Chapter 7 - THE BROTHER EVERYONE THOUGHT WAS DEAD|
Aurelio left without another word.
Clara watched his car disappear through the hotel entrance before turning to Margaret.
"Who is his brother?"
Margaret closed her briefcase.
"Matteo Marchetti."
"Why would he want to see me?"
"That's a question I'd like answered."
Clara had heard the name once before.
Several months into her relationship with Aurelio, she had found an old family photograph in his study. Two young men stood beside an older woman in front of the Marchetti estate.
Aurelio had been on the left.
The other man had his same dark eyes and the same sharp jaw.
When Clara asked who he was, Aurelio had taken the photograph from her hands.
"My brother," he had said.
"Where is he?"
"Dead."
He had refused to discuss it further.
Now, according to Anselmo, Matteo was alive.
That night, Margaret arranged a meeting with a former federal prosecutor who had been investigating the Bellara transfers.
His name was Thomas Hale.
He arrived at the hotel at nine, carrying a thin folder.
"Miss Bennett, I believe you've been placed in a very dangerous position."
"Because of the money?"
"Because of what the money represents."
He opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of several men entering a private warehouse near the harbor.
One was Aurelio.
Another was Valentina's father.
The third man was unfamiliar.
"Who is he?" Clara asked.
"Matteo Marchetti."
Thomas explained that Matteo had disappeared six years earlier following a violent dispute inside the family. Aurelio had taken control of the business after his brother's supposed death.
But recent financial evidence suggested Matteo had never died.
Instead, he had been operating through a network of companies connected to Bellara.
"Why would he want me?" Clara asked.
Thomas studied her.
"Because your signature appears on the original transaction documents. He may believe you possess the missing authorization key."
Clara shook her head.
"I don't."
"Someone believes you do."
Before the meeting ended, Thomas showed her another photograph.
It was taken outside a hospital.
A young woman lay in a wheelchair.
Her face was partially obscured, but Clara recognized the dark hair.
"Sofia Bellini," she whispered.
"She's alive," Thomas said.
"Where is she?"
"We don't know. The photograph was taken four weeks ago."
Clara looked at Margaret.
"We need to find her."
Margaret nodded.
But before they could arrange anything, the hotel lights went out.
A second later, someone shouted in the corridor.
Thomas immediately pulled Clara away from the window.
"Down!"
A loud crash sounded near the entrance.
Margaret grabbed her phone.
Security personnel rushed toward the hallway.
Then a voice came through the darkness.
"Clara Bennett?"
She recognized it.
It was Aurelio.
"Where is she?"
Aurelio appeared at the doorway, his jacket stained with blood.
Clara stepped out from behind Thomas.
"What happened?"
He looked at her.
"Someone attacked Matteo."
"Is he alive?"
"For now."
Aurelio approached.
"He gave them your name."
Clara felt her heart race.
"Why?"
Aurelio reached into his coat and pulled out a folded document.
It was a photograph of an old company registration.
Her signature appeared at the bottom.
But this time, the document was dated seven years earlier.
Before she had ever met Aurelio.
Before she had even moved to New York.
Aurelio looked at her with an expression she couldn't read.
"Clara, tell me something."
May you like
She stared at the paper.
"How did your signature end up on a company that existed before you were old enough to open a bank account?"
