Chapter 14 - THE LAST SIGNATURE|
For three years, Luca Moretti had dreamed of finding the person responsible for his mother's death.
I knew that because Olivia told me.
She said that after Rosa's funeral, Luca had spent nights staring at old photographs.
He had blamed the weather.
He had blamed the road.
Sometimes, when grief became unbearable, he had blamed himself.
But now he knew there was someone else to blame.
Silas Voss.
And for the first time, Luca had a chance to confront him.
I was terrified he would take it.
When Mateo told him where Voss had been traced, Luca walked toward the window.
He stared out at the sleeping city.
Then he picked up his phone.
I held my breath.
But he did not call his men.
He called Maya.
"Tell the investigators where he is."
She answered immediately.
"They're already moving."
"Good."
Luca paused.
"And Maya?"
"Yes?"
"I want him arrested."
His voice became quiet.
"Not killed."
I looked at him.
He had spent years believing that power came from making other people fear him.
Tonight, he was discovering a different kind of strength.
The strength to let justice happen without turning himself into the monster his enemies expected.
Maya asked Luca to come to a secure federal office to provide additional information.
He looked toward Benjamin.
The little boy was awake now, sitting beside me on the couch.
"Daddy?"
Luca approached him.
"I need to speak to the investigators."
Benjamin's face tightened.
"Are you going away?"
"Just to their office."
"Can you stay?"
Luca crouched.
"I want to."
The boy's eyes filled with tears.
"But you have to go?"
"I need to help them finish this."
Benjamin looked toward me.
I squeezed his hand.
Luca continued.
"I'm going to tell you exactly where I'm going and who I'll be with."
"Will you call?"
"Yes."
"Will you come back?"
"I'll do everything I can to be back tonight."
Benjamin searched his father's face.
"You're not lying?"
Luca shook his head.
"No more lies, buddy."
He hugged him.
Then he turned toward me.
"Claire, will you stay with him?"
"Of course."
His eyes held mine.
"Thank you."
I wanted to tell him how frightened I was.
I wanted to ask him not to leave.
But this time, he was leaving for a different reason.
Not for business.
Not for money.
Not because he believed the people he loved would simply wait for him.
He was going to tell the truth.
And sometimes, telling the truth required courage from everyone.
Luca left with Mateo and the assigned security officers.
Olivia remained with Benjamin and me.
For the next two hours, we waited.
At one fifteen in the morning, Maya called.
"Silas Voss is in custody."
I covered my mouth.
Olivia stood.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
She began crying.
I felt my knees weaken.
Maya explained that investigators had located Voss near a storage area connected to the garage.
He had been attempting to recover documents from an old company archive.
The authorities had obtained the necessary warrants and secured the area.
Voss was arrested without anyone from the Moretti family confronting him.
Investigators recovered additional records connecting him to the falsified foundation accounts.
Those documents, combined with Anthony Greco's testimony and Vanessa's communications, strengthened the investigation into Rosa's death.
Olivia sank onto the couch.
"Mom."
She covered her face.
"Mom, they found him."
I knelt beside her.
For several minutes, she simply cried.
Three years of grief had finally been given somewhere to go.
Benjamin came into the room holding his stuffed bear.
"Aunt Olivia?"
She wiped her face.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Are you sad?"
She pulled him close.
"Some happy tears and some sad ones."
He looked confused.
"Can people have both?"
"All the time."
He hugged her.
Then he looked at me.
"Does that mean the bad man can't take me?"
I smiled through tears.
"He's been arrested, sweetheart."
Benjamin took a shaky breath.
"Good."
He climbed onto the couch.
Then he whispered, "I hope Grandma knows."
At three in the morning, Luca finally returned.
His face was pale.
His shirt was wrinkled.
But he was home.
Benjamin ran toward him.
"Daddy!"
Luca dropped to his knees.
His son crashed into his arms.
For a long time, neither said anything.
Then Benjamin pulled away.
"Did you catch him?"
"The investigators did."
"Is he going to jail?"
"He's been arrested, and the courts will decide what happens next."
Benjamin nodded solemnly.
"That's good."
Luca smiled faintly.
"Yes."
Later, after Benjamin fell asleep, Luca found me sitting alone in the kitchen.
"Claire?"
I looked up.
"Mr. Moretti."
He sat opposite me.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he placed a document on the table.
"What is that?"
"A statement I signed tonight."
I looked at the pages.
They described financial misconduct in businesses Luca had controlled.
Transactions he had allowed.
People he had protected.
Decisions he could no longer pretend were harmless.
I looked up.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Because I don't want you to think arresting Voss makes me innocent of everything I've done."
I swallowed.
"What's going to happen?"
"I don't know exactly."
He looked at the statement.
"There will be investigations."
"Could you go to prison?"
"Yes."
My heart tightened.
"And Benjamin?"
"Olivia and Maya are helping me make sure he's cared for, no matter what happens."
He paused.
"I'll never let him think he's been abandoned again."
I stared at him.
"The most powerful thing you've done this week wasn't finding Voss."
He looked at me.
"What was it?"
"Listening to your son."
His eyes filled with tears.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he reached across the table and gently took my hand.
"You saved him, Claire."
I shook my head.
"Benjamin saved himself by telling the truth."
"And you believed him."
His voice broke.
"When I wasn't there, you were."
I squeezed his hand.
"You can be there now."
Luca looked toward the bedroom where his son slept.
Then he nodded.
"I intend to be."
Before leaving the kitchen, he picked up the statement.
He turned to the final page.
Beneath his admission was a handwritten signature.
LUCA MORETTI.
I thought about the forged letter that had nearly taken Benjamin away.
That first signature had been used to steal a child.
This one would change the course of his father's life.
May you like
But it was genuine.
And for the first time, Luca Moretti was willing to accept whatever came after signing his own name.
