They needed something solid.
A voice on a tape was powerful — but not enough.
If Mayor Bellini had been involved, there had to be traces somewhere.
That afternoon, Elena searched through old newspaper archives stored in the back room of the bookstore. Seravalle had only one local paper back then, printed weekly.
Daniel flipped through the editions from 1987.
Wedding announcements. Harvest festivals. Small business openings.
Normal life.
Then—
A headline caught his attention.
"Vineyard Fire Under Investigation.
Date: Two weeks after Lucia Bellini was reported missing.
Elena moved closer.
The article described a late-night fire on property co-owned by Matteo Moretti and the Bellini family. No injuries reported.
Cause undetermined.
"Elena…" Daniel said quietly.
She scanned the page again.
At the bottom of the article was a small note:
"Mayor Carlo Bellini declined further comment."
Carlo Bellini.
The current mayor's father.
Elena's pulse quickened.
"That means the family was already in power," she whispered.
Daniel nodded slowly. "And if there was a fire back then too…"
"They were destroying something."
Evidence.
Documents.
Maybe even traces of Lucia's presence.
Elena kept reading.
Another article, printed just days later:
"Isabella Carter Returns Abroad."
The article claimed Isabella had "chosen to leave Seravalle due to personal matters."
No missing report mentioned.
No suspicion raised.
It was clean.
Too clean.
Daniel's voice lowered. "They rewrote the story."
Elena's hands tightened around the fragile paper.
"They made it look like she left willingly."
"And they made Lucia disappear without noise."
Silence filled the room.
Two fires.
Two disappearances.
One powerful family name.
Daniel exhaled slowly.
"This wasn't just about protecting reputation."
Elena met his gaze.
"It was about control."
Outside, church bells rang softly in the distance.
Seravalle looked the same as it always had.
But now they could see the pattern.
And once you see a pattern—
You can't unsee it.