Chapter 9 - The Confession Behind the Glass|
Vanessa Bellini looked nothing like the woman who'd stood beside Luca at the engagement dinner.
Her hair was tied back.
Her face was pale.
The diamonds were gone.
She sat behind a glass partition in a federal interview room, wearing a plain gray sweater.
Luca had been advised not to attend her formal interrogation.
His attorney made that clear.
But Vanessa had insisted she would only give investigators certain information if Luca agreed to receive a statement from her.
So the authorities arranged for her attorney to deliver a recorded account.
Luca invited me to the study when he listened.
I hesitated.
“This is private.”
He shook his head.
“Not anymore.”
Marco connected the recording.
Vanessa appeared on the screen.
For several seconds, she stared at the camera.
Then she spoke.
“My father knew Sarah Moretti before Luca ever met me.”
Luca's expression hardened.
Vanessa continued.
“Richard had business arrangements with Antonio Moretti. After Antonio died, Daniel Mercer kept them going.”
She swallowed.
“Some of those arrangements involved stolen medical equipment and false shipping documents.”
I felt cold.
“Sarah discovered the records,” Vanessa said. “She confronted Daniel. He panicked.”
Luca leaned forward.
“Then what?”
The recording continued.
“My father told me to find out what Sarah knew.”
Vanessa looked down.
“So I approached her through a children's charity. I told her I was helping organize donations.”
My stomach tightened.
The charity.
The hospital.
The false connection.
Everything had begun long before Vanessa's engagement to Luca.
“She trusted me at first,” Vanessa whispered.
Her eyes filled.
“She was kind to me.”
Luca went still.
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“She invited me to the lake house once. Lily was there. Sarah gave me lemonade.”
A bitter laugh escaped her.
“She treated me like a friend.”
I stared at the screen.
Then Vanessa continued.
“I searched the house when Sarah wasn't looking. I was trying to find the documents.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“She caught me.”
Vanessa stopped.
For several seconds, she stared at the table.
Then whispered, “She told me to leave.”
My heart pounded.
“She said if I came near Lily again, she'd tell Luca everything.”
Vanessa's voice broke.
“I told my father.”
Silence.
“He was furious. Daniel said Sarah had copies of the shipping records. They were afraid she would go to the authorities.”
Luca's hands closed into fists.
Vanessa looked directly at the camera.
“I didn't know they were going to kill her.”
The room went completely silent.
I heard Luca draw a sharp breath.
Vanessa continued.
“I swear I didn't know what they planned.”
Luca whispered, “You knew enough.”
On the recording, Vanessa began crying.
“My father told me Sarah would be frightened into silence. He said nobody would be hurt.”
She lowered her head.
“But after the accident, Daniel called me. He said the problem was finished.”
I felt sick.
Vanessa looked up.
“I knew then.”
Luca stood abruptly.
He walked toward the window.
The recording continued.
“I wanted to go to the police. My father told me I'd be charged too. He said I had helped threaten Sarah, and nobody would believe I hadn't known.”
Vanessa wiped her face.
“So I stayed quiet.”
I watched Luca's reflection in the glass.
His expression was impossible to read.
Then Vanessa said something worse.
“Two years later, my father told me Luca Moretti was still unmarried.”
Luca turned.
Vanessa swallowed.
“He said if I could get close to him, marry him, and convince him to sign the new business agreement, nobody would ever discover the old records.”
The room fell silent.
“I didn't expect Luca to care about me,” she whispered.
She began crying again.
“But he did.”
Luca stared at the screen.
Vanessa continued.
“I thought maybe if I became his wife, everything could start over.”
She shook her head.
“But Sarah was everywhere.”
My stomach tightened.
“Her photographs. Her clothes. Her recipes. Lily looked like her. Every time that child smiled, I saw Sarah.”
Vanessa's expression changed.
“I couldn't stand it.”
I thought of Lily in the pantry.
The blue dress.
The flour on her cheeks.
The little crooked cake.
Vanessa looked down.
“I told myself removing Sarah's things would help Luca move on.”
Her voice became thin.
“But really, I wanted to erase the evidence that she had ever been there.”
The recording paused.
Then a detective asked a question from off camera.
“Did you know about the hidden memory card?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Yes.”
My breath caught.
“How?”
“Daniel found a reference to it in one of Sarah's old letters.”
The detective asked, “Why were you so concerned about the lemon cake?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Because I knew Sarah hid something in the cake pan at the lake house.”
She began crying.
“And when Lily found the recipe, I thought she might discover it.”
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Luca turned toward us.
His eyes were wet.
“She knew my wife.”
Marco nodded.
“She admitted it.”
“She watched Sarah die and then came into my home pretending to love me.”
I didn't answer.
Luca looked toward Sarah's photograph.
“She sat at my table. She held my daughter's hand. She told me she wanted a family.”
His voice cracked.
“And the entire time, she knew.”
I stepped closer.
“Luca.”
He shook his head.
“I don't know how to forgive myself.”
I wanted to tell him that he didn't have to carry every mistake forever.
But before I could speak, Marco's phone rang.
He listened.
Then looked toward Luca.
“Boss. The investigators found the mechanic.”
Luca went still.
“What mechanic?”
“The man who worked on Sarah's car before the accident.”
A terrible silence followed.
Marco continued.
“He's alive.”
May you like
Luca stared.
“And he's agreed to testify.”
