Chapter 3 - The Stranger Who Knew Too Much|
By nine o'clock that night, Rex was lying beneath warm blankets in a private examination room at Dr. Park's veterinary clinic.
His temperature had begun rising, but he remained dangerously weak.
An intravenous line delivered fluids while a technician monitored his breathing.
Luca stood beside the examination table with one hand resting on the dog's shoulder.
He hadn't said much during the drive.
Neither had I.
Sometimes silence is the only thing left when a person realizes how close he has come to losing someone he loves.
Dr. Park finally returned with the results of her initial examination.
"He's responding to treatment."
Luca turned immediately.
"That's good news?"
"It's encouraging, but he needs careful monitoring tonight."
"Can I stay?"
The doctor gave him a tired smile.
"I thought you might ask."
She arranged for us to remain in the adjoining waiting area, where we could see Rex through a glass partition.
Luca sat in a chair that looked far too small for him.
I sat opposite him, holding the ruined wool coat I had wrapped around Rex in the garden.
Mud covered the sleeves.
One button had torn away.
I had saved for three months to buy that coat.
It was the nicest thing I owned.
Yet when I looked at Rex, I knew I would have sacrificed it a thousand times.
Luca noticed me examining the damage.
"I'll replace it."
I shook my head.
"That's not necessary."
"Claire."
"Really, Mr. Moretti."
He leaned forward.
"You gave him the only warmth you had."
His voice softened.
"At least let me do that much."
I looked away before he could see my eyes filling.
For three years, I had known Luca as an employer who paid his staff well and expected unquestioning obedience.
I had rarely seen the man beneath the expensive suits and frightening reputation.
Tonight, that man was sitting in a veterinary clinic with mud on his trousers, worrying about his dog.
His phone rang.
Marco's name appeared on the screen.
Luca answered immediately.
"Tell me."
I watched his expression sharpen.
"Mercer checked into a hotel under an assumed name?"
He listened.
"And the box?"
Another silence followed.
"Don't approach him until we know who else is involved."
Luca ended the call.
I waited for him to speak.
Instead, he looked through the glass at Rex.
"My father loved that dog."
I nodded.
"I remember."
"Rex was barely six months old when Dad brought him home."
A faint smile touched Luca's face.
"He said a loyal dog was worth more than a room full of men who called themselves brothers."
I thought about the damaged chain.
"He wasn't wrong."
Luca looked at me.
"Did you know my father well?"
"Not really."
I hesitated.
"He was always kind to the staff, though."
Luca nodded slowly.
"Did he ever talk to you about Hawthorne Court?"
"No."
"What about Lucia Navarro?"
I shook my head.
"Neither name sounds familiar."
Luca leaned back.
"Hawthorne Court is a group of apartment buildings on Chicago's West Side."
I frowned.
"Does your family own them?"
"That's what I always believed."
He paused.
"But my father claimed they belonged to something bigger than our family."
"What do you mean?"
"He said the buildings were a promise he intended to keep."
Before I could ask another question, his phone rang again.
This time it was Vanessa.
Luca watched the screen for several seconds before answering.
"Where are you?"
Her voice was loud enough for me to hear.
"At home, obviously."
"Good."
"Luca, I've been calling you."
"I've been busy keeping Rex alive."
She sighed dramatically.
"I already apologized about the dog."
Luca's eyes hardened.
"You haven't apologized."
"I said I didn't realize the storm would get so bad."
"You chained him outside and locked every door."
There was a brief silence.
"Why are you listening to that maid instead of your own wife?"
I lowered my eyes.
Luca stood.
"Claire found him when everyone else ignored him."
"She's manipulating you."
"Careful, Vanessa."
"I'm serious."
Her voice became sharper.
"That girl has always wanted to make herself important in this house."
Luca looked directly at me.
For a moment, I wondered whether he believed her.
Then he spoke.
"The only person who made herself important tonight was the woman who opened my father's safe."
Vanessa stopped talking.
"Who gave Mercer permission to enter my office?"
"I already explained that."
"Then explain why he was photographed meeting your father."
Another silence.
When Vanessa finally spoke, her voice had changed.
"You don't understand the situation."
"Then help me understand it."
"I can't discuss this over the phone."
"Then we'll discuss it when I return."
Luca ended the call.
I stared at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Moretti."
He looked genuinely confused.
"For what?"
"Mrs. Moretti doesn't like me."
"That's her problem."
"I don't want to cause trouble between you."
Luca glanced toward Rex.
"You didn't cause this trouble."
His voice was firm.
"You found it."
Those words stayed with me long after the conversation ended.
Just before midnight, Marco arrived at the clinic carrying a thin folder.
He placed it on the table.
"Mercer's vehicle was photographed outside the Bellini family's downtown offices yesterday."
Luca opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of a dark sedan, a hotel registration, and a bank deposit receipt.
Marco pointed toward the receipt.
"Someone paid Mercer fifty thousand dollars three days ago."
"From where?"
"A company called Briarstone Development."
Luca frowned.
"I know that name."
Marco nodded.
"They've been trying to buy Hawthorne Court for years."
I felt a strange chill.
"The apartment buildings you mentioned?"
Luca looked at me.
"Yes."
Marco continued.
"The company made another offer last month."
"Who rejected it?"
"According to the public records, the ownership situation is disputed."
Luca's expression darkened.
"Disputed how?"
"A new document was filed claiming your father authorized the buildings' transfer before he died."
Luca slammed the folder shut.
"That's impossible."
Marco looked uncomfortable.
"There's more, boss."
He opened the folder again.
This time he showed Luca a copy of a signature page.
I couldn't understand most of the legal language.
But I could recognize the name printed beside the signature.
Luca Salvatore Moretti.
Luca stared at the document.
Then he shook his head.
"I signed something like this."
"When?"
"Three weeks after our wedding."
My heart began pounding.
"What was it?" I asked.
He looked at me.
"Vanessa said it was an administrative document for reorganizing some family investments."
Marco's expression became grim.
"Boss, that signature may have been used to support the transfer of Hawthorne Court."
Luca slowly rose from his chair.
For the first time, I saw fear replace anger in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
Fear of what he might have unknowingly allowed.
Then Marco's phone vibrated.
He read the message and looked up.
"Boss, our contact found out something about Julian Mercer."
"What?"
"Mercer isn't planning to sell the box."
"Then what is he doing?"
Marco swallowed.
"He's taking it to Adrian Voss."
Luca went completely still.
I had heard that name before.
Adrian Voss had been the Moretti family's attorney for almost twenty years.
He had handled Salvatore Moretti's estate.
He had attended Luca's wedding.
And just last week, I had personally served him coffee in the mansion's private office.
Luca stared at Marco.
"Voss told me that box disappeared before my father died."
Marco nodded.
"Apparently, he lied."
Through the glass, Rex suddenly lifted his head.
His ears twitched at the sound of Luca's voice.
Luca walked toward him, placed his palm against the glass, and whispered something I couldn't hear.
Then he turned back to us.
"Find Lucia Navarro."
Marco nodded.
"Immediately."
"And Marco?"
"Yes, boss?"
May you like
Luca's voice became cold.
"Find out how many people I trusted have been lying to my face."
