Chapter 5 - The Voice That Had Waited Fifteen Years|
When Luca returned to the blue room, he carried his mother's wooden box as carefully as if it contained something alive.
Margaret followed him, leaning heavily on my arm.
Daniel had already secured copies of the hallway footage.
Meanwhile, Luca's attorney, Ruth Alvarez, was on her way to the mansion.
But there was one thing Luca refused to postpone.
He wanted to hear his mother's voice.
"I haven't heard her speak in fifteen years," he whispered.
I noticed an old cassette player on the shelf beneath the piano.
It looked forgotten, but its power cord was still tucked behind the cabinet.
I carried it to the desk.
Daniel checked that the machine worked before inserting the fragile cassette.
Luca sat down.
Margaret held her handkerchief against her mouth.
I pressed the play button.
For several seconds, we heard nothing but faint static.
Then a woman's gentle voice filled the room.
"My name is Maria Moretti."
Luca closed his eyes.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"Mom."
The voice continued.
"Today is June seventeenth, two thousand eleven."
She paused, and I heard a chair moving.
"I hope nobody will ever need to hear this recording."
Margaret began crying softly.
Maria explained that she had discovered irregular payments involving the Saint Agnes Children's Foundation.
She had personally reviewed the records with an independent accountant.
Several charitable grants had been redirected through businesses connected to Victor Bellini.
When she confronted him, he threatened her.
"He told me that loyalty is more important than honesty."
Maria's voice grew stronger.
"But loyalty without honesty is only another word for fear."
Luca lowered his head.
I watched him struggle to control his emotions.
Then Maria said something unexpected.
"I once considered Victor a friend."
Margaret looked away.
"I trusted him with the money meant to help children whose parents could barely afford groceries."
The tape crackled.
"I was wrong to trust him."
Another pause followed.
Then Maria spoke directly to her son.
"Luca, if you're listening, I need you to understand something."
His hands tightened around the edge of the desk.
"Your father's world has taught you that every insult must be answered with force."
Her voice trembled.
"But if you ever want to honor me, don't destroy yourself trying to punish someone."
Luca covered his face.
"Find the truth."
Static interrupted her next words.
Then her voice returned.
"And protect Margaret."
The elderly widow broke into sobs.
"She has been a better sister to me than anyone could ever ask for."
Maria continued.
"If Victor learns how much she knows, he may try to silence her."
The recording ended with one final sentence.
"Please remember that the strongest man in the room is not always the one everyone fears."
The cassette clicked.
Silence filled the blue room.
Luca remained motionless.
I waited for him to speak.
Instead, he reached over and pressed the rewind button.
He listened to his mother's final message a second time.
When it ended, he looked at Margaret.
"She knew."
Margaret nodded.
"She was trying to protect everyone."
Luca stood.
"And nobody protected her."
I could hear the anger in his voice.
For a frightening moment, I thought he might order his men to hunt Victor down.
Instead, he walked toward the window.
He stared into the dark garden.
Then he quietly asked Daniel to secure the cassette until Ruth arrived.
It was the first time I had ever seen Luca choose patience when every instinct in him demanded revenge.
A knock interrupted us.
Elena Ramirez, the mansion's longtime cook, stood in the doorway.
She was holding a brown envelope.
"Mr. Moretti, I think you should have this."
Luca turned.
"What is it?"
Elena glanced nervously toward the hallway.
"Letters."
Margaret stood abruptly.
"Mine?"
Elena nodded.
"Mrs. Vanessa ordered me to burn them."
I stared at her.
"When?"
"Over the past six months."
Elena explained that Vanessa had received several envelopes addressed to Luca.
Each carried Margaret Whitmore's return address.
Rather than deliver them, Vanessa had placed them in the kitchen's disposal bin.
But Elena recognized Margaret's name.
She remembered Maria speaking warmly about her many years earlier.
So she rescued the letters and hid them.
"I was afraid I'd lose my job if I said anything."
Luca took the envelope.
"You won't lose your job."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
Luca opened the first letter.
Margaret had written that she was still living in Chicago and hoped to attend his wedding.
The second asked why he had not answered.
The third was more desperate.
Margaret had begged Luca to meet her privately because she feared someone was watching her apartment.
At the bottom, she had written another name.
Dr. Martin Cole.
Luca frowned.
"That was my mother's physician."
Margaret nodded.
"He came to the house the night Maria died."
Elena cleared her throat.
"There's something else."
We all turned toward her.
"Vanessa received a telephone call after the third letter arrived."
"What did she say?" Luca asked.
Elena hesitated.
"She said Margaret was becoming a problem."
My stomach tightened.
"Who was she talking to?"
"I don't know."
Elena swallowed.
"But she said Dr. Cole had kept something he was supposed to destroy."
Luca looked toward the cassette player.
Then he looked at Margaret.
"Is Martin Cole still alive?"
The elderly woman nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Where is he?"
"He's retired."
Margaret took a shaking breath.
"He lives outside Chicago."
Luca reached for his phone.
But before he could dial, Margaret caught his hand.
"Be careful, sweetheart."
"Why?"
"Because fifteen years ago, Martin Cole signed the medical report that allowed everyone to believe your mother's death was ordinary."
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Her voice became very quiet.
"And he has been afraid of Victor Bellini ever since."
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