Chapter 7 - The Betrayal Behind the Front Door|
Vanessa left the mansion shortly after noon.
She took three suitcases, two jewelry boxes, and enough designer clothing to fill the back of a luxury SUV.
She didn't say goodbye to Sophia.
She didn't apologize for the dress.
And she never once looked at me.
Before getting into the vehicle, she turned toward Luca.
"You'll regret humiliating me."
Luca stood on the front steps.
"Stay away from Sophia while our attorneys arrange matters."
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"You think you can keep her from me forever?"
"She's my daughter."
"She's also the heir to everything Isabella left behind."
The words escaped before Vanessa could stop them.
Luca's expression changed.
Vanessa quickly looked away.
Then she climbed into the SUV and slammed the door.
I watched it disappear through the iron gates.
For the first time in months, I could breathe.
But Luca didn't look relieved.
He looked toward Vincent, who was standing beside the security office.
"Come to my study in ten minutes."
Vincent nodded.
"Of course, boss."
Luca waited until he disappeared.
Then he turned to Marco.
"Get Daniel Price on the phone."
I followed them into the study.
Daniel had already reviewed the suspicious foundation payments and Vanessa's proposed trust agreement.
He was preparing to contact the authorities.
But before Luca could speak, Daniel gave him another warning.
"Someone accessed Isabella's old trust records yesterday."
Luca stiffened.
"Who?"
"The request came through a private legal account associated with Vanessa's attorney."
"Could she change anything?"
"Not without authorization."
Daniel paused.
"But she was clearly trying to identify what assets Sophia could eventually control."
Luca looked at me.
"That's why Vanessa wanted the adoption."
I remembered Sophia standing in the laundry room clutching her ruined dress.
Vanessa hadn't been trying to become a mother.
She had been trying to become powerful.
Daniel continued.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Vincent's initials appear on at least twelve payment approvals."
Luca stared at the phone.
"Are the signatures authentic?"
"We need verification."
"Then we verify them."
Daniel's voice grew serious.
"Luca, I strongly recommend you stop investigating this through your own people."
"Why?"
"Because somebody inside your organization may have helped cover up a death."
The words seemed to settle over the entire room.
Luca leaned against his desk.
"I'll have Marco arrange a meeting with Detective Brooks."
I recognized the name.
Maya Brooks had been one of the Chicago detectives assigned to Isabella's accident.
She had asked questions that Vincent considered unnecessary.
He had repeatedly complained that she was harassing the family.
Eventually, she had been removed from the case.
At the time, Luca had believed Vincent.
Now he wanted to know why.
When Vincent entered the study, Luca was sitting behind his desk with a closed folder in front of him.
I remained near the doorway.
"Vincent, someone accessed Isabella's foundation records."
Vincent frowned.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
"Could be Bellini."
"Possibly."
Luca opened the folder.
"Daniel also found a reference to a storage locker on Ogden Avenue."
Vincent's eyes flickered.
"A storage locker?"
"Isabella may have kept additional records there."
"Do you have the address?"
"Not yet."
Luca closed the folder.
"Marco is looking into it."
Vincent nodded.
"I can send some men."
"That won't be necessary."
For a moment, Vincent appeared irritated.
Then he smiled.
"Whatever you say, boss."
He left the study.
I waited until his footsteps disappeared.
"There isn't really a storage locker, is there?"
Luca shook his head.
"No."
"What are you doing?"
"Finding out who he calls."
Marco was positioned outside the mansion with another trusted driver.
Within twenty minutes, Vincent left in his dark sedan.
Marco followed at a safe distance.
Luca's phone rang shortly afterward.
He answered without speaking.
Marco's voice came through.
"He's at the Bellini Security offices."
Luca closed his eyes.
"Are you certain?"
"I watched him walk through the main entrance."
"Has he left?"
"Not yet."
Luca ended the call.
I looked at him.
"That doesn't prove he's involved."
"No."
He stood.
"But it proves he has questions to answer."
An hour later, Marco returned with photographs of Vincent entering the offices.
Daniel advised Luca to preserve everything and let investigators obtain the relevant records lawfully.
Luca agreed.
That decision surprised me.
The Luca Moretti I had known years earlier might have handled betrayal in a much darker way.
Now he seemed determined to avoid becoming the kind of man his daughter would fear.
That evening, I found him standing outside Sophia's bedroom.
Through the open door, we could hear her humming while arranging her stuffed animals.
Luca spoke quietly.
"Vincent was there the day Isabella died."
I looked at him.
"At the accident scene?"
"He arrived before I did."
"How?"
"He said one of our security teams had notified him."
Luca swallowed.
"He also told me Isabella's phone had been destroyed."
I stared at him.
"Was it?"
"I never saw it."
He looked toward his daughter.
"Vincent handled everything."
Before I could respond, Luca's phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Isabella standing beside her car.
The date was four days before her death.
Behind her, clearly visible in the reflection of a nearby window, stood Vincent DeLuca.
Beside him was Vanessa's older brother.
Adrian Bellini.
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Underneath the photograph was a message.
"Ask Vincent who ordered the work on Isabella's car."
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