Chapter 12 - THE MAN WHO DESTROYED HER CAR|
Arthur Voss was smaller than I remembered.
Two years earlier, he had stood beside Matteo's expensive SUV wearing a leather jacket and an expression that made me uncomfortable.
Now he sat in a police interview room looking exhausted.
His hands shook around a paper cup of water.
Detective Shaw had informed him of his rights, and he had agreed to speak with investigators after consulting an attorney.
Luca and I watched part of the recorded interview from another room.
I didn't want to be there.
Every instinct told me to walk away.
But I needed to know what Isabella had endured.
And I needed to understand why Oliver had lost the mother who loved him so fiercely.
Arthur looked directly at the detective.
“I knew what they wanted.”
Shaw remained calm.
“Who hired you?”
“Matteo Moretti.”
“Who paid you?”
“A woman named Vivienne March.”
“Did you know what would happen if Isabella drove that car?”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
I felt my stomach turn.
Luca stood suddenly.
“I can't listen to this.”
He walked into the hallway.
I followed him.
He was leaning against the wall with both hands pressed over his face.
“Luca?”
He shook his head.
“I keep imagining her driving alone.”
“She must have been terrified.”
I stood beside him.
“She was afraid, but she was also trying to protect Oliver.”
He looked at me.
“Why didn't she call me?”
“Because she was afraid you'd kill Matteo.”
Luca closed his eyes.
“She knew me too well.”
I took a slow breath.
“Then prove you can be different.”
He looked toward the interview room.
“I want to hurt that man.”
“I know.”
“I want him to feel what Isabella felt.”
“I know.”
His voice broke.
“But Oliver needs his father.”
I nodded.
“More than he needs revenge.”
For a long moment, Luca stared at the floor.
Then he went back inside the observation room and sat down.
Arthur's interview continued.
He described how he had been paid to interfere with Isabella's vehicle and then conceal his involvement.
He had been promised that nobody would investigate the crash.
After Isabella's death, Matteo sent him additional money and ordered him to leave the city.
Arthur complied.
But when he heard about the teddy bear recording and Matteo's disappearance, he realized the people who had paid him might decide he was too dangerous to leave alive.
He contacted a lawyer, who arranged his surrender.
Detective Shaw asked whether he possessed supporting evidence.
Arthur nodded.
“I kept copies of the payments.”
“And a message from Matteo.”
He swallowed.
“I was afraid he'd come after me someday.”
The detective asked why he had waited so long to speak.
Arthur lowered his head.
“Because I'm a coward.”
Then he began crying.
“I heard she had a little boy.”
“I knew she had a family.”
“And I still took the money.”
I thought of Oliver lying awake at night, pressing a worn teddy bear against his cheek.
Arthur's tears didn't make me feel sorry for him.
They only reminded me of the countless moments Isabella had never been allowed to experience.
She would never walk Oliver to his first middle-school dance.
She would never cheer at his graduation.
She would never sit beside him when he fell in love.
A thousand ordinary joys had been stolen because three people valued money more than a human life.
Detective Shaw ended the interview after arranging for the evidence to be reviewed.
She later explained that Arthur's confession and the corroborating records had significantly strengthened the murder investigation.
Matteo was now the subject of a major manhunt.
Vivienne faced additional questioning.
And Bruno had begun cooperating with investigators after learning that the kidnapping charges could result in a lengthy prison sentence.
That evening, Luca received a call from his attorney.
I waited in the hallway while they spoke.
When he emerged, his expression was serious.
“Claire, I need to tell you something.”
I looked up.
“What happened?”
“The authorities found financial crimes in the Moretti accounts.”
“Crimes my company committed.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“Were you involved?”
Luca didn't look away.
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
For five years, I had known Luca was a dangerous man.
I had heard the rumors and seen the way powerful people became nervous around him.
But hearing him admit the truth made everything feel painfully real.
He continued quietly.
“I told myself there were things I had to do to protect this family.”
“I made decisions I knew were wrong.”
“And I called them necessary.”
I swallowed.
“What happens now?”
“My lawyer says I could face prosecution.”
“Even if I cooperate.”
I looked at him.
“Are you going to?”
“Yes.”
He gave a sad smile.
“I've spent my life making people afraid to tell me the truth.”
“It's time I learned what happens when I tell it myself.”
The next morning, Luca met with investigators and began providing records of his own illegal dealings.
He understood that doing so could cost him his fortune and his freedom.
But he signed the necessary documents anyway.
Later that afternoon, Oliver was brought to a secure house where Rosa and I would stay with him during the investigation.
Luca knelt beside his son before leaving.
“Buddy, Daddy has some things he needs to fix.”
Oliver looked worried.
“Are you going away?”
“Not tonight.”
Luca brushed the hair from his son's forehead.
“But things might change.”
Oliver clutched Mr. Buttons.
“Will you still be my daddy?”
Luca's face broke.
“Always.”
“Even if I can't be with you every day.”
Oliver wrapped his arms around his father's neck.
“Then I'll still love you every day.”
I turned away to hide my tears.
That night, after Oliver fell asleep, Luca received a message from Matteo.
There was no photograph.
No threat against Oliver.
Only six words.
ONE LAST MEETING, BROTHER TO BROTHER.
Below them was an address.
The Moretti mansion.
May you like
And a final instruction.
COME TO THE DINING ROOM WHERE THIS STARTED.
