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Elisabetta added, “If we had seen papers like these, we would’ve said something. We didn’t touch anything.”

James studied them carefully, watching the minute shifts in their expressions — the flicker of confusion, the steady tone, the lack of hesitation.

He didn’t see the signs of a lie.

After a moment, he straightened up. “Alright,” he said quietly. “If you’re telling the truth, then someone else got to it before you did.”

He glanced back at the scattered fragments on the ground, asking himself: Who could’ve had the chance to take out these documents?

Someone with access to the restaurant… someone who knew Vittoria was preparing documents that could damage them.

He looked up, frowning slightly. “Is this place always unlocked?”

André hesitated. “Yeah, we never lock the storage area since we usually store nothing valuable here.”

James’s brow furrowed deeper. “So anyone could’ve come in.”

André gave a reluctant nod. “I guess so. It’s not something we ever thought twice about.”

Alice looked up from the fragments, her voice quiet. “They knew exactly what they were looking for.”

James gave a small nod. “And they knew when to come and where it was. This wasn’t random.”

He turned slowly, raising the flashlight again and sweeping the dim storage area in steady arcs. Dust stirred in the beam as he moved, pausing now and then to crouch and examine scuffs on the floor or shadows in the corners. About ten meters from the box, he kneeled down, shining the light along the wooden planks. That’s when something subtle caught his attention.