Chapter 7 - Beneath the Emerald Glass
The greenhouse had been sealed for six years.
It stood at the eastern edge of the estate, hidden behind overgrown hedges and a rusting wrought-iron gate.
Once, Isabella Moretti had cultivated orchids there.
She loved emerald glass.
Rare ferns.
White roses.
Plants Santiago had never learned to name.
After the fire, Julian had convinced him the structure was unstable.
Santiago had accepted the explanation.
Now he stood before the locked entrance with Tomas, Ruby, Sophia, and an independent structural engineer Ruby had insisted on hiring.
The engineer examined the frame.
"The western section is damaged," he said.
"But the main structure is sound."
Santiago looked at Tomas.
"Julian said the roof was close to collapsing."
Tomas studied the blackened beams.
"Apparently he exaggerated."
The engineer opened a safe path into the building.
Sophia remained outside with Ruby until she chose to enter.
Inside, the greenhouse smelled of damp earth and old wood.
Broken clay pots lay among dead vines.
Sunlight filtered through stained green panels.
Despite the neglect, traces of Isabella remained.
A faded watering can.
A chipped white bench.
A ceramic plaque engraved with the words:
Everything deserves the chance to grow.
Santiago remembered his mother kneeling beside him when he was eight.
She had taught him how to transplant seedlings without damaging the roots.
He had complained that the work was boring.
She had laughed.
"Power isn't making something obey you, Santiago."
He could almost hear her voice.
"It's helping something live."
He turned away before anyone noticed his expression.
Sophia moved toward the eastern wall.
She stopped beside an enormous stone planter.
Then pointed beneath it.
Tomas attempted to move the planter.
It didn't budge.
The engineer examined the floor.
"There's a recessed track."
With Tomas's help, he shifted the planter several inches.
A narrow metal plate appeared beneath it.
Santiago knelt.
The plate had a small brass keyhole.
He looked at Sophia.
She raised three fingers.
Then pointed to the old clock painted on the wall.
"Three o'clock?" Ruby asked.
Sophia nodded.
The clock's hands had stopped at 3:15.
Santiago examined the frame.
Behind the clock, secured by a deteriorated strip of tape, he found a small brass key.
His mother's handwriting appeared on the tape.
For the one who remembers.
Sophia began crying.
Santiago held the key for several seconds before using it.
The metal plate lifted.
Beneath it was a shallow waterproof compartment.
Inside lay a sealed plastic case.
Tomas carefully removed it.
Santiago opened the container.
There was a black ledger.
A compact digital recorder.
Several flash drives.
And a photograph.
In the photograph, Isabella Moretti stood outside a youth shelter beside a smiling little girl.
Behind them was a man wearing an expensive gray suit.
Julian Vale.
On the back, Isabella had written:
Ask what happened to the children after the foundation stopped paying.
Ruby picked up the ledger.
Names filled the pages.
Dates.
Amounts.
Organizations.
Some appeared to be legitimate charities.
Others were shell companies.
Several entries referenced transportation contracts, temporary guardianship arrangements, and payments routed through private facilities.
Ruby's face tightened.
"These aren't ordinary charitable donations."
Santiago looked over her shoulder.
"What are they?"
"Potential evidence of children being moved through institutions without proper oversight."
Tomas turned a page.
A series of payments went to an organization called the Bellweather Youth Initiative.
He frowned.
"I know that name."
Santiago looked at him.
"From where?"
"Vincent Rojas used to provide security for one of their facilities."
Ruby's expression changed.
"Vincent Rojas?"
Tomas nodded.
The name hung between them.
The man blamed for the shooting that killed Daniel and Ellie.
The man Julian had identified as the mastermind.
Santiago turned to the digital recorder.
Its battery was dead, but the storage remained intact.
He handed it to Tomas.
"Make a secure forensic copy."
Ruby immediately intervened.
"No."
Both men looked at her.
"This isn't family property to be examined in private and hidden if it becomes inconvenient."
Santiago stiffened.
Ruby continued.
"If it contains evidence of crimes against children, it needs a documented chain of custody."
He stared at her.
For a moment, the old instinct rose.
Control the evidence.
Control the information.
Control the danger.
Then he looked at Sophia.
She was kneeling beside her mother's old watering can.
Holding it as though it were something precious.
Santiago slowly lowered his hand.
"You're right."
Tomas seemed surprised.
Ruby wasn't.
She simply said, "Then call Detective Ward."
Santiago nodded.
But before anyone could move, Tomas's phone vibrated.
He checked the message.
His expression changed.
"What is it?" Santiago asked.
Tomas looked toward the greenhouse windows.
"We have a problem."
"Tell me."
"Julian left his residence forty minutes ago."
"And?"
"He went to the lakefront warehouse."
Santiago frowned.
The lakefront warehouse had been abandoned for years.
It was where Vincent Rojas had supposedly been killed.
Tomas swallowed.
"Security footage shows he wasn't alone."
"Who was with him?"
Tomas turned the phone.
On the screen was a still photograph of Julian entering the warehouse beside a tall man whose face was partly hidden beneath a baseball cap.
Santiago recognized the man's posture before he recognized his features.
A scar above the right eyebrow.
A slight limp.
The photograph had to be impossible.
Vincent Rojas had been dead for three years.
Yet there he was.
May you like
Walking beside Julian Vale.
Alive.
