Chapter 10 - The Recording That Destroyed Richard Cross|
Richard Cross was arrested before sunrise.
Federal agents located him at a private aviation facility outside Rockford.
He had two passports.
Several encrypted storage devices.
And a briefcase containing documents connected to Moretti Shipping.
He'd planned to leave Illinois before investigators could question him.
But Vivienne's statement gave the authorities enough information to intervene.
The news reached Adrian while he was sitting beside Daniel at Willow Creek.
He listened to Marco's call.
Then quietly closed his eyes.
“Thank you.”
He ended the call.
Daniel looked up from the sketchbook resting on his lap.
“Addy?”
Adrian smiled.
“Yes, Danny?”
“Bad news?”
Adrian hesitated.
Then shook his head.
“Some good news.”
Daniel studied him.
“Are we going home?”
The question nearly broke Adrian.
He took his brother's hand.
“We're working on it.”
Daniel smiled.
“Good.”
Over the following weeks, investigators reviewed the records found in Richard's briefcase.
They discovered evidence of financial crimes, falsified medical documents, and payments made to facilities where Daniel had been kept.
But the most devastating evidence was an audio recording from the day of the accident.
Richard's voice was unmistakable.
He was speaking to Dr. Shaw.
“The boy knows too much.”
The doctor asked whether Daniel needed emergency treatment.
Richard answered:
“Keep him alive. Keep him quiet. And make sure nobody from the Moretti family gets near him until I decide what happens next.”
Adrian listened to the recording only once.
Then turned it off.
He didn't need to hear more.
For twenty-two years, Richard had pretended to be his family's friend.
He'd attended birthdays.
Funerals.
Business celebrations.
He'd comforted Adrian after Daniel's supposed death.
He'd placed flowers beside Isabella Moretti's coffin.
And all the while, he had known where Daniel was.
I found Adrian in the library that evening.
He stood beside the window.
His hands were clasped behind his back.
“Mr. Moretti?”
He turned.
“Sophie.”
“Mrs. Ellis asked whether you'd like dinner.”
He shook his head.
“Not hungry.”
I hesitated.
Then entered.
“Can I ask you something?”
He nodded.
“Of course.”
“Are you angry?”
A humorless smile crossed his face.
“More than I've ever been.”
I looked down.
He continued.
“I keep imagining every time Richard sat across from me.”
His voice tightened.
“Every time he asked how I was doing. Every time he told me Daniel would want me to move on.”
I swallowed.
“And now?”
He looked toward the dark garden.
“Now I know he was laughing at me.”
I shook my head gently.
“Maybe he was afraid you'd discover the truth.”
Adrian looked at me.
“He should have been.”
For a moment, I saw the man everyone feared.
The man whose name could silence a room.
Then his expression changed.
He looked toward Daniel's photograph.
“But I'm not going to make the same mistake my father made.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“My father tried to handle everything through private arrangements.”
He turned toward me.
“He thought he could protect his family by keeping secrets.”
I nodded.
“And Richard used that fear against him.”
Adrian took a breath.
“So we're going to do this properly.”
He looked toward the legal documents on his desk.
“Every record goes to the investigators. Every witness gets protection. Every decision about Daniel goes through the appropriate medical and legal processes.”
My expression softened.
“That's good.”
He gave a faint smile.
“Daniel deserves more than another powerful man deciding his future.”
I looked at him.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
Then I whispered, “He does.”
Adrian studied me.
“Sophie, I owe you an apology.”
I blinked.
“For what?”
“For letting Vivienne treat you like your job mattered more than your dignity.”
I looked down.
“She threatened to fire me.”
“I know.”
He paused.
“And I didn't notice.”
I thought about the engagement dinner.
Vivienne's red gown.
Margaret crying.
The untouched soup.
My hand trembling over the china plate.
“It wasn't just me,” I said quietly.
He nodded.
“Margaret too.”
I smiled sadly.
“She only wanted to see you.”
Adrian's eyes filled.
“I know.”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he said something unexpected.
“I'd like you to help us establish a fund for former household employees who need medical or educational assistance.”
I stared.
“Me?”
He nodded.
“You understand what those families go through.”
I swallowed.
“Mr. Moretti, I'm not qualified to run a foundation.”
“I know. We'd hire professionals to handle it. But I'd value your perspective.”
My eyes filled.
He continued.
“And I'd want you to apply formally for any position you were interested in.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
His expression softened.
“Because you deserve to earn something on your own terms, without feeling obligated to me.”
I couldn't speak.
Then his phone rang.
Daniel's physician.
Adrian answered.
He listened.
His face changed.
“What?”
A pause.
Then a smile slowly appeared.
“Really?”
He looked toward me.
His eyes filled.
“Thank you.”
He ended the call.
I stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Adrian laughed softly.
“Daniel's legal review is progressing. The authorities found no valid order giving Dr. Shaw the right to isolate him.”
My heart raced.
“And?”
“He's being offered an independent advocate and a new care plan.”
Adrian's voice broke.
“He may be able to choose where he lives.”
May you like
I began crying.
And for the first time since the engagement dinner, Adrian Moretti smiled like a man who could finally imagine his brother coming home.
