Chapter 3 - The Brother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead|
Luca Moretti didn't speak for almost a full minute.
I could hear the ticking of the antique clock above the fireplace.
Margaret sat motionless.
Daniel looked as though he wanted to disappear.
Vanessa kept staring at the doorway.
Finally, Luca asked:
"What did you say?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"Matteo."
Luca's expression hardened.
"My brother is dead."
She shook her head.
"No."
I felt cold.
Everyone who worked at the Moretti estate knew the story.
Matteo Moretti had disappeared during a violent dispute involving the family's shipping interests seven years earlier.
The police never recovered his body.
Eventually, Luca held a memorial service.
He rarely spoke about his brother afterward.
But every Christmas, one place remained empty at the family table.
Luca took one step toward Vanessa.
"Don't use my brother's name to distract me."
"I'm not!"
"Then explain."
Vanessa began crying.
"He contacted me three months ago."
Luca's face drained of color.
"How?"
"By phone."
"From where?"
"I don't know."
"Vanessa."
"He said he knew about Oliver."
Daniel looked up sharply.
"What?"
Vanessa turned toward him.
"He knew everything."
Luca stared.
"What did he want?"
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
"He wanted me to cancel the engagement."
The room became completely still.
Luca looked toward the ring lying beside the little paper crown.
"Why?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"He wouldn't explain."
I watched Luca carefully.
For most of the evening, his anger had been controlled.
But now something else had entered his expression.
Pain.
Hope.
Fear.
The possibility that the brother he'd buried might still be alive.
"Did you hear his voice?" Luca asked.
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes."
"And you recognized it?"
"Yes."
Luca closed his eyes.
Then he asked:
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Vanessa's answer came almost inaudibly.
"Because he threatened me."
Luca opened his eyes.
"With what?"
"With telling everyone about Oliver."
Margaret looked down.
The elderly woman's hands were shaking again.
I stepped closer.
"Mrs. Ellis, would you like some water?"
She nodded.
"Please, sweetheart."
I brought her a glass.
When I returned, Luca was speaking to Daniel.
"Did you know Matteo contacted her?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Luca studied him.
For years, Daniel had been among the few people Luca trusted completely.
Now that trust was collapsing.
"How much else have you hidden from me?"
Daniel looked away.
Luca's expression changed.
"Daniel?"
He swallowed.
"There's something you should know about Matteo."
Vanessa immediately stood.
"No."
Daniel ignored her.
"Before he disappeared, your brother was investigating financial transfers inside Moretti Holdings."
Luca frowned.
"I know."
"He believed someone was stealing from the company."
"Yes."
Daniel looked directly at him.
"He was right."
Silence.
Then Luca asked:
"Who?"
Daniel hesitated.
I watched his fingers tremble.
Finally, he whispered:
"Vanessa's father."
Luca stared.
"Richard Bellini?"
Daniel nodded.
The room seemed to tilt.
Richard Bellini was a wealthy Chicago businessman whose partnership with Luca had helped finance several developments.
He had encouraged the engagement.
Hosted dinners.
Made speeches about joining two respected families.
And now Daniel was accusing him of financial crimes.
Luca looked toward Vanessa.
"Did you know?"
She shook her head.
"Not everything."
"What did you know?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"That my father needed your family's money."
Luca's eyes darkened.
"And you agreed to marry me?"
Tears spilled down her face.
"I loved you."
"Did you?"
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Luca looked away.
That silence told him enough.
Meanwhile, I was beginning to notice something disturbing.
Every time Daniel mentioned Matteo, Margaret's expression changed.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
I knelt beside her chair.
"Mrs. Ellis?"
She looked at me.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Do you know Luca's brother?"
Her fingers tightened around the paper crown.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
"I met him once."
My stomach tightened.
"When?"
"Three weeks ago."
I stared.
Margaret's eyes filled.
"He came to my house."
I glanced toward Luca.
"Mr. Moretti?"
He turned.
I stood.
"Mrs. Ellis has something to tell you."
Luca approached.
Margaret looked frightened.
He lowered his voice.
"Please. If you know anything about Matteo, I need to hear it."
The older woman swallowed.
"He came to see Oliver."
Luca froze.
"My brother?"
She nodded.
"He brought the boy a toy train."
"Why?"
Margaret looked toward Daniel.
Then back at Luca.
And whispered:
"Because he said he'd promised someone he'd look after him."
Luca stared.
"Who?"
Margaret shook her head.
"He wouldn't say."
Then she reached into her handbag.
She removed a folded photograph.
A man stood beside a small front porch.
Dark hair.
Broad shoulders.
A familiar Moretti face.
Luca took the photograph.
His hands began shaking.
"Matteo."
For the first time all evening, his voice broke.
Then he turned the photograph over.
Three words were written on the back.
Trust Natalie Brooks.
My heart stopped.
May you like
Because I had never met Matteo Moretti.
At least, not under that name.
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