Chapter 4 - THE VOICE OF A DEAD MAN|
We didn't return to the Moretti mansion until nearly dawn.
Chicago was beginning to wake, but the city outside the car windows looked unfamiliar to me.
Every traffic light seemed too bright.
Every passing vehicle made me wonder whether someone was following us.
And every time I closed my eyes, I saw my grandfather's broken shop.
Luca sat beside me without speaking.
The little wooden wedding box rested on his knees.
He kept opening it to look at the pocket watch, then closing it again as though he couldn't bear the memories it carried.
At the mansion, Vanessa was waiting in the entrance hall.
She was still wearing her expensive wedding gown.
Her diamond necklace hung around her throat, sparkling beneath the enormous chandelier.
For one strange moment, she looked like a bride waiting for her husband after their reception.
Then I noticed the anger in her eyes.
"Where have you been?" she demanded.
Luca walked past her.
"Finding out what your father did to mine."
Vanessa followed us into the library.
"You cannot seriously believe those ridiculous accusations."
"I believe someone broke into Nathan Bennett's shop within hours of you learning what he'd left behind."
"That proves nothing."
"No," Luca replied.
"But it tells me somebody is afraid."
He turned toward me.
"Claire, take the cassette to the desk."
The Moretti library contained a collection of old recording equipment because Luca had inherited his father's love of music.
After searching several cabinets, we found a microcassette recorder that could play the tape.
I placed the tiny cassette inside.
My fingers were shaking so badly that I pressed the wrong button twice.
Luca stood beside the desk.
Vanessa remained near the doorway.
Neither of them spoke when I finally pushed play.
At first, we heard only static.
Then a man's voice emerged from the machine.
"Nathan, this is Frank Moretti."
Luca closed his eyes.
He hadn't heard his father's voice in twenty years.
I watched him grip the back of a chair as the recording continued.
"If you're listening to this, I didn't get the chance to explain everything in person."
"Angelo Bellini never forgave me for refusing to sell the restaurant."
"In 1986, he arranged for a fraudulent lien to be placed against the building."
"He thought the bank would take everything before I could fight it."
The voice paused.
I heard the faint sound of traffic in the background.
"I sold my father's watch to raise enough money to keep the restaurant operating while the attorneys sorted things out."
"But Angelo bought the debt through a company nobody connected to him."
"And Martin Vale helped prepare documents that made it look as though I had agreed to surrender the property."
Luca's face turned gray.
Vanessa whispered something I couldn't hear.
The recording continued.
"Twenty years later, they're trying again."
"This time, they've forged my signature on a transfer agreement."
"And if I die before I can take these papers to the authorities, Anthony Russo will be the easiest man to blame."
I covered my mouth.
Luca looked at me, his expression almost unbearable.
His father had known he was in danger.
He had known someone might kill him.
And he had tried to leave enough evidence behind to protect an innocent man.
"I've made copies," Frank continued.
"Nathan has the transaction records, and there's another set where Angelo won't think to look."
"The original restaurant is the only place I ever truly trusted."
"If you can get the papers to Luca, tell him something for me."
The recording crackled.
"Tell my boy that a man who frightens everyone isn't necessarily a strong man."
"Tell him the strongest thing he'll ever do is protect someone who cannot protect himself."
Luca lowered his head.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
I turned away, feeling as though I had accidentally entered the most private moment of his life.
Then Frank's voice returned.
"And Nathan, please forgive me for bringing trouble to your door."
"You gave my family's watch a safe place to rest."
"Now I'm asking you to keep the truth safe, too."
The tape ended.
For a long time, nobody moved.
Finally, Luca reached forward and stopped the machine.
"My father knew Martin was involved."
His voice was almost unrecognizable.
"He trusted that man for years."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"That recording could have been made by anyone."
Luca turned toward her.
"You were sixteen when my father died."
"So?"
"Your father was already trying to take our restaurant before you were born."
Vanessa looked away.
"I don't know anything about his business decisions."
"Then why did you ask someone to search Nathan's shop for a second box?" I asked.
She spun toward me.
"Excuse me?"
"Someone dropped a phone behind the shop."
"Your message was on the screen."
For the first time since the wedding, Vanessa seemed genuinely frightened.
"That's impossible."
Luca stepped forward.
"What second box, Vanessa?"
Before she could answer, the library doors opened.
Martin Vale entered without knocking.
He wore a dark gray suit and carried a leather briefcase.
His face looked tired, but his voice was perfectly calm.
"Luca, we need to discuss the documents your father left behind."
Luca stared at him.
"How did you know we found documents?"
Martin hesitated.
"I assumed you had."
"Nobody told you what was in the shop."
"I've represented this family for thirty years."
Luca took one slow step toward him.
"And apparently, you've been lying to us for twenty of them."
Martin's expression hardened.
"You should be very careful with accusations you cannot prove."
Then his eyes moved toward the metal box on the desk.
He didn't look surprised to see it.
Instead, he looked furious.
"Where's the original transfer agreement?" he demanded.
And suddenly, we understood something terrifying.
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Martin hadn't come to help us understand the evidence.
He had come to discover whether we had found the one document that could destroy him.
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