Chapter 7 - The Man Who Could Buy Everyone Except the Truth|
The drive back to Chicago was painfully quiet.
Margaret slept against the car window.
Ruth spent most of the journey reviewing Dr. Cole's documents.
Luca sat opposite me, staring at his mother's photograph.
I had never seen him look so lost.
For years, the Moretti name had been enough to make powerful people lower their voices.
But all that influence had failed to protect the one person he had loved most.
When we reached the mansion, Luca went directly to the garden.
I followed at a distance.
He stopped beside a white marble fountain.
His mother had commissioned it shortly before her death.
A small inscription beneath the water read:
Kindness is never wasted.
Luca stared at those words.
"She used to say that to me."
I stood beside him.
"She sounds like a remarkable woman."
"She was."
His voice grew rough.
"She hated what my father did for a living."
I said nothing.
Luca turned toward me.
"Do you know why I became the head of this family?"
I shook my head.
"Because after my father died, every man around me expected me to become worse than he was."
He looked toward the mansion.
"They called cruelty strength."
I remembered every frightening rumor I had heard about the Moretti organization.
"But your mother didn't believe that."
"No."
He took a slow breath.
"She believed a man could choose differently."
For several moments, we stood listening to the fountain.
Then Luca spoke again.
"I want Victor Bellini to suffer."
The words frightened me.
I didn't pretend otherwise.
"Would that make your mother proud?"
He looked at me sharply.
I held his gaze.
"I heard her recording."
His expression softened.
"She wanted you to find the truth."
"Victor deserves punishment."
"Then make sure the truth survives long enough to reach a courtroom."
Luca looked away.
I wondered whether I had gone too far.
He was my employer.
I was still a maid wearing the same simple dress I'd worn during the wedding dinner.
But after watching Margaret struggle for a chair, I couldn't pretend that powerful people were automatically right.
Finally, Luca nodded.
"You're right."
He sounded almost surprised.
"My mother would have said the same thing."
I felt an unexpected ache in my chest.
The man standing beside me was not the man I had imagined when I first accepted the job.
But I also knew one gentle conversation couldn't erase everything his reputation represented.
When we returned inside, Ruth was waiting in the library.
She had already contacted investigators about the foundation's financial records and the possible circumstances surrounding Maria's death.
She warned Luca that the process would take time.
An old medical file and a frightened witness were important, but they did not automatically establish exactly how Maria had died.
They needed corroboration.
They needed surviving records.
Most importantly, they needed people willing to testify truthfully.
Luca listened without interrupting.
Then he asked, "What about the money Victor is still controlling?"
Ruth opened her laptop.
"That's where things become urgent."
She explained that the Saint Agnes Children's Foundation had continued operating after Maria's death.
A portion of its charitable assets remained tied to the Moretti family's trust.
Over the years, Victor had increased his influence over several administrators.
Now he was attempting to consolidate control over substantial remaining funds.
"The documents Vanessa asked you to sign were presented as routine wedding-related financial arrangements."
Luca nodded grimly.
"But they weren't."
"No."
Ruth adjusted her glasses.
"They included language that could have supported a transfer of authority to a Bellini-controlled entity."
I stared at her.
"So Vanessa married him for the money?"
Ruth was careful.
"We cannot establish her entire motive from paperwork alone."
She looked at Luca.
"But the documents raise serious concerns about deception."
Luca picked up his wedding ring.
He turned it slowly between his fingers.
"I thought she loved me."
Nobody answered.
Then he laughed bitterly.
"My mother tried to protect children from Victor Bellini."
He placed the ring on the desk.
"And I nearly handed him her life's work."
Margaret entered the library a few minutes later.
She had changed into a soft blue cardigan.
Elena carried a tray of tea and biscuits behind her.
I helped Margaret into an armchair.
For the first time, she looked comfortable in the mansion.
But that peace lasted only a moment.
Daniel appeared in the doorway.
"Mr. Moretti, there's a problem."
Luca looked up.
"What happened?"
"Mrs. Vanessa has been speaking with members of the household staff."
I frowned.
"About what?"
Daniel hesitated.
"She's offering them money."
Ruth closed her laptop.
"For what purpose?"
"To say Margaret behaved strangely at the wedding."
My stomach dropped.
Daniel continued.
"She also wants someone to claim Margaret entered the mansion without permission and threatened the bride."
Margaret stared at him.
"I would never do that."
"I know, ma'am."
Daniel looked at Luca.
"Elena refused."
I felt a rush of pride.
So did Luca.
"Where's Vanessa now?"
"In the west sitting room."
Luca rose.
"Ask her to remain available for Ruth to speak with her."
Daniel nodded.
But before he left, his phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
"Sir, we have visitors."
"Who?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Victor Bellini and two of his attorneys."
Luca became very still.
Margaret gripped my hand.
"He's here."
From the entrance hall, a man's confident voice echoed through the mansion.
"Tell Luca his father-in-law has come to clear up this unfortunate misunderstanding."
Luca looked toward the door.
Then he turned to Ruth.
"Make sure every word he says is heard by someone who understands the law."
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And for the first time since the wedding, I saw something in Luca's expression that frightened me more than anger.
He was no longer going to be manipulated.
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