Chapter 3 - THE MECHANIC'S CONFESSION
|
The accusation hung in the opulent air like a freshly sharpened guillotine blade.
Vanessa gasped for breath as if the oxygen had been sucked completely out of the dining hall.
"That is an outrageous, slanderous lie!" Vanessa shrieked, her voice bouncing shrilly off the gilded ceiling.
"I didn't even know your family eighteen years ago!"
"I was barely out of boarding school in Switzerland!"
Olivia reached back into her faded canvas tote bag with deliberate, agonizing slowness.
She withdrew a weathered plastic sleeve containing a folded, oil-stained document.
"The mechanic’s name was Arthur Vance," Olivia said, her voice growing firmer with every heartbeat.
"He worked out of a small auto body shop on the South Side of Chicago."
"Two months ago, Arthur died of lung cancer at Cook County Hospital."
"Before he took his final breath, a priest heard his confession."
"Arthur couldn't bear to meet his Maker with the blood of Donna Isabella Moretti on his soul."
Luca stood up, towering over the table like a vengeful storm cloud.
He took the plastic sleeve from Olivia and held the document beneath the glare of the chandelier.
My eyes caught the faint, faded ink of an old automotive invoice dated December twenty-fourth, eighteen years ago.
"Arthur was paid fifty thousand dollars in cash," Olivia continued, looking straight into Vanessa's panicked eyes.
"And he was given an heirloom piece of jewelry as a down payment."
"It was a platinum signet ring engraved with the crest of the Russo family."
A murmur of shock erupted among the senior capos seated along the left flank of the banquet table.
The Russo family had been the Moretti family's bloodiest rivals during the violent territory wars of the early two thousands.
Everyone in Chicago knew the Russos had supposedly been wiped out over a decade ago.
Luca's breathing turned heavy, his broad chest rising and falling beneath his tailored tuxedo.
"Vanessa's maiden name was Miller on our marriage certificate," Luca said, his voice low and dangerous.
"Her father was registered as an investment banker from Philadelphia."
Olivia shook her head, a bitter smile touching her cracked lips.
"Her father was Carmine Russo, Luca."
"She changed her surname through a corrupt judge in Nevada right after her father was put in the ground."
"She spent five years erasing her digital footprint before she engineered that chance meeting with you in Miami."
Vanessa began shaking her head violently, her manicured fingers clawing at the collar of her dress.
"Don't listen to this destitute lunatic, Luca!"
"She bought those forged papers off the street to blackmail us!"
Luca lowered the paper and stared at Vanessa with eyes as cold as black marble.
"Arthur Vance’s handwriting was very distinct," Luca noted, his tone eerily level.
"He used to inspect my father's vintage Cadillac fleet when I was just a boy."
"I would recognize his crooked cursive anywhere in this world."
Luca looked down at the bottom of the invoice where a faded serial number was scrawled.
"And Arthur wrote down the pawn shop ticket number for the platinum ring."
Luca turned his dark, brooding gaze directly toward his wife's trembling throat.
May you like
"Vanessa," Luca commanded softly.
"Take off that pendant you never let anyone touch."
