Chapter 2: The Name Behind the Photograph
Zeke’s mother stared at the small blond child in the photograph.
“That can’t be,” she whispered.
“Zeke has never been inside this hotel.”
Vasko finally looked at her.
“What was your husband’s name?”
“Elias Ward.”
The maestro’s hand began to shake.
The manager stepped forward.
“Whatever this is, the piano has been damaged.
She’ll pay for it—and she won’t work here again.”
“No,” Vasko said sharply.
“No one touches the piano.
And no one dismisses her.”
Zeke pointed at the photograph.
“Why is that boy wearing my bracelet?”
His mother pulled back his sleeve.
Around his wrist was a thin silver chain with a tiny music note—the same bracelet worn by the child in the picture.
“I gave him this after Elias was gone,” she said.
“It was the only thing his father left behind.”
Vasko turned the photograph over.
A date was written across the back.
Zeke’s mother read it, then went pale.
“That was taken twenty-seven years ago.”
Vasko closed his eyes.
“Because the child beside Elias isn’t Zeke.”
“Then who is it?” she demanded.
Before Vasko could answer, the hotel manager grabbed the photograph—and froze when he saw the name written beneath the date.
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What name made the manager panic, and why did Zeke have the same bracelet?
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