Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Came Back to Confess|
Elizabeth Bellini returned to the mansion two days later.
Not in a silver evening gown.
Not wearing diamonds.
Not pretending to be Mrs. Lancaster.
She arrived in a simple gray coat with a leather handbag held tightly against her chest.
Marco escorted her into the library.
Luca was waiting beside the fireplace.
Rosa sat near the window.
And I stood behind her chair.
Elizabeth looked at us.
Then began crying.
“I'm sorry.”
Luca didn't move.
“For what?”
“For letting my daughter become someone I no longer recognize.”
Rosa reached toward her.
“Elizabeth, sit down.”
But Elizabeth shook her head.
“I don't deserve your kindness.”
Rosa's voice softened.
“Sit anyway.”
The older woman slowly lowered herself into a chair.
Then opened her handbag.
Inside was a thick folder.
She placed it on the table.
“These are copies of the documents Antonio gave me.”
Luca approached.
“Why didn't you bring them on the night of the dinner?”
Elizabeth lowered her eyes.
“Because Vanessa threatened me.”
My stomach tightened.
“With what?”
“She said she'd have my apartment taken away. And that she'd tell everyone I had helped steal the charity money.”
Luca frowned.
“Did you?”
“No.”
Elizabeth's voice shook.
“But I signed some papers years ago without reading them carefully. Daniel told me they were routine accounting authorizations.”
She covered her face.
“Later, I discovered they'd used my signature to approve transfers.”
Luca studied the folder.
“Why didn't you report it?”
“I was afraid.”
Her voice broke.
“And I was ashamed.”
Rosa reached for her hand.
“Elizabeth.”
The woman looked up.
“You helped Antonio when he was trying to understand what happened.”
Elizabeth began crying harder.
“I should have done more.”
Luca opened the folder.
Inside were bank statements, property records, and correspondence between Daniel Mercer and several shell companies.
He studied them for several minutes.
Then looked up.
“These accounts are still active.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“That's why Vanessa wanted the wedding to happen quickly.”
I frowned.
“What does the wedding have to do with the money?”
Luca turned toward me.
“She had arranged for me to sign a collection of legal documents after the ceremony.”
I remembered the thick wedding-planning folder Vanessa carried everywhere.
The guest lists.
The catering contracts.
The papers she kept asking Luca to review.
He continued.
“One document would have given Vanessa authority to represent certain family interests in a new property-management company.”
My stomach dropped.
“And the mansion?”
“The mansion was protected by Dad's trust. She couldn't simply transfer it.”
He looked toward Rosa.
“But if Mom signed a voluntary relocation agreement, Vanessa planned to argue the house was no longer needed as her residence.”
Rosa covered her mouth.
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Then she'd use the forged trust documents to challenge the property restrictions.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“Daniel believed he could make it look legitimate.”
I felt sick.
Vanessa had spent months telling Rosa she was becoming a burden.
Telling her Luca wanted privacy.
Telling her she would be happier somewhere else.
It hadn't simply been cruelty.
It had been part of a plan.
Luca turned toward Marco.
“I want every document preserved.”
Marco nodded.
“I've already contacted the forensic accounting team.”
Then Elizabeth spoke again.
“There's something else.”
Luca looked at her.
She swallowed.
“Vanessa didn't begin this because of the money.”
Rosa frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Elizabeth stared at the floor.
“My daughter believed Antonio had promised her a future in the Moretti family.”
Luca's expression changed.
“What?”
“She was young. Ambitious. She admired your father's wealth and influence.”
Elizabeth paused.
“Daniel encouraged her. He told her that if she helped him obtain certain documents, Antonio would reward her.”
I felt cold.
“But Antonio discovered what they were doing.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“He confronted Daniel. He told Vanessa to stay away from the family's private records.”
Luca looked toward his father's portrait.
“And she never forgave him.”
Elizabeth began crying.
“No.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“She told me the Morettis had humiliated her.”
I thought of Vanessa standing in the dining room.
Wearing an expensive red gown.
Humiliating Rosa for wanting to sit beside her own son.
The cruelty suddenly seemed even uglier.
Elizabeth continued.
“Years later, when she met Luca again through Daniel's business connections, she saw another chance.”
Luca stared at her.
“She knew who I was before we met.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“Yes.”
“And she pretended it was a coincidence.”
“Yes.”
For several seconds, Luca didn't speak.
Then he asked the question none of us wanted to hear.
“Did she ever love me?”
Elizabeth closed her eyes.
“I don't know.”
The silence was painful.
Finally, she whispered, “I think she loved what she imagined your life could give her.”
Luca looked away.
I saw something break in his expression.
Not anger.
Not humiliation.
Grief.
Because he had been preparing to marry someone who'd built their relationship on a lie.
Then Marco's phone rang.
He stepped into the hallway.
A moment later, he returned.
“Boss.”
Luca looked up.
“Daniel Mercer's been located.”
“Where?”
“At O'Hare. He was preparing to board a flight to Switzerland.”
Luca stood.
“And?”
Marco's expression hardened.
“Federal agents detained him after investigators reviewed the financial records.”
Relief swept through me.
But Marco wasn't finished.
“He's agreed to cooperate.”
Luca narrowed his eyes.
“With what investigation?”
Marco looked toward Rosa.
“The missing charity money.”
May you like
Then he added something that made Elizabeth begin trembling.
“And he says Vanessa was planning to move Rosa before the wedding, whether she agreed or not.”
