Chapter 9 - The Garden Where Catherine Hid Her Truth
The next morning, I went to the garden before sunrise.
I hadn't intended to disobey Luca's instructions.
But after everything that had happened, I couldn't stop thinking about Catherine's photograph.
Blue flowers remember.
I carried a flashlight and a small gardening shovel.
The October wind bit through my cardigan.
Behind the mansion, rows of rosebushes bordered a stone pathway.
Beyond them stood Catherine's old hydrangea garden.
Most of the flowers had dried.
But one bush still held clusters of faded blue petals.
I knelt beside it.
The soil was damp.
I wasn't sure what I expected to find.
A metal box?
A buried letter?
Perhaps nothing.
I pushed the shovel into the ground.
After ten minutes, I discovered a flat stone partially hidden beneath the roots.
There was something scratched into its underside.
Three initials.
C. M. E.
Catherine Moretti.
Elena Bellini.
And perhaps another name.
My pulse quickened.
I lifted the stone.
Beneath it sat a small waterproof container.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside were a flash drive and a folded note.
The handwriting matched Catherine's letter.
If I can't protect Elena, maybe the truth can.
I stared at the words.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
“Hannah.”
I spun around.
Luca stood on the path.
He wore dark jeans and a black coat.
For a moment, he looked more tired than dangerous.
“What are you doing out here?”
I held up the container.
“Finding what Catherine wanted someone to remember.”
He stared.
Then rushed toward me.
I handed him the note.
He read it twice.
His eyes filled.
“She always loved this garden.”
I looked down.
“I thought the photograph might be a clue.”
He opened the container and examined the flash drive.
“We need to get this to the forensic team.”
I nodded.
Then something unexpected happened.
Luca crouched beside me.
“Your hands are freezing.”
Before I could answer, he removed his coat and placed it around my shoulders.
“Come inside.”
I looked at him.
“What about the evidence?”
He slipped the container into his pocket.
“We have it.”
He offered his hand.
I took it.
And for one brief moment, as he helped me stand, the world felt strangely quiet.
Inside, Marco brought the flash drive to a secure computer.
The first files were photographs of shipping manifests.
Then bank transactions.
Then copies of correspondence between Richard Bellini and Daniel Mercer.
But the final folder contained video recordings.
Luca clicked the first one.
Catherine appeared on the screen.
My breath caught.
She sat inside what looked like a hospital waiting room.
Her hair was pulled back.
She looked frightened.
But determined.
“If you're watching this,” she began, “then something has gone terribly wrong.”
Luca leaned forward.
His face was pale.
Catherine continued.
“My name is Catherine Moretti. I have evidence that Richard Bellini and Daniel Mercer have been using Moretti Holdings to move stolen medical supplies and launder money through shell companies.”
She held up several documents.
“Elena Bellini worked in the accounting department. She's Richard's niece, and she tried to report what she discovered.”
I turned toward Luca.
“His niece.”
He nodded slowly.
Catherine looked directly into the camera.
“But Elena isn't safe. Richard has threatened her, and her cousin Vanessa has been helping him.”
My stomach dropped.
Vanessa and Elena were cousins.
Not sisters.
No wonder Vanessa had denied knowing her.
Catherine continued.
“I've contacted an attorney. If something happens to me, these records must go to federal investigators.”
She hesitated.
Then her expression softened.
“And Luca, if you're watching this, I need you to know something.”
Luca stopped breathing.
“I love you.”
His eyes closed.
“I never wanted to leave you. I only said those things because someone threatened Noah. I thought pushing you away might keep you both safe.”
A tear slid down Luca's cheek.
Catherine continued.
“I know you'll be angry. But please don't let anger make you forget who you are.”
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Luca covered his face.
I quietly stepped away.
But he reached for my hand.
“Stay.”
So I did.
We watched the remaining recordings together.
One showed Elena describing how she'd discovered the financial fraud.
Another contained photographs of altered shipping documents.
But the final video was different.
Elena appeared alone.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
She looked straight into the camera.
“Catherine, if anything happens to me, don't trust the woman who calls herself Vanessa Bellini.”
I frowned.
Luca straightened.
Elena continued.
“Because Vanessa Bellini isn't her real name.”
The room fell silent.
Luca whispered, “What?”
On the screen, Elena began crying.
“Her real name is Victoria Bellini.”
My blood turned cold.
Victoria.
The name Teresa remembered from the hospital.
The woman dressed as a nurse.
May you like
Elena looked into the camera one final time.
“And if she gets close to Luca Moretti, she'll finish what her father started.”
