Chapter 9 - THE MOTHER WHO CAME BACK WITH BLOOD ON HER SLEEVE|
I hadn't seen my mother in sixteen years.
But when Evelyn Bennett entered the library, I recognized her immediately.
The same green eyes.
The same elegant cheekbones.
The same careful way of pushing her hair behind her ear when she was nervous.
Only now there were lines around her mouth.
Silver strands in her dark hair.
And a smear of dried blood across the sleeve of her coat.
I stood beside Dominic without speaking.
My mother stopped in the doorway.
“Clara.”
For one terrible second, I was twelve again.
Standing in our kitchen.
Watching her pack a suitcase.
Begging her not to leave.
She had kissed my forehead and promised she'd call when she reached California.
For months, I waited beside the phone every evening.
Then the calls stopped.
And my father told me she had chosen another life.
I had spent sixteen years learning not to hope.
Now she was standing in front of me, looking as if she expected to be welcomed home.
“Hello, Mom.”
My voice was flat.
Her eyes filled.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
She took a step forward.
I stepped back.
She stopped.
The pain on her face was unmistakable.
But I couldn't make myself care yet.
Dominic spoke first.
“Mrs. Bennett, why were you meeting Adrian Bell?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Because he had documents proving Beatrice arranged the insurance policy.”
“Why would he give them to you?”
“He wasn't giving them to me.”
She swallowed.
“He was trying to sell them.”
Marco stepped forward.
“To whom?”
“My employer.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Who employs you?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Dante Moretti.”
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
“The rival Dominic's family believes tried to kill Isabella?”
She nodded.
“Dante isn't responsible for the attack.”
Dominic gave a humorless laugh.
“And I'm supposed to take your word for that?”
“No.”
Evelyn reached into her coat.
Two guards immediately moved forward.
She froze.
“It's a flash drive.”
Dominic nodded.
“Slowly.”
She withdrew a small black drive.
Marco took it.
“What's on it?”
“Adrian's insurance records.”
“Financial transfers.”
“Messages between Beatrice and the broker.”
Dominic studied her.
“How did you get them?”
“Dante hired me to investigate a series of payments being routed through his companies.”
“Payments from Beatrice?”
“Yes.”
I struggled to understand.
“Why would she send money through his companies?”
“To make Dominic believe Dante was financing attacks against the Coretti family.”
Marco swore under his breath.
Evelyn continued.
“Dante realized someone was using his business accounts to create a false trail.”
“He was preparing to bring the records to federal investigators.”
“But when Adrian contacted him, he realized the situation was worse than financial fraud.”
Dominic remained still.
“What did Adrian want?”
“Protection.”
“From Beatrice?”
Evelyn nodded.
“He said she was losing control.”
“She had become convinced the wedding gown contained evidence of murder.”
“He wanted money and safe passage out of the country.”
“And Isabella?”
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
“He claimed she was supposed to be released after the documents were recovered.”
Dominic's voice turned hard.
“And you believed him?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“That's why I came here.”
I studied the blood on her sleeve.
“Whose blood is that?”
Evelyn looked down.
“Adrian's.”
I felt sick.
“He pulled a gun when the officers approached.”
“One of them was injured.”
“I tried to help.”
She looked at Dominic.
“The police cleared me to leave after taking my initial statement.”
“They still have my contact information.”
Marco nodded.
“We'll verify everything.”
Evelyn looked relieved.
But I wasn't.
I was staring at the woman who had abandoned me.
“Why didn't you come back?”
Her face changed.
“Clara.”
“Sixteen years.”
My voice began to shake.
“You knew where I lived.”
“You knew Daniel was sick.”
“You knew Grandma died.”
Tears slid down my cheeks.
“And you didn't even come to her funeral.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I wanted to.”
“Then why didn't you?”
She looked toward my father.
He stood beside the fireplace.
His face had gone gray.
“Thomas,” she whispered.
He shook his head.
“Evelyn, please.”
I looked between them.
“What?”
My mother began crying.
“Your father told me that if I contacted you, Beatrice would hurt both of you.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
My father's voice broke.
“I was trying to keep everyone safe.”
I felt something inside me finally snap.
“Stop.”
He fell silent.
I turned toward my mother.
“You believed him?”
“At first.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“Then I tried to investigate.”
“I learned the woman threatening us was connected to Elena Coretti's death.”
I looked at her.
“You knew Grandma was involved?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Margaret told me before she died.”
“She made me promise not to tell you until I had proof.”
“And instead of calling me, you disappeared again?”
“I know.”
Her voice broke.
“I thought distance would protect you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps using that word.”
“Protect.”
I looked around the room.
“My father lied to me to protect me.”
“Dominic kept secrets to protect me.”
“You stayed away to protect me.”
“And somehow, I'm the one who keeps getting hurt.”
Nobody spoke.
I drew a shaky breath.
“I'm not twelve anymore.”
“I don't need people making decisions about my life behind closed doors.”
Evelyn lowered her head.
“You're right.”
The admission surprised me.
She didn't defend herself.
Didn't blame anyone else.
Didn't ask me to forgive her.
She simply stood there and accepted what I'd said.
For the first time that evening, I found myself willing to listen.
“Tell me about the insurance policy.”
Evelyn nodded.
“The five-million-dollar policy is real.”
“But the beneficiary designation was altered.”
“Originally, the payout was supposed to go into an account controlled by Beatrice.”
“Then she transferred the beneficiary designation to Thomas.”
My stomach turned.
“Why?”
“Because investigators would focus on your father if anything happened to you.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“She was preparing a scapegoat.”
“Exactly.”
“And Adrian?”
“He arranged the paperwork through a financial services company.”
“Was my signature forged?”
“Yes.”
I felt a cold wave of anger.
“Who signed it?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“Beatrice had copies of your identification and marriage documents.”
“She used them to authorize the application.”
I remembered Beatrice insisting on handling the wedding paperwork.
At the time, I'd thought she was simply being controlling.
Now I understood she had been collecting information.
Dominic reached for my hand.
This time, I let him hold it.
He squeezed gently.
“We're going to make sure every document is investigated.”
I nodded.
But I was thinking about the wedding gown.
The pearls.
The thimble.
The missing bride.
A family had been destroyed twenty-two years ago because one woman wanted to control everything.
And now that same woman was trying to do it again.
Marco connected Evelyn's flash drive to an isolated computer.
Folders appeared across the screen.
Bank statements.
Company records.
Scanned documents.
And a folder marked PRIVATE.
He opened it.
Inside was a video file.
The timestamp showed the previous week.
The recording began inside a luxurious office.
Beatrice stood beside a desk.
Adrian sat across from her.
And another man stood near the window.
I leaned closer.
“Who is that?”
Dominic's face changed.
“Victor Salvatore.”
I knew the name.
Victor was Dominic's chief financial adviser.
He'd attended our wedding.
He'd smiled politely whenever we passed in the mansion.
And he'd been one of the people who insisted my father still owed money after Dominic paid the debt.
The video continued.
Beatrice handed Adrian a folder.
“Everything must happen before Dominic changes his estate documents.”
Adrian looked uncomfortable.
“What about Isabella?”
“She'll do what she's told.”
“And Clara?”
Beatrice smiled.
A small, cruel smile.
“Clara won't be a problem after the reception.”
My blood went cold.
Victor spoke.
“The insurance paperwork is ready.”
Adrian looked toward him.
“And if Dominic survives?”
Beatrice turned.
“Then we'll make sure he has a reason to start a war.”
She tapped a photograph on the desk.
Dante Moretti.
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Dominic stared at the blank screen.
His voice was almost inaudible.
“Victor has managed our finances for nineteen years.”
Marco looked sick.
“He has access to every account.”
“And every property transfer,” Dominic added.
I remembered Margaret Ellis's warning.
Someone still sitting at the family table.
Now we knew who.
But the evidence revealed something even more frightening.
Victor had been working for Dominic's father before the deaths.
He hadn't simply joined Beatrice recently.
He could have been involved for decades.
Dominic's phone rang.
He answered.
“Speak.”
His expression changed.
Then he looked directly at me.
“What happened?” I whispered.
He ended the call.
“Victor has left the city.”
I swallowed.
“Where is he going?”
“Bellhaven.”
The room went silent.
Then Dominic continued.
“He withdrew eight million dollars from the family accounts.”
“He took a private aircraft to a regional airport.”
“And his security team is moving toward the Hudson.”
I stared at the wedding photograph on the desk.
Isabella smiling.
Adrian holding her waist.
Beatrice standing behind them like a proud aunt.
I finally understood.
This wasn't only a kidnapping.
It was the final act of a betrayal that had begun before Dominic and Isabella were old enough to recognize it.
And somewhere inside Bellhaven, the woman who started it all was waiting for me.
I took the brass key from my pocket.
“Dominic.”
He turned.
“It's time.”
His eyes searched mine.
I lifted my chin.
“We're going to bring your sister home.”
May you like
Then I looked toward my parents.
“And when this is over, nobody gets to decide my future for me again.”
