Page 106 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“Aside from some necessities, there were a few memorabilia. She put them in an extra bag and told me to make sure that Charlie would receive them. It was a baby blanket,” he says. “A rattle, a teddy bear. I think there should be a picture somewhere too. One of those old wooden puzzles. Oh, and a music box.”

“Thank you,” I say. “This already helps a lot.”

“If I can think of anything else, I will give you a call,” he reassures me.

“Thanks.”

With that, we hang up and I go look for Charlie. She is in her room. Her stuff she brought along from the orphanage is lying all around her.

“Did you reach him?” she asks me.

I nod. “He told me about a few items that your mom sent with you. Let’s try to find them.”

Some items were more difficult to find, but Charlie didn’t have that many belongings when she came here, which makes it easier to go through everything. We put everything else away and sit on the floor, eyeing the items in front of us.

“This is what Mom left me,” she says quietly. “I didn’t know. I just knew they were mine.”

“You were too young to remember,” I say softly. “But I’m sure all of this was sentimental to your mother. Like this”—I take the baby blanket—“I think Ella has the same.”

“But what are we looking for?” she asks.

“I have no idea, but let’s check every item… maybe there is a hidden message somewhere,” I say.

“Or she could have sewn something onto one of these,” Charlie muses.

“Good idea,” I say. “Let’s check everything thoroughly.”

We both take our time, checking on each and every item, but nothing strikes our attention.

“Maybe we are missing something,” Charlie says.

“This…” I say, the music box. “This looks like the only odd item. Lorenzo mentioned it too, so it for sure came from Candy.”

“But there’s nothing engraved on it, and it doesn’t have a secret drawer,” Charlie says.

I frown while I look at it. It’s old, probably of sentimental value for Candy already. Going by the carvings and the art style, I would say it might have belonged to her mother or father. I try to turn it on, but it sounds off.

“It has always sounded off,” Charlie explains. “I never had the money to repair it.”

I look up at her. “It always sounded off?”

She nods.

“Fetch me a screwdriver, please,” I say. “Let’s take a closer look.”

Charlie looks at me surprised and with careful hope in her eyes. She jumps up instantly, running to the storage room to get a screwdriver. I hope my gut feeling is right and I won’t disappoint her. Both of us hold our breath while I carefully remove the screws from the bottom of the music box. I take the piece of wood off and—

I frown when I see a small lid, and a place for a fingerprint.

“What does this mean?” Charlie asks.

“I’m not sure,” I say. “Try to press your finger against it.”

Charlie does what I ask her to, but nothing budges. “Can’t you just break it?” she asks. “Or force it open.”

“No, it’s enchanted,” I mutter. “Look.” I grab the item, knocking it against the floor. Not even a tiny part breaks. “Wait, I will link our pack witch.”

Charlie nods, and I make sure to instantly link Stella, urging her to come to us. Fortunately, she and Portia live close to the packhouse, so it doesn’t take her long to arrive. In the meantime, Charlie and I sit around the little box, both of us tense and expectant.