Chapter 8 - The Confession That Changed Everything
Vanessa's expression collapsed.
For one moment, she seemed unable to understand what Luca had said.
Then she laughed.
It was a thin, trembling sound.
“Daniel Mercer would say anything to save himself.”
Luca stood between us.
“Maybe.”
He removed his phone from his pocket.
“But this time, he brought evidence.”
Vanessa's eyes moved toward the doors.
Marco shifted slightly, blocking the hallway.
Luca tapped the screen.
A man's voice filled the silence.
Daniel Mercer.
“I changed the shipping manifests because Richard Bellini threatened to expose the Moretti family's old business arrangements. Vanessa handled the payments. Catherine discovered everything.”
Vanessa staggered backward.
Luca continued playing.
“She contacted Elena. Elena had worked as an accountant for Bellini Logistics. She'd found records linking Richard's shell companies to illegal shipments.”
The recording crackled.
Then Daniel said the words that made my stomach turn.
“Catherine knew Vanessa was pretending to be a nurse. She confronted her at the hospital.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Turn it off.”
Luca didn't move.
“After that, Vanessa told her father Catherine had become a problem.”
“Turn it off!”
Luca stopped the recording.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Vanessa looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“Luca, please. I loved you.”
He stared at her.
“You met me two years after my wife died.”
She swallowed.
“Yes.”
“But you'd already helped destroy my marriage.”
Her face twisted.
“It wasn't supposed to happen that way.”
The confession escaped before she could stop it.
Marco moved closer.
Luca's voice dropped.
“Then tell me how it was supposed to happen.”
Vanessa pressed both hands against her face.
“My father wanted control of your shipping company. Catherine was asking questions. Daniel was getting nervous.”
“What did you do?”
“I only wanted her to stop.”
“How?”
Vanessa looked toward me.
As though I were responsible for everything.
“She was going to expose us.”
Luca remained motionless.
“Did you threaten her?”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I told her to stay away from Elena.”
“And when she didn't?”
She shook her head.
“Ask my father.”
Luca stared.
“Did Richard order her killed?”
Vanessa whispered, “I don't know.”
Marco spoke quietly.
“We have enough for the police.”
Vanessa's expression changed instantly.
“The police?”
Luca looked at her.
“You expected something else?”
“You're Luca Moretti!”
“And?”
“Your family doesn't handle problems through lawyers and detectives.”
Something dark passed across his face.
I thought for a terrible second that she was right.
That the man standing before us would become everything people whispered about him.
Instead, Luca took out his phone.
“Detective Ramirez,” he said when the call connected. “You can come in now.”
Vanessa stared.
“You called the police?”
“Yes.”
“You'll destroy your own family.”
Luca looked at her.
“No. I'm finally going to stop protecting its secrets.”
Within minutes, Chicago detectives entered the mansion.
Vanessa was taken into custody for questioning in connection with threats, financial fraud, and possible obstruction of the reopened investigation into Catherine's death.
She resisted at first.
Then she saw Luca watching.
Something in her face softened.
“Did you ever love me?” she whispered.
He stared at her for a long time.
“I loved the woman you pretended to be.”
She began crying.
But he turned away.
After the detectives left, I stood beside the staircase, holding my aching wrist.
Luca approached.
“Are you hurt?”
“Just bruised.”
He looked furious.
“I should never have left you alone.”
“You couldn't have known she'd come back.”
“She threatened your mother.”
I nodded.
He took out his phone.
“Marco, I want two security officers sent to Margaret Collins's house until this is over.”
I stared at him.
“Mr. Moretti, you don't have to—”
“Yes, I do.”
He lowered his voice.
“You protected my mother when no one else would. I'm not leaving yours exposed.”
My eyes filled.
For eleven months, I'd struggled to pay for Margaret's home care.
I'd taken extra shifts.
Skipped meals.
Worked through headaches and exhaustion.
And now the most powerful man I'd ever met was arranging protection for her without expecting anything in return.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Luca looked away.
Then his phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“What do you mean, missing?”
He turned toward Marco.
“Get the cars.”
I stepped closer.
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“Elena Bellini.”
My heart raced.
“Did they find her?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Inside a rehabilitation center in Wisconsin.”
Relief swept through me.
Then I saw his face.
“What is it?”
Luca swallowed.
“She disappeared twenty minutes before the detectives arrived.”
I felt cold.
“Was someone helping her escape?”
“We don't know.”
He looked toward the dark windows.
“But the center received a telephone call earlier tonight.”
“From whom?”
May you like
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Someone claiming to be Catherine Moretti.”
