Chapter 7 - THE TWO WATCHES
“Stop the demolition.”
Luca spoke before Gabriel could enlarge the image again.
“Tell the contractor nobody touches that building.”
Gabriel reached for his radio.
But Luca stopped him.
“Not through Rinaldi's office. Contact the city inspector directly. I want an official hold while we determine whether this property contains evidence.”
Gabriel nodded.
Then Luca turned toward me.
“Hannah, stay with Grandpa.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
He blinked.
I surprised myself.
Eight months earlier, I wouldn't have contradicted Luca Moretti about the temperature of his coffee.
Now I was standing in his library, refusing an instruction.
“Your grandfather is the only person who knows where the records are,” I said. “He needs someone who understands him.”
Luca looked toward Frank.
The old man was watching us.
Then he signed.
I'm coming.
I translated.
Luca frowned.
“Grandpa, it's after midnight.”
Frank signed again.
My restaurant.
I told Luca.
Frank continued.
My son.
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
Then nodded.
“All right.”
He turned toward me.
“Will you help him?”
“Yes.”
For the first time that night, Luca looked at me not as an employee, but as someone whose judgment mattered.
“Thank you, Hannah.”
Those three words made my throat tighten.
Not because they were extraordinary.
But because he'd finally understood how much his grandfather had been trying to tell him.
The old Moretti restaurant stood on a narrow street near the river.
I'd passed it before without realizing its importance.
The brick walls were dark with age.
An old green awning hung above the entrance.
Faded gold lettering still read:
MORETTI'S FAMILY RESTAURANT — EST. 1968
Luca stepped out of the car.
For a moment, he simply stared.
“My grandfather used to let us sweep the floor for quarters,” he said quietly.
Frank smiled when I translated.
Then he signed.
You were terrible at sweeping.
Luca laughed unexpectedly.
It was a brief, broken sound.
But it changed his face.
“I remember.”
Frank tapped his hand affectionately.
Then pointed toward the entrance.
Go.
Inside, the restaurant smelled of dust and old wood.
The booths were covered in sheets.
A row of brass lamps hung above the bar.
At the far end of the room, Dominic stood beneath an emergency light.
He was thirty-four, handsome in a tired, restless way.
He looked like Luca around the eyes.
But where Luca stood still when angry, Dominic moved constantly.
His hands were shaking.
When he saw us, his face tightened.
“You shouldn't be here.”
Luca stopped.
“Neither should the demolition crew.”
Dominic looked away.
“They weren't supposed to arrive until morning.”
“Then why are they here?”
“Because Rinaldi moved the schedule.”
Luca stepped closer.
“Why?”
Dominic swallowed.
“Because I told him I found something.”
He held up the second watch.
I stared.
Luca removed Arthur's watch from his pocket.
The two watches were nearly identical.
Dominic looked shocked.
“Where did you get that?”
“Arthur.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“Arthur told me the watch was destroyed.”
Luca held it out.
“It's real.”
Dominic placed his own watch beside it.
Both had Eleanor's inscription.
But only one bore the dent Luca remembered.
He examined them carefully.
“This doesn't make sense.”
Frank began signing.
One is a copy.
I translated.
Dominic turned toward him.
For years, I'd heard Dominic speak over his grandfather.
Tonight, he waited.
That alone told me something had changed.
Frank pointed toward the dented watch.
Michael's.
Then toward the undamaged one.
Made later.
Luca looked at Dominic.
“Where did you get yours?”
Dominic hesitated.
“Daniel Rinaldi gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“He said it was proof our father wasn't the victim everyone thought.”
Luca's face hardened.
“Daniel lied.”
“You don't know that.”
“Grandpa recognizes the original.”
Dominic looked toward Frank.
Then shook his head.
“You've always believed Grandpa over me.”
The words were quiet.
But they carried years of resentment.
Luca stared at his brother.
“This isn't about choosing sides.”
“Everything has always been about choosing sides.”
Dominic looked away.
“You inherited Dad's position. Grandpa taught you the business. Everyone trusted you.”
Luca's expression softened.
“Dominic—”
“And I was the little brother who needed protecting.”
“That wasn't how I saw you.”
“Maybe not. But it's how I felt.”
Silence settled between them.
Then Dominic looked at the floor.
“Six years ago, I learned Eleanor wasn't my mother.”
Luca nodded.
“I know.”
Dominic looked startled.
“Who told you?”
“Grandpa.”
Dominic's eyes filled.
“I spent my whole life loving a woman who never told me she hadn't given birth to me.”
Frank moved forward.
His hands began signing.
Eleanor loved you.
I translated.
Dominic looked toward his grandfather.
Frank continued.
She held you when you cried.
His fingers trembled.
She called you her son.
Dominic covered his mouth.
Then Frank signed something that brought tears to my own eyes.
Being born to someone isn't the only way you belong.
Dominic looked down.
For the first time, he seemed willing to hear the truth without turning it into another wound.
But the moment didn't last.
A heavy metallic crash came from the rear of the restaurant.
Gabriel moved immediately.
“Everyone stay here.”
He approached the service corridor.
Another crash followed.
Then a man's voice.
“Dominic, you have something that belongs to me.”
Daniel Rinaldi appeared beneath the hallway light.
He was forty-two, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and an expensive overcoat.
Two contractors stood behind him.
Both looked uncomfortable.
Daniel smiled.
“Luca. I didn't expect a family reunion.”
Luca stepped between him and Frank.
“Your demolition has been halted.”
Daniel's smile thinned.
“Not according to my paperwork.”
“The city will confirm the hold.”
Daniel looked toward Dominic.
“You told me you'd handle your brother.”
Dominic's face reddened.
“You told me we were saving the family.”
“We are.”
“By destroying evidence?”
Daniel's expression changed.
“You have no idea what those records contain.”
Luca moved closer.
“Then enlighten us.”
Daniel looked at the watches.
His face went pale.
“Where did you get the damaged one?”
Luca said nothing.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
Then Frank began signing.
Look inside.
I frowned.
“Inside the watch?”
Frank nodded.
Luca examined the dented watch.
On the back, near the inscription, was a tiny notch.
Gabriel produced a small precision tool from his equipment case.
Carefully, Luca opened the back.
Inside, beneath the old mechanism, was a tightly folded strip of paper.
He unfolded it.
The paper contained a series of numbers.
And one handwritten sentence.
The money was never stolen for the men. It was stolen to pay for the silence.
Luca stared at the words.
Daniel suddenly lunged forward.
Gabriel intercepted him.
The contractors backed away.
Dominic looked horrified.
“What silence?”
Frank began signing.
His movements were urgent.
I watched.
Then I looked toward Luca.
“Your grandfather says the pension money was used to pay people who witnessed something at the docks.”
Luca frowned.
“What did they witness?”
Frank's face tightened.
Children.
I stopped breathing.
He signed again.
Children being moved through the warehouse.
The room fell silent.
Daniel stared at Frank.
And for the first time, fear replaced his arrogance.
Because Frank wasn't describing an ordinary financial crime.
He was describing an illegal adoption scheme that had operated through the waterfront nearly thirty years earlier.
Then Frank pointed directly at Dominic.
May you like
His next signs made my entire body go cold.
Dominic was one of the children.
