Chapter 10 - THE UNCLE WHO SOLD HIS BROTHER|
Dominic Moretti arrived at the mansion wearing a charcoal-gray suit and a familiar smile.
At sixty-four, he had spent decades presenting himself as the family's most dependable adviser.
He had attended Luca's school graduations.
He had stood beside Rosa at Frank's funeral.
And every Christmas, he had brought expensive presents that made everyone forget how rarely he offered anything else.
Now I watched him enter the study where we had discovered Frank's letter.
He looked at the grandfather clock.
For the briefest moment, his smile disappeared.
"Good morning, Luca."
Luca stood behind his father's old desk.
"Sit down, Uncle Dominic."
Dominic glanced at me.
"Why is the maid here?"
"Claire is here because I asked her to stay."
Dominic laughed.
"Surely this is family business."
Luca didn't smile.
"It is."
He placed a folder on the desk.
"Which is why we're discussing what you did to my family."
Dominic slowly sat down.
"What is this?"
"The proposed transfer of my mother's voting authority."
"Ah."
Dominic relaxed.
"I thought we should deal with the situation while Rosa recovers."
"She's capable of making her own decisions."
"She's seventy-nine, Luca."
"And she's recovering from a very serious fall."
Luca leaned forward.
"That doesn't make her property."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Watch your tone."
"No."
The single word echoed through the room.
Dominic stared at him.
Luca opened the folder.
"This document claims my mother signed an amendment granting you temporary authority under the family trust."
"Correct."
"But my attorney says the signature doesn't match the original records."
Dominic shrugged.
"Your mother has arthritis."
"That explains why her handwriting looks different."
"Then explain why the notary listed on the document says she never witnessed it."
Dominic stopped smiling.
Luca continued.
"And explain why the amendment was submitted immediately after my mother fell."
Dominic looked toward the door.
"Who have you been talking to?"
"People who aren't afraid of Victor Bellini."
The older man went pale.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Dominic leaned back.
"Be careful, Luca."
"You don't understand the consequences of what you're doing."
"I understand more than you think."
Luca placed Frank's letter on the desk.
Dominic stared at the handwriting.
His face drained of color.
"Where did you get that?"
"From a place you searched nine years ago."
Dominic looked toward the grandfather clock again.
I saw the moment he understood.
"Rosa," he whispered.
Luca nodded.
"She kept it safe."
Dominic reached for the letter.
Luca moved it away.
"Don't touch it."
"That's my brother's handwriting."
"Then perhaps you should tell me why he was afraid of you."
Dominic stood abruptly.
"Frank was paranoid."
"He imagined enemies everywhere."
"He was preparing to expose you and Victor."
"Your father didn't understand how business worked."
Luca's voice remained calm.
"Did business require locking him inside a burning warehouse?"
Dominic froze.
The silence that followed seemed endless.
Finally, he said, "You have no idea what happened that night."
"Then tell me."
Dominic walked toward the fireplace.
For a moment, I thought he might attack Luca.
Instead, he stared at Frank's portrait hanging above the mantel.
"Your father wanted to destroy everything."
"He was going to expose the accounts."
"He didn't care what happened to the rest of us."
Luca took a slow breath.
"He cared about stopping something wrong."
Dominic turned.
"Easy for you to say now."
"You inherited the empire."
"You didn't build it."
"No," Luca replied.
"But apparently you were willing to kill the man who did."
Dominic's face twisted.
"I didn't start that fire."
The admission came so suddenly that my heart stopped.
Luca stepped closer.
"What did you do?"
Dominic looked trapped.
He glanced at Marco standing near the door.
Then at me.
Then back at Luca.
"I opened the gate."
"What gate?"
"The west service gate."
"Victor said he only wanted to frighten Frank."
Luca's expression became unreadable.
"And when the fire started?"
Dominic's voice shook.
"I heard Frank shouting."
"Did you help him?"
Dominic looked away.
"Answer me."
"No."
The word barely escaped his lips.
Luca staggered backward as though someone had struck him.
For nine years, he had called this man family.
For nine years, Dominic had eaten at Rosa's table.
And every day, he had known what happened to Frank.
"Why?" Luca whispered.
Dominic began crying.
"I was afraid."
Luca shook his head.
"No."
"You were greedy."
Dominic looked toward the door again.
A moment later, Marco's phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
Then he stepped beside Luca.
"Detective Ruiz is outside."
Dominic's face went white.
Luca had not arranged a private revenge.
He had asked his attorney to coordinate with investigators before the meeting.
The conversation, and any statements that could legally be used, would now be handled by authorities.
Dominic slowly sank into his chair.
For the first time, he seemed to understand that Luca would not save him.
As Ruiz entered, Dominic looked toward me.
"Claire, your father should have stayed out of it."
I felt anger rise inside my chest.
But I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me lose control.
"My father tried to save your brother."
I looked toward Frank's portrait.
"And you let them both die."
Dominic covered his face.
Then he said something none of us expected.
"Thomas didn't die in the warehouse."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"He got out."
My heart pounded.
"Then what happened?"
Dominic's voice became a whisper.
"Victor's men found him afterward."
Luca turned sharply.
"Where?"
Dominic looked toward Detective Ruiz.
"If I tell you, I want a lawyer."
Ruiz nodded.
"That's your right."
Dominic lowered his head.
But before anyone could escort him from the room, he looked at Luca one last time.
"You think Vanessa married you because Victor told her to?"
Luca stared back.
May you like
Dominic gave a bitter smile.
"She also married you because she believed you would never discover who signed the order that condemned Thomas Bennett."
