Chapter 7 - BEATRICE GALLOW'S REAL GAME|
Vincent ordered Dominic to explain everything.
Dominic claimed that Lena had discovered a secret agreement between the Russo and Gallow families. The agreement involved a network of illegal financial transfers and a plan to seize control of several legitimate businesses.
Lena had copied the records and hidden them inside the sapphire.
Beatrice Gallow had learned about the evidence and arranged for Lena's disappearance.
“Why would Beatrice kill her?” Nora asked.
“Because your mother was going to testify,” Dominic replied.
Vincent studied his uncle.
“And you let her die?”
Dominic's face tightened.
“I was locked away in a private facility. I escaped years later.”
“Convenient.”
Dominic looked at Nora.
“I tried to find you.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because every person I contacted was watched.”
Nora shook her head.
“You expect me to believe you spent twenty years doing nothing?”
“I expect you to understand that I was a prisoner.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“Enough. We need proof.”
Dominic nodded toward the folder.
“The original ledger is inside the vault. The sapphire was only one piece. The remaining records are in a second location.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
Vincent immediately understood.
Beatrice had not attended the Russo dinner merely to negotiate peace. She had come to find the missing evidence.
And when Camila wandered into the ballroom, Beatrice had used the opportunity to humiliate her, hoping Vincent would lose control and destroy the treaty.
The attack had been calculated.
Paulie entered the chapel with a phone.
“Boss, we've got a problem. Beatrice is holding a press conference.”
A live broadcast appeared on the screen.
Beatrice stood before reporters, dressed in black.
She announced that Vincent Russo had allowed an unstable woman to attack her during a private diplomatic gathering. She claimed he had threatened her and endangered the peace agreement.
Then she produced a photograph of Nora kneeling beside Camila.
“This girl,” Beatrice said, “is not a maid. She's an opportunist who has manipulated a vulnerable old woman and infiltrated the Russo estate.”
Nora stared at the screen.
“She knows who I am.”
Dominic nodded.
“She knows what your mother left behind.”
Vincent called his attorney.
“Prepare a response.”
But Nora shook her head.
“No.”
Vincent turned.
“What do you mean?”
“She wants me to hide. If I hide, she gets to tell everyone who I am.”
“Beatrice is dangerous.”
“So am I, apparently.”
He studied her.
Nora lifted her chin.
“I stood between her and your mother when three hundred people watched. I'm not going to let her decide what I am now.”
Vincent looked at Paulie.
“Get me a microphone and the full security footage from that night.”
Then he turned to Nora.
“If you do this, there's no going back.”
May you like
She met his eyes.
“Then let's make sure she can't go back either.”
