Chapter 84: The Missing Box
Salvatore had just brought Milo home before heading out again with Roderick and Felix.
Milo walked happily toward his room with the bags in his hands. He was more excited to try out the cars.
Milo sat on the floor in his room. He had cleared more space on the floor by pushing the small wardrobe aside. He picked up the car, feeling the smooth plastic and the weight of the batteries inside.
He smiled widely; he was so excited.
He placed the car on the floor impatiently.
He pushed the joystick forward.
The car shot forward and hit the leg of the bed.
Milo pulled it back and tried again, slower this time. He spent the next ten minutes steering it around the desk legs and the shopping bags, learning how much pressure on the joystick was too much.
It was a simple toy. He knew that. But he’d never owned one before, and he was so happy right now.
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in!"
Teo opened the door and stepped inside. His usual energy was completely gone. He was walking slowly, his hands held behind his back. He looked at the car on the floor.
He said nothing.
Milo picked up the blue truck from the bed. "Teo! Look at this. Mr. Portello bought two. He said the second one was for you. Later, we could race them in the hallway."
He held it out.
Teo looked at it. His eyes widened. He seemed to want to hold it, but he didn’t take it.
"Uh... I don’t want it right now," Teo said.
His voice was flat and thin.
Milo lowered the truck. "Why? Are you sick? You look pale."
Teo shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked at the floor. "I’m fine. I have to go help Maureen."
"You just got here. At least take it with you. It’s yours."
"Not now."
The sharpness in his voice was so sudden that Milo pulled his hand back.
Teo seemed to realize he had snapped. He looked at the floor again, rubbed his arm once, and then turned and walked out without another word.
He left the door open behind him.
Milo sat on the floor, holding the blue truck, and looked at the empty doorway.
What happened to the boy? Something was off. He set the truck on the bed and sat still for a moment, trying to figure out what it was.
Teo had been fine this morning. Did something bad happen to him? He hoped the boy hadn’t gotten sick.
He left it alone for now; he put down the car and went back to unpacking.
He started with the formal clothes, hanging them in the wardrobe. Then the everyday items, folding them into the drawers. He opened the third drawer and reached in to put the gray sweater away.
His hand touched something hard.
He pulled it out.
A small wooden box. He remembered that box. Salvatore’s box he’d found in the oven. Why was it here?
He set it on top of the dresser and looked at it. Salvatore must be worried about it. He had to return it once Salvatore got home.
He finished putting the sweater away, closed the drawer, and sat down on the bed.
The box sat on top of the dresser.
The commotion began that night.
Salvatore was home. For a few minutes, he stood by his nightstand, his chest heaving. He was just about to change when he realized his box wasn’t there.
His precious box. With a photo he’d already laminated.
It was gone.
He grabbed everything he could and searched through the wardrobe.
Nothing.
His face went pale. He didn’t care about the box. But the photo inside it. He regretted not taking a picture of it just in case something like this happened.
Damn! Damn! Where is it?!
"Roderick!" Salvatore’s voice echoed down the hallway. He grabbed his phone to call the man.
Roderick appeared in the doorway seconds later. He saw the state of the room, the items from the nightstand scattered across the carpet, the chair pushed over, and Salvatore standing in the center of the floor with his hands clenched into fists.
"What happened?" Roderick asked, his hand instinctively moving toward his belt.
"The box is gone," Salvatore said. He turned to face Roderick, his eyes dark with a cold, focused rage. "My box. I’m not losing my mind. I know I put it there. But it’s gone!"
Roderick walked over to the closet, looking at the messy drawer. He checked the floor and the space behind the wardrobe.
"Well, nobody is supposed to be here. You know that."
"That’s why. I need to know where the box is! It’s impossible, it doesn’t have feet and can’t run away!" Salvatore snapped. He kicked the discarded lamp on the floor, sending it skidding across the hardwood. "That photo is the only thing I have. If I lost it..."
Salvatore didn’t finish the sentence. His face went pale. Roderick knew that Salvatore’s parents were a subject that could turn the Don from a calculated leader into a man who wanted to burn everything down.
"Who was in this wing today?" Salvatore demanded. For the first time, he regretted not having CCTV inside the mansion. He hated the idea of being monitored. But right now, he needed to know who had come into his room.
Roderick pulled out his phone, checking the internal security logs and staff schedules. He told Salvatore who was in charge of cleaning his room that day.
"But it’s impossible that they would touch anything here. The only others are me, Felix, or Milo if you called him. No one dares to come inside," Roderick said. He wanted to calm Salvatore down.
Salvatore froze. "Felix and Milo."
"Felix has been with you for years, Sal," Roderick said. "He wouldn’t touch anything here. I’m sure of it."
Salvatore took a deep breath. Milo? It was impossible that the young man would be brave enough to come into his room. But Milo had come in many times to bring him tea.
He didn’t see any tea. Maybe it wasn’t Milo.
"Milo might be new here, but I’m sure he’s not a thief," Roderick said. "Why would he take a box? It has no value to him."
"I don’t care!" Salvatore shouted. He grabbed a glass from the dresser and threw it against the wall. The glass shattered, the pieces falling onto the rug.
"I want that box. Now. Search the house. Search every room, every closet, and every bag. If I find out someone is playing games with me, I will kill them myself!"
Roderick didn’t argue. He signaled to the two guards in the hallway. Within minutes, the mansion was in a state of chaos.
Guards moved through the corridors, opening doors and searching the common areas.
The staff were lined up in the kitchen, their faces pale as Maureen questioned them.
Salvatore stood in the hallway, watching the commotion. He felt a sense of panic he hadn’t felt in years. It was a physical weight in his stomach. That photo was his only link to his parents.
He was about to head toward the stairs when he saw a small figure standing near the end of the corridor.
Teo was pressed against the wall, his hands shaking. He looked smaller than usual, his eyes darting between the guards. When he saw Salvatore, he froze.
Salvatore walked toward him, his boots thudding heavily on the floor. "Teo. What are you doing up here?"
Teo didn’t speak at first. He looked at the floor, his breathing shallow.
"I saw them searching," he whispered.
"We’re looking for something important," Salvatore said, trying to keep his voice from snapping. "Go back to your room."
Teo didn’t move. He looked up at Salvatore, and there were tears in his eyes. "Uh... Milo has it," he said.
Salvatore stopped. The hallway seemed to go silent. "What? What did you say?"
"Milo..." Teo repeated, his voice shaking. "He has the box. I saw him take it."
Salvatore looked at Teo for a second. Then he didn’t wait for another word. He turned and headed to Milo’s room, his pace fast and purposeful.
Roderick followed him, his expression grim.
Inside the room, Milo heard people talking and walking outside his door. He heard their conversation through the walls.
Footsteps moved quickly, more than one person, back and forth along the hallway. A door slammed shut. Voices, though he couldn’t make out the words.
He heard Maureen’s voice from somewhere, followed by the kitchen staff answering one by one.
He stood up, went to his door, and opened it.
A guard was in the hallway. He glanced at Milo briefly and kept moving.
Milo stood in his doorway, trying to make sense of what was happening. The house had a distinct atmosphere when something was truly wrong, a tension in the way people moved, and he could feel it now.
He heard Salvatore’s voice from upstairs, and his chest tightened. The man had returned.
He should bring the box up now. He turned back into the room to get it.
His door swung open forcefully.
Salvatore walked in with Roderick behind him and two guards blocking the doorway. Milo stepped back instinctively.
