Chapter 13 - THE LAST SECRET BEFORE THE FALL|
"Who was giving Matteo orders?"
My voice trembled so badly that Teresa could barely understand me.
For several seconds, all I heard was her breathing through the phone.
Then she whispered, "Richard Hale."
I closed my eyes.
I'd expected the name.
Yet hearing it still felt like being pushed into cold water.
Richard Hale.
The man who'd prepared our father's will.
The man who'd managed the family trust.
The man who'd tried to make me sign away my rights.
And according to the evidence we'd uncovered, the man whose name appeared on the payment connected to the nursery fire.
I looked toward Adrian.
He was standing beside the fireplace.
His expression changed when he saw my face.
"Elena?"
I held out the phone.
"It's Teresa."
He took it.
"Hello?"
He listened.
Then slowly sat down.
For several minutes, he said almost nothing.
Finally, he whispered, "Thank you."
He ended the call.
I stared at him.
"What did she say?"
Adrian looked down.
"Our father wrote that Richard was using Matteo."
I swallowed.
"How?"
"Richard controlled the legal records."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Matteo controlled the people."
I thought about everything we'd discovered.
The altered death certificates.
The forged trust records.
The suspicious payments.
The stolen music box.
The threats against Sophie.
Then I asked, "Why?"
Adrian looked toward Katherine.
She had joined us in the study.
Her expression was serious.
"Money is one possible motive."
I nodded.
"But not the only one."
She continued.
"Richard may also have wanted control over the family business."
Adrian stared at his hands.
"For years, I thought Matteo was my father's closest friend."
He laughed bitterly.
"And Richard was the man who protected our family interests."
I looked at him.
"Maybe they protected each other."
He closed his eyes.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Katherine's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed immediately.
"Yes."
She listened.
Then stood.
"Where?"
Adrian looked up.
Katherine nodded.
"Please send the details."
She ended the call.
Then turned toward us.
"Richard Hale has been located."
My heart began pounding.
"Where?"
"At a private airfield outside Chicago."
Adrian stood.
"Is he leaving?"
Katherine nodded.
"Investigators are coordinating with the relevant authorities."
I swallowed.
"And Matteo?"
She hesitated.
"He hasn't been located yet."
A cold feeling spread through me.
Adrian looked toward the window.
"He's still out there."
Katherine nodded.
"For now."
I thought about Sophie sleeping upstairs.
The guards at the gates.
The locked doors.
The way she'd asked whether a chair was good enough for her.
My chest tightened.
"When does this end?"
Katherine looked toward me.
Her expression softened.
"I can't promise a date."
I looked down.
"But the evidence is now being examined by people with the authority to act on it."
I nodded.
It wasn't the answer I wanted.
But it was an honest one.
That afternoon, news began spreading through the business community.
Richard Hale had been detained for questioning in connection with an expanding financial investigation.
Investigators were reviewing allegations of fraud, falsified documents, and other wrongdoing connected to the Moretti family trust.
The old fire was also being reassessed.
No formal conclusion had been reached about every allegation.
But the walls of secrecy were beginning to crack.
Adrian received dozens of calls.
Business partners.
Attorneys.
Former employees.
Reporters.
People who hadn't spoken to him in years suddenly wanted to know what was happening.
He answered very few.
Instead, he spent the afternoon with Katherine reviewing what could responsibly be disclosed.
I watched him from the doorway.
He looked exhausted.
But different.
For years, he'd been surrounded by people who told him what to believe.
Now he was asking questions.
Listening.
Demanding records.
And refusing to let anyone use family loyalty as an excuse to hide wrongdoing.
At five, Vanessa called.
Adrian stared at the screen.
Then looked toward me.
"Do you want to be here?"
I hesitated.
She had humiliated Sophie.
Threatened my job.
Hired me under false pretenses.
And helped Matteo search for my mother's music box.
Part of me never wanted to hear her voice again.
But another part wanted answers.
I took a breath.
"Yes."
Adrian put the call on speaker.
"Vanessa."
Her voice was shaking.
"Adrian, please don't hang up."
He remained silent.
"I know you hate me."
"I don't want to discuss my feelings."
She began crying.
"I need to tell you something."
He looked toward Katherine.
The attorney nodded for him to continue.
"Go ahead."
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
"Matteo contacted me."
My stomach dropped.
"When?"
"This afternoon."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"What did he want?"
"He asked whether Elena still had the key."
I froze.
The key.
The tiny silver key from the blue bird.
The one that had opened the second music box.
Adrian looked toward me.
Then back at the phone.
"What did you tell him?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"That I didn't know."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she continued.
"He was angry."
"What did he say?"
Her voice broke.
"He said Richard had abandoned him."
Adrian frowned.
"And?"
"He said he wasn't going to take the blame for everything."
Katherine immediately began taking notes.
Vanessa continued.
"He said he had documents proving Richard planned the fire."
My heart pounded.
"Where are they?" I asked.
There was a pause.
Vanessa sounded startled.
"Elena?"
I swallowed.
"Yes."
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then whispered, "I'm sorry."
I closed my eyes.
She continued.
"I'm sorry about Sophie."
My throat tightened.
"She was dizzy."
Vanessa began crying.
"I know."
"She was five."
"I know."
"And you made her believe she didn't deserve a chair."
Vanessa sobbed.
"I know."
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I said quietly, "An apology doesn't erase what happened."
She nodded through her tears.
"I understand."
I looked toward Adrian.
Then back at the phone.
"If you know something that can help, tell the investigators."
Vanessa swallowed.
"Okay."
Adrian spoke.
"Vanessa, where did Matteo say he was?"
She hesitated.
"At the old family house."
Adrian went completely still.
The nursery.
The red door.
The music box.
The place where our family had been destroyed.
Katherine looked up sharply.
"Did he say why?"
Vanessa's voice trembled.
"He said Richard left something behind."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"A document proving who authorized the separation of Lucia's children."
Adrian's expression became cold.
"Where is it?"
Vanessa hesitated.
Then whispered, "Inside the old fireplace."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Frank appeared in the doorway.
He looked concerned.
"Mr. Moretti."
Adrian turned.
"Yes?"
"Security has received a call from Samuel."
My heart stopped.
"The caretaker?"
Frank nodded.
"He says Matteo Rinaldi arrived at the property."
Adrian straightened.
"Is Samuel safe?"
"Yes."
Frank hesitated.
"But Matteo demanded access to the east wing."
I felt cold.
The nursery again.
The hidden compartment.
The red door.
Everything seemed to lead back to the same room.
Adrian looked toward Katherine.
She shook her head.
"Don't go there."
He nodded.
"I wasn't planning to."
Then he turned toward Frank.
"Contact the authorities and give them Samuel's information."
Frank nodded.
"Already done."
Adrian took a slow breath.
"Good."
I stared at him.
A week earlier, I might have expected him to storm out of the house.
To confront Matteo himself.
To prove that power belonged to him.
But now he remained in the study.
Thinking.
Protecting his family.
Allowing professionals to handle a dangerous situation.
I realized something had changed.
Adrian wasn't trying to become the most feared man in Chicago anymore.
He was trying to become the brother and uncle we needed.
An hour later, Frank returned.
The authorities had arrived at the old house.
Samuel was safe.
Matteo had been taken into custody.
A search of the property was proceeding through the appropriate legal process.
I felt my knees weaken.
Adrian sat beside me.
For several moments, neither of us spoke.
Then he whispered, "It's happening."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"The truth."
My eyes filled.
That evening, Katherine received preliminary confirmation that investigators had recovered additional records from a concealed compartment near the fireplace.
The materials included correspondence between Richard and Matteo.
There were references to the nursery fire.
The altered burial records.
And payments related to the separation of Lucia and her children.
For the first time, the evidence wasn't limited to family memories or old recordings.
There were documents.
Dates.
Signatures.
People willing to testify.
And a trail investigators could follow.
I looked toward Adrian.
His eyes were filled.
"Do you think Mama knew this day would come?"
He smiled sadly.
"I think she hoped it would."
For several minutes, we sat quietly.
Then my phone rang.
It was Teresa.
I answered.
"Hello?"
Her voice trembled.
"Elena, I've heard the news."
I nodded.
"Yes."
She began crying.
"Oh, sweetheart."
I swallowed.
"It's finally coming out."
Teresa took a shaky breath.
"Your mother waited so long for this."
My eyes filled.
"I know."
Then she said something that made me stop breathing.
"There's one more thing Lucia wanted you to have."
I stared at the wall.
"What?"
"A letter for Sophie."
My heart stopped.
"For Sophie?"
Teresa nodded.
"She wrote it shortly before she died."
I covered my mouth.
My little girl had spent eight months asking when Grandma was coming home.
Now there was a letter waiting for her.
I swallowed.
"What does it say?"
May you like
Teresa's voice softened.
"Elena, I think you should read it yourself."
