Chapter 7 - THE LIE THAT ALMOST STOLE A BROTHER'S LIFE|
The next morning, Luca asked everyone to meet in the library.
Simon Ward had spread financial statements, photographs, and legal documents across the long mahogany table.
Detective Brooks arrived shortly afterward with another investigator.
Nico insisted on attending.
Luca initially looked concerned, but his brother shook his head.
"These are my decisions they're talking about."
"I want to hear everything."
Luca pulled out a chair and sat beside him.
"Then you will."
Simon began with the property records.
Three weeks before Nico's accident, Vanessa had helped establish a business relationship between North Pier Acquisitions and several investors connected to her family.
Those investors had proposed purchasing Harbor Point Distribution Center far below its estimated market value.
When Luca rejected the proposal, the negotiations ended.
At least, that was what everyone had believed.
In reality, emails and draft agreements showed that the buyers continued preparing for a transfer.
Some documents anticipated Luca's approval.
Others included a space for an authorized representative to sign on Nico's behalf.
"Why would they need someone to represent me?" Nico asked.
Simon looked directly at him.
"Because they apparently expected you might not be able to exercise your voting rights."
A sickening silence followed.
Luca rose so abruptly that his chair struck the floor.
"They were preparing this before the crash?"
"That's what the dates indicate," Simon replied.
I watched Nico's face turn pale.
For nine months, he had blamed himself for what happened on that motorcycle.
He had replayed the ride in his mind, wondering whether he had been careless or moved too quickly.
Now he was learning that someone might have planned his injuries.
"Was I supposed to die?" he asked.
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Detective Brooks sat beside him.
"Nico, we're investigating whether someone deliberately caused your accident."
"We have evidence of tampering, but we still need to establish exactly who did what and why."
Nico nodded slowly.
I appreciated her careful answer.
After so many months of lies, he deserved facts rather than promises.
The detective continued.
"We've also reviewed the video you saved."
"The recording is consistent with what you described, but our specialists are still examining the original file and the camera system."
Luca leaned forward.
"Can you identify Marcus?"
"We have evidence placing him in the garage, and we're working to corroborate his actions."
"His disappearance is another matter we're investigating."
Nico stared at the screen displaying a still image from that terrible night.
Vanessa stood near the garage entrance.
Beside the motorcycle, Marcus bent over the rear wheel.
For a moment, Nico closed his eyes.
"I remember something else."
Everyone turned toward him.
"When I came downstairs that night, Vanessa said my brother would never approve the deal while I was involved."
He opened his eyes.
"Marcus told her I wouldn't be involved much longer."
Luca's hands curled into fists.
But Nico continued before his brother could speak.
"Then I heard Vanessa say she needed everything finished before the wedding."
Detective Brooks recorded his statement carefully.
She asked where he had been standing and how clearly he had heard the voices.
Nico answered every question.
When he became exhausted, she offered to stop.
He agreed to continue the next day.
That afternoon, Luca visited Nico's bedroom.
I was helping the young man organize his therapy notes when his brother entered carrying two cups of hot chocolate.
Nico smiled faintly.
"You remembered."
Luca handed him a cup with a wide, easy-to-hold handle.
"Extra marshmallows."
"Just like Dad used to make."
They sat quietly for a few minutes.
Then Luca spoke.
"I should have listened when you first told me something felt wrong."
Nico looked down.
"You were happy with Vanessa."
"I didn't want to ruin that."
Luca shook his head.
"You are more important than any marriage."
His voice broke.
"I spent so much time protecting this family from enemies that I stopped recognizing danger when it came from someone I loved."
Nico reached for his hand.
"I don't need you to be perfect, Luca."
"I just need my brother back."
I stepped quietly into the hallway, leaving them alone.
Their voices followed me as Luca began telling a childhood story about Nico stealing cookies from their father's office.
For a few minutes, the mansion sounded like a home again.
But that peace ended when I reached the kitchen.
Mrs. Delaney, the longtime housekeeper, was standing beside the counter with a newspaper in her shaking hands.
"Claire, you need to see this."
A large photograph filled the front page of the paper's entertainment section.
It showed me entering Vanessa's office three nights before the dinner.
The headline accused a household employee of stealing confidential documents from the Moretti family.
Beneath the photograph was a statement from Vanessa's representative.
According to the article, I had manipulated Nico into making accusations against his sister-in-law.
I stared at the page in disbelief.
Vanessa had turned the security footage of my cleaning duties into a public accusation.
And she had done something even more calculated.
The article quoted an anonymous source claiming I had received money from a rival business family.
My knees weakened.
I had spent five years protecting the privacy of the Moretti household.
Now my own reputation was being destroyed because I had tried to protect Nico.
Before I could recover, my phone began ringing.
Then it rang again.
Messages appeared from numbers I didn't recognize.
Some called me a liar.
Others demanded to know whether I had stolen from my employer.
Mrs. Delaney took my hand.
"Don't read those messages, sweetheart."
But one message appeared before I could turn off the screen.
It contained a photograph of my mother's apartment building.
May you like
Underneath were six words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT YOUR MOUTH SHUT.
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