maid’s cap, fell loose across the pillow.
She immediately tried to sit up.
Leo stopped her.
“Don’t.”
“Lily?”
“She’s stable.”
Beatrice closed her eyes.
Relief moved across her face so intensely that Leo had to look away.
“She asked for you.”
Beatrice opened her eyes again.
“Really?”
“She always asks for you.”
Leo pulled the chair closer.
“I owe you more than I know how to say.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“My daughter is alive because of you.”
“She’s alive because you opened the door.”
“You were bleeding against that door when I arrived.”
Beatrice looked down.
“I couldn’t hear her anymore.”
The words came out almost soundlessly.
“I thought she had died while I was standing three feet away.”
Leo leaned forward.
“She didn’t.”
Beatrice nodded.
After several seconds, Leo asked the question that had brought him there.
“Have you ever heard Sofia use the word Bluebird?”
Beatrice froze.
Leo noticed.
“You have.”
“I don’t know.”
“Beatrice.”
She stared at the blanket.
“Mrs. Rossi gave me something.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before she died.”
Leo stood.
“What?”
“A cookbook.”
He stared at her.
“A cookbook?”
“It belonged to her grandmother.”
“Where is it?”
“My apartment.”
“Why did Sofia give it to you?”
“She said the kitchen staff kept destroying old family recipes.”
Despite everything, Leo almost smiled.
That sounded exactly like Sofia.
“But there was something else.”
Leo’s expression changed.
Beatrice swallowed.
“Inside the front cover she wrote a sentence.”
“What sentence?”
Beatrice looked directly at him.
“If Lily ever says bluebird, don’t trust the house.”
Leo stopped breathing.
Beatrice continued.
“I thought it was some private joke.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because your wife died two weeks later.”
“And?”
“And after the funeral, I opened the book again.”
“What did you find?”
“The page was gone.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“Torn out?”
“Yes.”
“Who had access to your things?”
“Everyone in the staff wing.”
Leo turned toward the door.
Beatrice caught his sleeve with her good hand.
“Mr. Rossi.”
He looked back.
“There was something written underneath.”
“What?”
“I could see the impression from the missing page.”
“What did it say?”
Beatrice’s voice became quiet.
“Not all family is blood.”
Leo stared at her.
Then his phone rang.
Mateo.
Leo answered.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“A hidden directory in Sofia’s old laptop.”
Leo looked at Beatrice.
“What is it called?”
May you like
Mateo’s answer came immediately.
“Bluebird.”
