Chapter 3 - The Notebook Beneath the Bed|
Natalie closed the door and leaned against it.
Alessandro remained in the hallway, waiting.
She wanted to tell him to leave. She wanted to accuse him of dragging the Vitale family into her life again. But the word investigation kept repeating in her mind.
Daniel had died on a rainy Tuesday evening.
The police had told her his car had left the road. They said there had been no other vehicle involved, no witnesses, and no evidence of foul play.
She had buried him believing the world had simply taken away the person she loved most.
Now her brother was telling her that Daniel had been investigating the same man who had slapped her.
She opened the door again.
"Come in."
Alessandro entered without touching anything.
The apartment was small and clean. A secondhand crib stood beside the bedroom wall, still missing one side panel. A folded baby blanket rested on a chair.
Alessandro looked at the crib.
"You haven't finished setting it up."
"I lost my job yesterday. The crib can wait."
He lowered his eyes.
"I can arrange—"
"No."
He stopped.
Natalie took a breath.
"You said Daniel was investigating Anthony. How do you know?"
Alessandro sat at the small kitchen table.
"Dominic found his name in old financial records. Daniel worked for a compliance firm called Harbor Crest. He was examining suspicious payments connected to Bellissimo."
Natalie shook her head.
"Daniel was an accountant. He worked long hours, but he never told me he was investigating a restaurant owner."
"He may have kept the work separate."
"Why?"
"Maybe he was protecting you."
She looked at him sharply.
"Don't turn him into a secret agent just because you found his name in a spreadsheet."
Alessandro accepted the rebuke.
"You're right. I don't know what he told you. I only know what the records show."
Natalie went into the bedroom.
She pulled a shoebox from beneath the bed and placed it on the table.
"This is what I collected at Bellissimo."
Alessandro opened it carefully.
Inside were copies of pay statements, photographs of handwritten schedules, and a small notebook filled with figures.
Dominic's name was not there, but several company names matched those in his tablet.
Alessandro turned a page.
"Where did you get these?"
"From the restaurant's employee files and receipts. I started collecting them because people were being underpaid. I didn't know what the money was being used for."
"Did anyone see you?"
"Anthony knew I was asking questions. His payroll manager warned me to stop."
Alessandro looked at her.
"Did you tell Daniel?"
Natalie's expression softened.
"Not about Bellissimo. I told him I thought some employees were being cheated, but I didn't want to worry him. He was already stressed about work."
"Did he ever mention Anthony Russo?"
She hesitated.
"Once. A few weeks before he died, he asked whether I knew anyone at Bellissimo."
"And what did you say?"
"That I was applying for a job there. He told me to be careful."
Alessandro looked up.
"Did he say why?"
"No. He kissed my forehead and told me that if anything strange happened, I should call him immediately."
She pressed her lips together.
"I thought he was being overly cautious."
Dominic entered carrying a folder.
He had waited outside until Alessandro invited him in.
"We found something else," he said.
He placed a printed photograph on the table.
It showed Daniel standing outside a downtown office building with a man in a dark suit.
Natalie recognized the man immediately.
"That's Anthony Russo."
Dominic nodded.
"The photograph was taken three days before Daniel died."
Natalie stared at it.
"Why was Daniel meeting him?"
"We don't know yet."
She turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten date and a short note.
Final meeting. Original records.
Natalie's fingers began to tremble.
"Daniel never told me about this."
Alessandro watched her carefully.
"There's something else. The company that hired Daniel was investigating money connected to the Vitale family's legitimate businesses."
Natalie looked at him.
"Your businesses?"
"Some of them. That's why I need to know whether Daniel found anything involving my family."
She stood abruptly.
"I don't want you using his death to start a war."
"I'm not planning to."
"You say that now."
Alessandro remained seated.
"I won't take action without evidence. I promise."
Natalie looked at the photograph again.
Then she noticed something she had missed.
Daniel was holding a folded piece of paper.
On the visible corner was a familiar handwritten letter.
A capital M.
The same M that appeared on the envelope Daniel had left inside their wedding album.
Natalie suddenly remembered something.
After his funeral, she had opened the album and found a note addressed to her.
May you like
She had never read it.
It was still hidden behind their wedding photograph.
