Chapter 10 - The Confession Inside the Abandoned Warehouse|
The warehouse on Cermak Road stood between two abandoned factories.
Its brick walls were covered with faded graffiti.
Broken windows reflected the orange glow of the streetlights.
When our vehicle stopped outside, I wondered how many secrets Chicago had buried behind buildings like this.
Luca sat in the front passenger seat.
Detective Ruiz was driving.
Olivia and I sat together in the back.
Natalie had strongly advised Olivia not to attend.
But Olivia had refused to let another meeting about her future happen without her.
She had agreed to come only because Detective Ruiz would be present and additional officers were stationed nearby.
Nobody was carrying out a private negotiation.
Nobody was going to disappear into the darkness alone.
Luca turned around.
"Olivia, you don't have to do this."
She met his eyes.
Then she signed.
Neither do you.
He almost smiled.
"Fair point."
Inside the warehouse, a single hanging light illuminated a wooden table.
Dominic Moretti stood beside it.
He was forty-two, with dark hair, tired eyes, and a face that resembled Luca's father.
The gold lion ring glittered on his right hand.
When he saw Detective Ruiz, his expression changed.
"I said no police."
Luca stepped forward.
"And I said I wanted the truth."
Dominic glanced toward the exit.
Detective Ruiz remained calm.
"You're free to leave unless we tell you otherwise."
"But if you're offering information about financial crimes, you should consider speaking with your own attorney."
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"You think an attorney can save me from Richard Hayes?"
Luca looked at him.
"What did Richard do?"
Dominic stared at the floor.
Then he sank into a chair.
"He made me believe we were protecting the family."
Olivia crossed her arms.
Her expression was hard.
Dominic continued.
"After Uncle Antonio died, Richard convinced me that several family properties needed financial restructuring."
"He said temporary transfers would reduce our exposure while the estate was being settled."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"And you believed him?"
"At first."
Dominic rubbed his face.
"Then I discovered some of the money wasn't coming back."
"Richard had moved it through companies controlled by people I didn't know."
"By the time I understood what he was doing, my signature was on everything."
Luca moved closer.
"So you helped him cover it up."
Dominic looked away.
"Yes."
The single word echoed through the warehouse.
Olivia's hands moved.
You stole from me.
I translated.
Dominic looked at her.
"Olivia, I never wanted to hurt you."
She signed sharply.
But you did.
I translated without hesitation.
Dominic lowered his head.
"I know."
For several moments, the warehouse was completely silent.
Then Luca asked the question that had been haunting him.
"Where does Vanessa fit into this?"
Dominic swallowed.
"Victor Bellini learned about the missing money through one of Richard's business partners."
"He threatened to expose the fraud unless Richard helped transfer the foundation's most valuable properties."
"Vanessa became part of the plan after she started dating you."
I felt sick.
Their engagement hadn't simply created an opportunity.
Someone had turned their relationship into a financial weapon.
Dominic opened a battered briefcase.
Inside were printed messages, property records, and a proposed sale agreement.
He pushed them across the table.
"The Bellinis want the old lakefront theater and the surrounding land."
Olivia stepped forward.
Her face changed when she recognized the address.
It was the building she planned to turn into the Open Door Center.
"They want to sell it to a developer," Dominic explained.
"The sale would bring in enough money to cover the missing funds and pay Victor's partners."
Olivia stared at him.
Then she signed slowly.
That building belongs to my father's foundation.
Dominic nodded.
"That's why they needed control over the trust."
Luca looked at the contract.
The proposed purchase price was almost twenty million dollars.
The buyer was a development company connected to Victor Bellini.
The seller's authorization depended on documents identifying Vanessa as the foundation's appointed administrator.
"And the wedding?" Luca asked.
Dominic exhaled.
"Richard planned to finalize the forged paperwork over the weekend."
"Once Vanessa was your wife, he believed the family connection would make the documents easier to explain."
"The property transaction was scheduled to move forward on Tuesday."
My stomach tightened.
Tuesday was tomorrow.
Then Detective Ruiz asked Dominic about the threatening photographs.
He looked toward me.
His expression became miserable.
"I took some of them."
I felt Olivia's hand close around mine.
Dominic continued.
"Richard told me he needed proof that Claire and Olivia were meeting with outsiders."
"He said Claire was trying to manipulate the trust."
"Then he used the photographs to intimidate them."
"Did you send the threats?" the detective asked.
Dominic hesitated.
"Some of them."
A terrible silence followed.
I stepped forward.
"You threatened to make me disappear."
He couldn't meet my eyes.
"I was trying to scare you into staying quiet."
"You succeeded."
He looked up.
I felt tears gathering.
"But you didn't stop us."
Olivia stood beside me.
Her hands moved slowly.
You frightened the only person who listened when everyone else ignored me.
I translated.
Dominic began crying.
Not because we had forgiven him.
Because he finally understood that apologies wouldn't erase his choices.
Detective Ruiz asked whether he would provide the documents voluntarily.
Dominic agreed.
He also admitted that he had kept copies of several messages because he feared Richard would eventually blame him for everything.
Among them was an email instructing Marissa Vale to obtain Claire's employee identification details.
I felt my chest tighten.
"Why would they need my personal information?"
Dominic looked toward me.
"Richard wanted a second person he could blame if investigators started following the money."
Then he removed one final sheet from the briefcase.
It was a transaction summary.
Several payments had been made from a Westridge-linked account.
One payment was labeled as an interpreter consulting fee.
The recipient's name was familiar.
Claire Bennett.
I stared at the amount.
Seventy thousand dollars.
"I've never received that money."
Dominic looked at me with exhausted eyes.
"Then someone opened an account using your identity."
I stepped backward.
For the first time, I understood why they hadn't simply threatened me.
May you like
They had been building a financial crime around my name.
And if their scheme collapsed, they intended to make me look like the person who had profited from Olivia's betrayal.
