Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN IN RED HAD ONE LAST SECRET|
Vanessa Bellini had spent her entire life believing money could erase consequences.
When she was seventeen, her father paid to make a reckless-driving complaint disappear.
When she was twenty-four, he rescued her failing fashion business with money she never asked him to explain.
And when she turned thirty-two, he introduced her to Luca Moretti.
Richard had called it a perfect match.
Vanessa had called it destiny.
But now, sitting inside a Chicago police interview room, she was beginning to understand that her father had never cared whether she loved Luca.
He had cared about access.
Access to the Moretti estate.
Access to the family's financial records.
And access to Evelyn Moretti.
Detective Brooks entered carrying a folder.
“Miss Bellini, thank you for agreeing to another interview with your attorney present.”
Vanessa's lawyer nodded.
“My client wants to cooperate.”
Brooks sat across from her.
“Then let's begin with the pearl.”
Vanessa stared at the table.
“I took it.”
Her lawyer turned sharply.
“Vanessa—”
“I'm tired of lying.”
Brooks remained calm.
“Why did you take it?”
“My father told me Evelyn had hidden something in her necklace.”
“What did he say it contained?”
“A document that could destroy our family.”
“Did he tell you what the document was?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No. He said Evelyn was confused and dangerous.”
Brooks opened the folder.
“Did he also tell you to disable the upstairs security cameras?”
Vanessa began crying.
“Yes.”
“Did you push Evelyn Moretti?”
Vanessa covered her face.
“I grabbed her necklace. She tried to pull away.”
“Then what happened?”
“She lost her balance.”
“Did you strike her?”
“No!”
Vanessa looked up desperately.
“I never meant for her to fall.”
Brooks studied her.
“Did you call for medical assistance?”
Vanessa went silent.
“Miss Bellini?”
“No.”
“Instead, you accused Sarah Collins of exaggerating Mrs. Moretti's injuries.”
Vanessa's shoulders collapsed.
“I was scared.”
Brooks leaned forward.
“Mrs. Moretti is eighty-three years old. She was bleeding on the floor.”
“I know.”
“And you were more concerned about your engagement party.”
Vanessa began sobbing.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Brooks placed Michael Collins's photograph on the table.
“Do you recognize this man?”
Vanessa glanced at it.
Her expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“Do you recognize him?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Michael Collins.”
Brooks waited.
“My father talked about him.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“What did he say?”
Vanessa twisted her fingers together.
“He said Michael was a troublemaker who nearly ruined an important business arrangement.”
“Did he say how Michael died?”
Vanessa shook her head.
But her eyes betrayed her.
Brooks noticed.
“Vanessa, what aren't you telling me?”
Vanessa looked toward her attorney.
He quietly advised her to tell the truth.
She took a trembling breath.
“Three months ago, I found a locked drawer in my father's office.”
“What was inside?”
“Old photographs. Insurance papers. And a folder labeled Collins.”
Brooks felt her pulse quicken.
“Did you read it?”
“Some of it.”
“What did you find?”
Vanessa's voice dropped.
“A payment receipt.”
“To whom?”
“Victor Hale.”
“For what purpose?”
Vanessa began crying harder.
“The description said equipment correction.”
Brooks leaned back.
“Did you keep a copy?”
Vanessa nodded.
“My father caught me looking through the folder. I was afraid he'd destroy everything, so I photographed the pages.”
“Where are those photographs?”
“On a backup account.”
The detective's expression remained controlled.
“Are you willing to provide them?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
Vanessa looked toward the mirrored glass.
“Because I thought my father was protecting me.”
Her voice broke.
“But when I called him last night, he told me I should've made sure Evelyn couldn't speak.”
The room became silent.
Brooks carefully asked her to repeat the statement.
Vanessa did.
Then she added something even more disturbing.
“My father said there was another witness.”
“Who?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“He wouldn't tell me.”
“Did he say where the witness was?”
“No.”
“Anything else?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“He said the witness had been living right under Luca's roof.”
At the Moretti mansion, Luca was meeting with independent forensic accountant Olivia Grant.
The preliminary review showed that nearly four million dollars had been diverted from the scholarship and medical funds over six years.
But Olivia had discovered something strange.
“The money wasn't simply stolen,” she explained.
Luca frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Some of it was used to purchase property through shell companies.”
“Whose companies?”
“That's what we're tracing.”
Olivia placed a document on his desk.
“One property is especially interesting.”
Luca looked down.
It was a modest apartment building on Chicago's West Side.
The registered owner was a company called Northstar Holdings.
He recognized the address.
His father had once kept a private office there.
“Why would Richard buy that building?” Luca asked.
Olivia looked uncomfortable.
“He didn't.”
She turned the document around.
“The beneficial owner appears to be Evelyn Moretti.”
Luca stared at the page.
“My mother?”
Olivia nodded.
“And according to the records, she's been receiving monthly payments from the same account that funded the scholarship theft.”
Luca's face hardened.
“Someone is framing her.”
“Possibly,” Olivia said. “But we need evidence.”
His phone rang.
Detective Brooks was calling.
“Mr. Moretti, Vanessa has provided us with information about a second witness.”
Luca looked toward the photograph of his father on the wall.
“Who is it?”
“We don't know yet.”
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Then Brooks added:
“BUT WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE YOUR MOTHER HAS BEEN HIDING SOMEONE FOR YEARS.”
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