Chapter 12 - THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN DEAD FOR SEVEN YEARS|
Luca stared at the account information.
His father had been dead for seven years.
Victor Costa had supposedly died in a private hospital after suffering a stroke.
His funeral had been attended by politicians, businessmen, and some of the most powerful figures in New York.
Luca had stood beside the coffin.
He had watched it lowered into the ground.
Now the bank was telling him that Victor was moving money through a Swiss account.
"Find out who authorized the transfer," Luca ordered.
The manager looked nervous.
"We've already contacted our fraud department."
"That isn't what I asked."
The manager lowered his voice.
"Mr. Russo, someone came here personally."
"Who?"
"A man claiming to represent your father."
Dominic stepped forward.
"Did you see him?"
The manager nodded.
He opened a security photograph.
Luca froze.
The man standing beside the bank manager was unmistakable.
Victor Costa.
Alive.
Older, thinner, but unmistakably alive.
Luca took a step backward.
For the first time since I had met him, he looked completely unprepared.
"My father is dead."
The manager said nothing.
Luca stared at the photograph.
Then he turned toward Dominic.
"How long have you known?"
Dominic looked genuinely shocked.
"I swear I didn't know."
Luca walked out.
I followed him into the parking garage.
He stood beside his car, staring at the concrete floor.
"Are you okay?"
He laughed without humor.
"Do I look okay?"
"No."
He rubbed his forehead.
"My father taught me everything I know about this business. He told me that trust was weakness. He told me that family was the only thing worth protecting."
He looked at me.
"And now I discover he may have been alive this entire time."
I stepped closer.
"Maybe he wanted you to believe he was dead."
"Why?"
"Because dead men don't have to explain themselves."
Luca stared at me.
Then he took my hand.
For a moment, he said nothing.
When we returned to the mansion, an unexpected visitor was waiting.
Victoria Sterling.
She was sitting in the library with a glass of wine.
"You're late," she said.
Luca's expression hardened.
"How did you get in?"
"Your uncle invited me."
"Anthony?"
She smiled.
"He's worried about you."
I stepped forward.
"Why?"
Victoria looked at me.
"Because you're making a fool of yourself over a nurse."
Luca moved between us.
"Leave."
Victoria stood.
"You should listen to me. Your father is alive, your uncle is preparing to take control, and your little nurse is carrying something everyone wants."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What do you mean?"
Victoria reached into her handbag and removed a folded photograph.
It showed my father standing beside a young woman.
The woman was Victoria's mother.
Victoria looked at me.
"Your father didn't just keep financial records."
She smiled.
"He was my mother's lover."
Luca stared at her.
"What?"
May you like
Victoria placed the photograph on the table.
"And there's a very good chance that Emma isn't the person she believes she is."
