Ste could hardly believe her eyes.


    Almost in a trance, she stepped into the room and reached for her violin.


    The familiar feel of the polished wood brought tears to her eyes before she could stop them. She cradled the instrument gently, the cool surface against her cheek awakening a flood of memories and longing.


    Ste hadn''t cried in a long, long time. But now, the tears came-quiet and unstoppable.


    This violin was all she had left from her mother.


    And yet, she''d been forced to watch as it was destroyed, powerless to protect it- just as she''d failed to protect so many other precious things in her life.


    The bitterness of her own helplessness nearly overwhelmed her.


    Abby, watching Ste''s silent tears, felt a lump rise in her throat too, her eyes stinging.


    She and Ste had been best friends for years-she''d met Ste''s mother, Nora, more times than she could count, sharing countless home-cooked meals at their table.


    Nora had always been gentle and graceful, a woman untouched by the passage of years. In Abby''s memory, Nora was forever radiant, ying her violin with effortless brilliance.


    When Abby saw the shattered Nocturne Ste for the first time, her heart ached- not just for Ste, but for Nora too.


    That day, Abby made a silent vow: she would help Ste get justice, no matter what it took.


    When Ste was hospitalized, Abby asked Foreman and Neville to search for the missing violin. But despite their efforts, it remained lost.


    Abby wanted to search herself, but with Ste still recovering, she couldn''t leave her side at the hospital.


    Eventually, Joshua took it upon himself to help. After days of searching-spurred on by Abby''s constant questions-he finally found it.


    ording to Joshua, the violin had been hidden deep inside a hollow tree, so well concealed that anyone else would have missed itpletely.


    Ste ran her fingers lightly across the strings.


    A gentle melody filled the room, bringing Abby back from her thoughts.


    Ste could no longer y with the virtuoso''s touch she once had, n?rmand the stage as a concert violinist. But she could still coax a tune from the instrument, fopher ownfort if nothing else.


    Little by little, the storm in her heart began to calm.


    She looked up at Joshua. "You reced the strings, didn''t you?"


    He nodded. "They were badly damaged. I managed to find the same type and restring it."


    Abby, collecting herself, added, "Star,


    Joshua did almost all the restoration himself. He actually studied artifact restoration, so he did a better job than some professionals could have."


    After the violin was recovered, Abby


    had wanted to send it out for repairs. But Nocturne Ste was so badly damaged that even string recements seemed


    impossible-no one believed it could ever be restored.


    In the end, Joshua offered to try.


    Abby was skeptical, but she handed the violin over anyway. If it couldn''t be fixed, there was no sense in showing it to Ste and breaking her heart all over again.


    She hadn''t dared to hope. But after more than a month of painstaking work, Joshua brought the violin back-restored.


    From the new strings to thest detail, it had all been Joshua''s doing. Abby wouldn''t dream of taking credit.


    That made this the most special gift Joshua could ever give Ste.


    After Abby finished exining everything, Ste looked at Joshua with a new,plicated emotion in her eyes.


    A hundred words crowded her heart, but in the end, only one sentence escaped.


    "Thank you, Joshua."


    Joshua replied softly, "It''s what I should do. I''m supposed to keep you safe. If I hadn''t left so suddenly back then, Leonard would never have been able to take you.


    As for Leonard-"