Chapter 10 - The Secret Beneath the Church Floor|
The church stood on a quiet street surrounded by old brick houses.
Its wooden doors were weathered.
The stained-glass windows glowed faintly in the afternoon sunlight.
And above the entrance hung a small stone cross.
I had never been there before.
But Luca recognized it immediately.
He stood beside me at the bottom of the steps.
"My sister loved this place."
His voice was quiet.
"She said it was the only church where she felt nobody cared about the Moretti name."
I looked toward him.
"Why?"
He smiled sadly.
"Because Father Thomas made her help stack chairs after Sunday services."
I laughed softly.
Luca looked at me.
For a moment, the tension left his face.
Then he took a breath.
"Let's go."
Father Thomas was a tall man in his seventies with silver hair and gentle blue eyes.
When Luca introduced us, the priest looked toward me.
"Rebecca Hayes?"
I froze.
"Yes?"
His expression changed.
"I wondered when you would come."
My heart stopped.
Luca turned sharply.
"You know Rebecca?"
Father Thomas smiled sadly.
"I know of her."
I stared at him.
"How?"
The priest gestured toward a small office.
"Come inside."
We sat across from him.
The room smelled of old books and candle wax.
A photograph of Isabella hung beside the window.
I noticed it immediately.
She was smiling.
Young.
Happy.
Holding a bouquet of white flowers.
Father Thomas followed my gaze.
"She was a remarkable woman."
Luca lowered his eyes.
"She was."
The priest looked toward me.
"Isabella spoke about you before she died."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
He nodded.
"She said Lily had become close to a young woman who understood what it meant to struggle for the people she loved."
I frowned.
"But I didn't meet Lily until ten months ago."
Father Thomas looked startled.
Then his expression changed.
"Forgive me. I may have confused the timing."
Luca leaned forward.
"What exactly did Isabella tell you?"
The priest hesitated.
"She asked me to keep certain documents safe. She also described the sort of person she hoped would someday help Lily."
I looked down.
For one strange moment, I'd imagined Isabella had somehow known me.
But of course she couldn't have.
She had died years before I entered the mansion.
Father Thomas continued.
"She was worried that the people handling her late husband's debts would interfere with Lily's inheritance."
Luca nodded.
"We found evidence of that."
The priest sighed.
"I was afraid you would."
He stood and approached a filing cabinet.
From a locked drawer, he removed a metal document case.
He placed it on the desk.
"Isabella gave me this shortly before her final hospitalization."
Luca stared.
"What is it?"
"A record of the agreements she discovered."
Father Thomas opened the case.
Inside were copies of financial documents, correspondence, and several photographs.
One photograph showed Antonio Moretti standing beside Michael Whitmore.
Another showed Michael with a man I didn't recognize.
The third showed Vanessa Bellini.
My stomach tightened.
Luca leaned closer.
"When was this taken?"
Father Thomas examined the date.
"Almost fifteen years ago."
Vanessa stood beside Michael.
Her hand rested on his arm.
They were smiling.
But the background caught my attention.
A building with a familiar sign.
BELLINI RESIDENTIAL HOLDINGS.
I pointed toward it.
"That's the company connected to the fake boarding-school charge."
Luca's face hardened.
"Daniel found it in the recent paperwork."
Father Thomas nodded.
"The name has existed in different forms for years."
Luca looked toward the priest.
"What did they do?"
Father Thomas took a slow breath.
"According to the records Isabella found, Michael's debts were used to draw him into a series of questionable investment arrangements."
He turned a page.
"Some involved educational facilities that never opened."
I felt sick.
"And now they're using Lily's education as an excuse to move money."
Luca nodded grimly.
"Exactly."
The priest continued.
"Isabella discovered that money intended for family trusts had been routed through those businesses."
Luca studied the documents.
Then looked up.
"Antonio."
Father Thomas didn't answer.
But his expression said enough.
Luca closed his eyes.
I watched the muscles in his jaw tighten.
For a moment, the frightening stories I'd heard about the Moretti family felt very close.
Then he took a breath.
"These go to the attorney."
Father Thomas nodded.
"That's what Isabella wanted."
Luca looked toward the photograph of his sister.
His voice broke.
"She should have told me."
The priest leaned forward.
"She was afraid you'd react before the evidence could be secured."
Luca lowered his eyes.
"I probably would have."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Father Thomas turned toward me.
"Rebecca, Isabella wrote something else."
I looked up.
"What?"
He opened a small envelope.
Inside was a folded page.
"She asked me to give this to the person who helped Lily feel safe enough to speak."
My throat tightened.
"But she didn't know me."
"No."
The priest smiled gently.
"But she believed that person would come."
I took the letter.
It contained only a few sentences.
To whoever is helping my daughter,
Thank you for seeing her before you see her hearing loss.
Thank you for making sure she is included.
And please remember that sometimes the smallest act of kindness changes a child's entire world.
I began crying.
Luca looked toward me.
His eyes were wet, too.
Then Father Thomas placed one final document on the desk.
A notarized statement from Isabella.
It identified the person she believed had pressured Michael most directly.
Not Antonio.
Not Richard Bellini.
But someone whose name made Luca stop breathing.
Vanessa Bellini.
May you like
And beneath her name, Isabella had written:
She told Michael that if he didn't cooperate, she would make sure Lily grew up without either parent.
