Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO REMEMBERED EVERYTHING|
Margaret Doyle placed her phone on the table and looked at Luca with tears in her eyes.
"Your mother carried that briefcase everywhere during the last year of her life."
Luca studied the photograph.
"Are you certain?"
"I cleaned it every Thursday for fifteen years."
"I know the scratch beside the brass clasp."
Frank leaned forward.
"Elena told me she had locked it away."
Margaret shook her head.
"She did."
"Then how did Voss get it?" I asked.
Margaret looked toward the hallway.
"Because Vanessa made me open Mrs. Elena's private storage room."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"When?"
"Three weeks ago, the morning Graham Hale arrived."
Margaret described how Vanessa had ordered her to inventory the belongings of Luca's late mother.
She claimed the family intended to donate some of the furniture and antiques to charity.
Margaret refused to release the briefcase because Elena had left explicit instructions that it remain untouched.
Vanessa became furious.
The following morning, the storage room was open, and the briefcase had disappeared.
"I should have told you immediately," Margaret said.
Luca shook his head.
"She's my wife."
"You had no reason to believe I would listen."
Frank looked at his son.
"That's exactly what she counted on."
Before Luca could respond, headlights swept across the garden windows.
Two vehicles approached through the service driveway.
Rafael Ortiz had arrived.
The tall former police officer entered through the kitchen with two trusted members of the security team.
His face changed when he saw Frank sitting beside me.
"Sir, we've got a serious problem."
Luca handed him the photograph.
"Find this man."
Rafael examined the screen.
"I already tried."
"His room is empty."
"There's no luggage, no computer, and no identification."
"But someone wiped the east-wing security recordings from the local system."
"Can they be recovered?" I asked.
"Possibly," Rafael replied.
"We've got backup records that aren't kept on the same equipment."
I remembered something.
"Mrs. Doyle, didn't you say Vanessa ordered a replacement camera installed outside the library?"
Margaret nodded.
"Last month."
"Then maybe she didn't know about the old one."
Luca turned to me.
"What old one?"
"Your mother had a small camera above the hallway clock."
"She asked the staff to keep it there after someone stole a necklace years ago."
Margaret's mouth opened.
"You're right."
Rafael immediately sent one of his officers to inspect the recording equipment.
Meanwhile, Luca called Evelyn Hart, the attorney who had represented his parents for more than twenty years.
I heard him explain the forged documents, the missing properties, and the attempted guardianship petition.
He spoke quietly until Evelyn asked about his mother.
Then his voice broke.
"Someone has her briefcase, Evelyn."
There was a long silence.
Finally, Luca ended the call.
"She's meeting us at her office."
Frank shook his head.
"I'm not leaving without the green book."
"Someone is trying to hurt you, Dad."
Frank stood with surprising determination.
"Then you should stop treating me like a helpless child."
Luca froze.
For an instant, I saw the stubbornness they shared.
"All right," he said.
"We get the book."
Rafael arranged for two officers to remain near the library while we returned through the central hallway.
The mansion looked almost peaceful.
Crystal chandeliers illuminated the marble floors.
Portraits of generations of Morettis watched from gilded frames.
But the beautiful rooms felt different now.
Every locked cabinet and dark doorway seemed to conceal another lie.
When we reached the library, the door stood open.
Vanessa had disappeared.
The brown leather chair had been overturned, and papers littered the carpet.
Luca walked directly to the bookshelf.
"Show me which one, Dad."
Frank pointed.
I climbed the ladder again.
My fingers found the green book with its broken corner.
It was heavier than I expected.
When I brought it down, Frank opened the back cover.
A section of the binding had been carefully hollowed out.
Inside lay a sealed envelope, a small silver key, and several folded legal documents.
Evelyn Hart's name appeared on the first page.
Frank pointed to three signatures.
"Mine."
"Elena's."
"And Evelyn's."
The documents established the trust holding the family's most important properties.
Any authorized sale required the approval of the designated trustees, including Frank and Evelyn.
Luca stared at them.
"Vanessa forged my signature, but she couldn't legally sell these properties without yours."
"Exactly," Frank replied.
He opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter written in Elena Moretti's elegant handwriting.
Luca held it carefully.
My dearest son, it began.
He read silently.
Then he lowered himself into his mother's old chair.
I watched the most feared man in Chicago wipe tears from his face.
Finally, he read the last passage aloud.
"Never confuse loyalty with obedience, Luca."
"The people who love you most may be the ones brave enough to tell you when you are wrong."
"Protect your father, protect the families whose homes depend on ours, and remember that power is worthless when it costs you your conscience."
Frank covered his face.
"She always knew how to say it better than I could."
Then Rafael's phone rang.
He listened for several seconds.
His expression became grim.
"Sir, we recovered a portion of the old hallway recordings."
Luca rose.
"Did you find Voss?"
Rafael nodded.
"But that's not what you need to see."
He turned the phone toward us.
The footage showed Vanessa entering Elena's storage room with Graham Hale.
A third person followed them.
A man wearing the uniform of Luca's own security team.
Luca recognized him immediately.
"Caleb Dunn?"
Rafael nodded.
"Your father's assigned security escort."
Frank stared at the screen.
Then he whispered, "Caleb knows every place I go."
Rafael's phone vibrated again.
This time, a message appeared from Evelyn Hart.
The mansion's transfer had been scheduled for nine the following morning.
But the escrow company had just issued an emergency notice.
May you like
Someone had already submitted another fraudulent deed for recording that night.
And the buyer listed on the document was Elias Voss.
