Chapter 6 - The Forty-Eight-Million-Dollar Betrayal|
Luca didn't threaten Marco in the diner.
He didn't raise his voice or make the dramatic declarations people expected from a man with his reputation.
He simply pulled out a chair.
"Sit down."
Marco obeyed.
Nora watched him with obvious distrust.
I couldn't blame her.
This was the same man whose security department had erased the elevator records.
"Start with the documents," Luca said.
Marco stared at the table.
"Vanessa asked me to arrange private meetings with Gideon Vale."
"Where?"
"Your downtown office."
Luca frowned.
"Why would my office be involved?"
"Because they needed access to the old trust files."
"Someone gave them access."
"Who?"
Marco hesitated.
"Your chief financial officer."
Luca's expression went cold.
"Peter Whitcomb?"
Marco nodded.
The name meant nothing to me, but Luca clearly knew it well.
"Peter's worked for my family for fifteen years," he said.
"That's why Vanessa trusted him to make the paperwork look legitimate."
Luca leaned back.
"Explain."
Marco rubbed his forehead.
"Lakefront Meridian Development agreed to pay forty-eight million dollars for Harbor House and several adjoining parcels."
"Vanessa was promised a percentage through an investment company controlled by her brother."
"Peter was supposed to make the transaction appear to have been approved by the family trust."
I glanced at Nora.
She looked as shocked as I felt.
"How much money was Vanessa supposed to receive?" I asked.
Marco swallowed.
"Almost nine million."
Nine million dollars.
For that amount, Vanessa had been willing to isolate a seventy-nine-year-old woman, fabricate medical concerns, and forge signatures.
I thought about Teresa apologizing for her age.
Then I remembered the photograph of her laughing beside her husband and son.
It made me sick.
Luca turned toward Marco.
"Why did you help her?"
Marco stared at his hands.
"She's family."
"That's not an answer."
"She told me you supported the arrangement."
"And you believed her?"
Marco didn't answer.
Luca's next question was quieter.
"Did you lock that elevator?"
Marco nodded once.
"I authorized the maintenance override."
Nora covered her mouth.
I felt a wave of anger so strong that I had to look away.
"You knew Teresa had a bad knee," I said.
Marco's face reddened.
"I was told she'd use the private corridor."
"But nobody showed her the corridor."
"I know."
"You left her at the staircase."
Marco looked at me.
"I didn't expect her to climb it."
"Then you should have made certain she had another way upstairs."
He dropped his gaze.
Luca stood.
"You're finished as my security chief."
Marco nodded.
"I understand."
"No, I don't think you do."
"You endangered my mother and used my home to assist a fraudulent transaction."
"You will cooperate with the investigators, and you will not contact Vanessa."
Marco looked frightened.
"She has people watching everyone involved."
"Then they can watch me."
Luca turned to Nora.
"Thank you for keeping those recordings."
Nora's eyes filled with tears.
"I tried to protect your mother."
"I know."
"No, Mr. Moretti."
Her voice broke.
"I tried, but I failed."
Luca shook his head.
"You refused to lie about her."
"That's more than most people did."
We left the diner with copies of Nora's evidence and an agreement that she would speak to an independent attorney.
On the drive home, Luca was silent for several miles.
Then he said something I wasn't expecting.
"My father built his business by making people afraid to disappoint him."
I looked at him.
"Is that how you run yours?"
"Sometimes."
He kept his eyes on the road.
"I used to think fear made people loyal."
"What do you think now?"
He exhaled slowly.
"I think it made them very good at hiding things."
I didn't know what to say.
He glanced at me.
"You can tell me if you think I've failed my mother."
I considered the question.
Then I answered truthfully.
"I think you've been absent from parts of her life that mattered."
He accepted that without argument.
"You're right."
When we arrived at the mansion, Teresa was waiting in the garden room.
Luca knelt beside her wheelchair.
"Mother, I need to ask you something."
"Of course."
"Did you ever agree to sell Harbor House?"
Teresa's expression sharpened.
"Never."
"Not for forty-eight million dollars?"
She looked almost offended.
"Luca, you could offer me four hundred million."
"I still wouldn't sell it."
"Why?"
She reached for his hand.
"Because that building isn't mine to sacrifice."
"It belongs to the people who need it."
Luca lowered his head.
For a moment, I saw something of the little boy in the photograph.
Then Teresa continued.
"Your father knew developers would come for it."
"That's why he helped me create the trust."
She looked toward the hallway.
"The original agreement is in the old library."
Luca frowned.
"I searched the library last night."
"Not the bookshelf, sweetheart."
She smiled faintly.
"Behind your father's portrait."
We followed her directions.
Inside the library, Luca moved a heavy oil painting from the wall.
Behind it stood a small steel safe.
Teresa gave him the combination.
Inside was a leather-bound folder, several letters, and a photograph of the Harbor House dedication ceremony.
Luca opened the folder.
His eyes moved across the first page.
Then he stopped.
"Mother, have you read this recently?"
"Not for years."
Luca looked at me.
"According to the original trust agreement, Teresa remains the sole acting trustee until she voluntarily resigns or a court appoints a replacement under the trust's terms."
He turned another page.
"And any transfer of the Harbor House property requires an additional independent approval."
"From whom?" I asked.
Luca stared at the document.
"An outside trustee named by my father."
"Who is it?"
He read the name aloud.
"Eleanor Price."
I recognized the surname immediately.
May you like
The event manager who had been standing beside Vanessa when the elevator was locked was named Daniel Price.
And suddenly, I wondered whether the missing event manager had been involved in something much bigger than an engagement party.
