Chapter 8 - THE RECORDS SHE WANTED DESTROYED|
The storage cabinet was in a small workshop behind the Moretti family's original automotive business.
It wasn't impressive.
The ceiling leaked when it rained heavily.
Old tires were stacked beside the entrance.
A faded sign still carried the name MORETTI & HAYES RESTORATION.
But when Luca saw it, he smiled for the first time that morning.
"Daniel painted that sign himself."
Grace touched the peeling letters.
"He was proud of it."
We'd arrived together after Grace told Luca about Vanessa's visit.
Luca had been furious when he learned about the twenty-five-thousand-dollar offer.
But Elena had insisted that he avoid confronting Vanessa until they had reviewed the records.
Grace had also reported the visit and its proposed agreement to Elena.
She wanted every conversation documented before someone tried to change the story again.
The workshop smelled of machine oil, sawdust, and old cardboard.
Ethan stayed with Teresa at the mansion while we examined the files.
Luca had promised not to involve him in adult financial disputes.
I was relieved.
He'd already carried far too much.
Grace unlocked the cabinet with a small brass key Daniel had kept on his ring.
Inside were several labeled folders, maintenance manuals, invoices, and photographs.
The newest paperwork was nearly three years old.
Much of it concerned ordinary repairs and equipment purchases.
But one folder contained the original documents relating to the old restoration business.
Luca examined them carefully.
"Daniel and I opened this place before I took over the family restaurant."
Grace nodded.
"He always said you were the one who understood customers."
Luca smiled faintly.
"And he was the one who understood everything else."
Then he became serious.
"Those documents aren't evidence that Daniel did anything wrong."
He pointed to an agreement.
"They show that we both invested in the business and later agreed on how it would be closed."
Grace exhaled.
"Then why would Vanessa threaten to expose them?"
"That's what I intend to find out."
Elena arrived with Mara shortly afterward.
They reviewed the records with Grace's permission.
After nearly an hour, Mara found something interesting.
It was a copy of an old vendor-reference sheet.
The sheet listed account identifiers associated with the restoration business.
One included Daniel's surname.
Mara studied the number.
"I recognize this reference."
Luca looked up.
"From where?"
"The wedding invoice."
She opened her laptop and displayed the document we'd examined days earlier.
The same reference appeared in a supporting field.
Elena leaned forward.
"Could someone have used the old business identifier to make an event expense look legitimate?"
Mara nodded cautiously.
"Possibly."
"The old account shouldn't have been used for current wedding expenses."
Grace looked alarmed.
"Does that mean someone stole money from Daniel?"
"Not necessarily," Elena replied.
"We need to trace the payment source before drawing conclusions."
She looked toward Luca.
"But it does give us a reason to examine who submitted the invoice and why."
That afternoon, we returned to the restaurant.
The office manager provided access to the business's document logs and security recordings at Luca's request.
The footage had no sound.
It showed only the corridor leading to the small executive office.
But the date was significant.
It was the same day the letter to Grace had supposedly been approved.
I watched the screen beside Luca and Elena.
At 4:17 in the afternoon, Vanessa entered the corridor carrying a cream-colored folder.
Two minutes later, Patrick Vale appeared.
They went into the executive office together.
At 4:46, Patrick emerged holding several sheets of paper.
Vanessa left shortly afterward.
Luca stared at the screen.
"Can you show me the previous hour?"
The manager rewound the recording.
No one else had entered the room during that period.
Elena made a note.
"This doesn't prove what they did inside."
"I know," Luca said.
"But it tells us where to look."
Then Mara received a message from the company's information-technology manager.
She read it silently.
Her expression changed.
"What?" Luca asked.
Mara looked at Elena first.
"The electronic approval attached to the wedding invoice was created through Patrick's authorized office login."
Luca folded his arms.
"That doesn't sound like my approval."
"It isn't," Mara replied.
"The system records show no separate confirmation from your account."
She hesitated.
"The document appears to have incorporated an image of your signature."
Luca looked at the screen again.
Vanessa's figure remained frozen in the corridor.
Her red handbag hung from one arm.
The cream-colored folder was tucked under the other.
I remembered seeing that same folder at the mansion during the engagement preparations.
Vanessa had once asked me to deliver it to Patrick.
She'd called it wedding paperwork.
I told Elena what I remembered.
She asked me to write down the date as accurately as possible, along with the words Vanessa had used.
I did.
I didn't pretend to know what the folder contained.
But I knew I'd delivered it.
Then the restaurant manager returned with another record.
It was an inventory report for the supposed heritage installation.
The description listed an antique display, custom panels, and a family-history exhibit.
The manager shook his head.
"We never received any of these items."
Luca looked up.
"You're certain?"
"Yes, sir."
"Nothing was installed?"
"Nothing."
Elena closed the file.
"Then someone billed your business for work that apparently wasn't performed."
Luca turned toward Mara.
"And used a reference associated with Daniel's old business."
Mara nodded.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated.
It was an email from Patrick.
He'd sent the entire household staff a notice announcing that Vanessa would no longer be using the Moretti mansion for wedding preparations.
The message seemed ordinary until I read the final paragraph.
"All paper records relating to the canceled engagement should be returned to the executive office for immediate disposal."
I looked at Luca.
He read the message over my shoulder.
Then he said quietly, "Nobody destroys anything."
May you like
Because for the first time, we had evidence suggesting that Vanessa's campaign against Ethan wasn't merely an act of jealousy.
It might also have been an attempt to hide financial misconduct behind the story of a grieving family asking for too much.
