Chapter 4 - The First Lie Wasn't the Worst|
Luca stood motionless as his mother explained what had disappeared from her jewelry box.
The Moretti family signet ring had belonged to his father, Antonio, who died eight years earlier.
It was an old gold ring engraved with the family crest.
To me, it sounded like a sentimental heirloom.
To Luca, it was something far more serious.
"My father's seal is still registered with the family trust," he said.
Teresa nodded.
"He used it on formal documents."
"After he passed, I kept the ring locked away."
"Vanessa asked to borrow it for the engagement invitations."
Luca stared at her.
"You gave it to her?"
"Only for an afternoon."
"She said she wanted to reproduce the crest accurately."
Teresa lowered her voice.
"That was three weeks ago."
I watched Luca struggle with what he was hearing.
He had spent the previous evening discovering that someone forged his signature to control an elevator.
Now he was learning that the same person might have access to his dead father's seal.
The possibilities were ugly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
Teresa's eyes filled.
"Because Vanessa said you'd be angry with me for losing it."
"She said you'd already decided I wasn't managing things properly."
Luca closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he knelt beside his mother.
"Look at me."
She obeyed.
"I have never believed you were incapable of managing your own life."
"And I would never punish you for losing a ring."
Teresa began to cry.
I stepped toward the window to give them privacy.
Outside, a gardener was sweeping fallen petals from the courtyard.
The simple normality of the scene felt almost offensive.
Someone had been quietly dismantling an elderly woman's life while the rest of the household carried on as though nothing were wrong.
Later that morning, Dr. Elena Park arrived to examine Teresa.
She was a composed woman in her early fifties who had treated the Moretti family for years.
After checking Teresa's knee and reviewing her medications, she asked to speak privately with Luca.
He invited me to remain after Teresa said she wanted me there.
"Your mother's knee is strained, but I don't see evidence of a serious injury," Dr. Park explained.
"She is exhausted, though, and her hydration needs attention."
Luca leaned forward.
"What about her memory?"
Dr. Park studied him.
"Has someone told you there is a problem?"
He handed her the Westbridge appointment letter.
Her expression changed.
"I didn't recommend this assessment."
"Does she need it?"
"That would require a proper clinical evaluation, not assumptions made at a party."
"Occasional forgetfulness alone doesn't establish incapacity."
She placed the letter on the desk.
"More importantly, your mother is entitled to participate in decisions about her own care."
I saw Luca's shoulders relax slightly.
Then Dr. Park added something that disturbed us both.
"Two weeks ago, someone called my office and canceled Teresa's follow-up appointment."
"Who?"
"The caller identified herself as her future daughter-in-law."
Vanessa.
Again.
Luca stared at the floor.
"Was a reason given?"
"She said Teresa was refusing treatment."
Dr. Park paused.
"But that doesn't sound like the woman I've known for twelve years."
I remembered Teresa apologizing for every inconvenience.
Refusing treatment seemed less likely than apologizing to the doctor for needing it.
After Dr. Park left, Luca asked his attorneys to review every document involving his mother's assets.
He also instructed Simon to preserve the elevator controller's remaining records.
Marco was temporarily removed from control of the investigation.
That afternoon, I found Rosa waiting in the kitchen.
She looked frightened.
"Someone has been asking about you."
"Who?"
"Vanessa's attorney."
I frowned.
"Why would her attorney care about a household assistant?"
"Because you've become a problem."
Rosa handed me a slip of paper.
On it was a telephone number and a name.
Nora Sullivan.
"Teresa's former caregiver," Rosa said.
"She called this morning."
"She asked whether Mrs. Moretti was safe."
"Where is she?"
"She wouldn't say."
I went outside to make the call.
Nora answered after the third ring.
"Hello?"
"My name is Hannah Brooks."
"I'm helping Teresa Moretti."
There was a long silence.
Then she whispered, "Is she still in that upstairs bedroom?"
"Yes."
"Oh, God."
Her voice cracked.
"I told them those stairs would hurt her."
"Who did you tell?"
"Vanessa."
"Three times."
I glanced toward the mansion.
"Nora, what happened before you were dismissed?"
She took a shaky breath.
"Vanessa wanted me to write a report saying Teresa was confused, aggressive, and unable to care for herself."
"Was that true?"
"No."
"Teresa needed help with her knee, but she knew exactly what was happening around her."
Nora swallowed.
"When I refused, Vanessa fired me."
I gripped the phone.
"Did you keep anything that proves it?"
"Yes."
My heart began pounding.
"What?"
"A recording."
"Vanessa didn't know my phone was on."
I looked around the courtyard.
"What's on it?"
Nora's next words made the entire situation suddenly feel much larger than one locked elevator.
"Teresa refused to sign a property transfer."
"Vanessa told her that if she wouldn't cooperate, someone could have her declared incapable of making decisions."
I leaned against the garden wall.
"What property?"
Nora hesitated.
"Harbor House."
I knew the name.
It was a historic building near Chicago's waterfront where a community clinic, food pantry, and emergency housing program operated.
Teresa had supported it for decades.
"Why would Vanessa want Harbor House?"
"Because the land is worth a fortune."
I could barely breathe.
"Nora, will you give that recording to Luca?"
"I want to."
"But I need to know it's safe."
We arranged to meet at a diner the next morning.
Then her voice dropped.
"Hannah, there's something else."
"What?"
"Vanessa isn't working alone."
Before I could ask who she meant, Nora ended the call.
I turned toward the mansion.
At the far end of the driveway, a black SUV stood beneath the trees.
May you like
Someone was sitting behind the tinted windshield.
And when I took one step toward the house, the SUV's engine started.
