Chapter 4 - THE POISONED INHERITANCE
|
Vanessa collapsed against the sideboard, knocking a silver candelabra to the floor with a deafening crash.
The hot wax splattered across the red silk of her designer gown, but she didn't even notice.
“It was an accident!” she screamed, her polished composure completely disintegrating.
“Roberto was shouting at Michael! He was going to cut him out of the will!”
The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.
The entire dining hall seemed to shudder under the weight of the confession.
Uncle Carmine stood up from the table, his elderly frame shaking with absolute Sicilian fury.
“You poisoned Don Roberto Moretti?” Carmine bellowed, his voice echoing off the high ceilings.
“You brought poison into this house and murdered the head of this family?”
Vanessa fell to her knees on the Persian rug, clutching her hands in front of her chest.
“Michael told me his father was losing his mind!” she wept hysterically.
“He said Roberto was going to leave ninety percent of the syndicate to Luca and give Hannah’s mother a lifetime pension!”
I froze, staring at the woman on the floor in utter shock.
“My mother?” I whispered, unable to believe what I was hearing.
Luca turned his head toward me, a flicker of profound recognition crossing his features.
“Hannah,” Luca said softly.
“What was your mother’s maiden name?”
“Vance,” I answered, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“Sarah Vance.”
Teresa let out a long, trembling breath from her chair.
“Sarah,” the old woman whispered, reaching out to stroke the fabric of my black sleeve.
“Sarah was Roberto’s private secretary for twenty-five years before her stroke.”
“She knew where every dollar of the family foundation was kept.”
Luca looked back at Michael, the pieces of the four-year-old puzzle clicking into place with terrifying speed.
“You didn't just want our father dead, Michael,” Luca said, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper.
“You wanted the private foundation records destroyed.”
“Our father had set aside twenty million dollars in an offshore trust to ensure Mom and Sarah were cared for independently of the syndicate.”
“You couldn't touch that money while our father drew breath.”
Michael backed against the mahogany door, his hands trembling violently.
“Luca, listen to me!” Michael begged, tears of pure terror spilling down his cheeks.
“Salvatore Bellini pressured me! He said if we didn't take control of the northern ports, the Russian syndicates would wipe us out!”
“He promised me that if I married Vanessa into the family, we could share the territory fifty-fifty!”
“So you sold your father for fifty percent of a shipping dock?” Luca asked.
He did not raise his fist.
He did not pull the firearm concealed beneath his arm.
He simply reached into his pocket and pulled out his private cell phone.
He tapped the screen once and held the device to his ear.
“Matteo,” Luca spoke into the phone, his voice as calm as a frozen lake.
“Seize the Bellini terminals on the south river.”
“Confiscate their cargo manifests, impound their vessels, and detain Salvatore Bellini at his residence.”
“If anyone resists, treat them as hostile combatants against the Moretti family.”
Vanessa shrieked, crawling forward on the floor.
“No! Luca, please! My father has heart problems!”
Luca lowered the phone, his cold eyes sweeping over the sobbing woman at his feet.
“My father had heart problems too, Vanessa.”
“The only difference was that his heart gave out because you poured digitalis into his chamomile tea.”
Luca turned back to his security team stationed at the doors.
“Take Miss Bellini to the wine cellar.”
“Strip her of her jewelry, her phone, and her shoes.”
“Let her sit in the dark until the federal prosecutor arrives in the morning.”
Two guards stepped forward, hauling Vanessa off the floor by her arms as she kicked and screamed curses into the echoing hall.
Then Luca turned his gaze back to his brother.
Michael dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands.
“Luca... please... I’m your brother... our mother is watching...”
Luca looked down at the trembling man who shared his blood.
“Our mother watched you terrorize her for six months, Michael.”
“She watched you threaten to throw an innocent girl onto the street for helping her eat her dinner.”
Luca leaned down, his voice barely audible over the weeping in the room.
May you like
“You are no longer my brother.”
“You are just a traitor waiting for judgment.”
