Chapter 13 - The Truth Lucia Buried|
Lucia did not speak during the drive back to Chicago.
She sat beside the window with Isabella's letter folded in her hands, watching the highway lights pass across the glass. Gabriel wanted to demand an explanation, but he had learned enough about silence to recognize when a question needed room.
They arrived at the estate shortly after midnight.
Anna was waiting in the sitting room, wrapped in a cream cardigan, a blanket draped over her knees. When Gabriel entered, she looked first at his face, then at Lucia's.
“What happened?”
He sat beside her.
“We found Isabella. She's alive.”
Anna's eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Yes. She's been living at a care facility in Wisconsin. My father paid for her treatment for years, but the payments stopped after Peter took control of the trust.”
Anna looked at Lucia.
“You knew about her?”
Lucia nodded slowly.
“I knew she was alive. I visited her years ago, but I stopped going after my husband died. I told myself that the facility was handling everything.”
“Did you know Peter had stopped the payments?”
“No.”
Gabriel took the letter from his pocket.
“My father believed someone inside the family had turned the medical trust into a weapon. He said the person who could expose the truth was someone Peter believed I would never question.”
Lucia looked down.
“He meant me.”
“Why?”
She drew a long breath.
“Because I approved the original system.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“Explain.”
Lucia sat opposite them.
“After your father became ill, he wanted a way to protect the family from people who might exploit medical information. I suggested keeping records in a private trust. I thought it would help us arrange care, insurance, and financial support without exposing anyone's condition to outsiders.”
“And Peter took control of it.”
“Yes. I trusted him to manage the records. At first, he did what we asked. He arranged payments for Isabella, coordinated appointments, and kept the information confidential.”
“What changed?”
“Your father died. You took over the business, and Peter believed the family was becoming vulnerable. He started using the records to predict who might be unable to fulfill their responsibilities. He said it was necessary to protect the estate.”
Anna's face tightened.
“So when I became ill, he saw me as a financial problem.”
Lucia nodded.
“I believe so.”
“Did you know he had accessed my records?”
“I knew he was looking for the original consent form. I didn't know he had already obtained copies of your medical information.”
Gabriel leaned forward.
“You paid Anthony Vale to find that form.”
“Yes. I wanted to understand what Peter had done before I confronted him.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was ashamed. I had helped create the system, and I was afraid that if I admitted what had happened, you would think I had betrayed your father.”
Gabriel looked at his mother for a long moment.
“I don't know what I think.”
Lucia nodded, accepting the answer.
“I understand.”
Anna reached for her glass of water.
“I want to ask something.”
Lucia turned toward her.
“Of course.”
“If you had known I was sick before I told you, would you have told Gabriel?”
Lucia hesitated.
“I would have encouraged you to tell him. But I might have waited longer than I should have.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid he would try to control everything. I have watched him become more like his father every year. I thought I could protect you from that.”
Anna looked at Gabriel.
He didn't interrupt.
Lucia continued.
“I was wrong to decide what was best for you without giving you the truth. I thought I was protecting the family. Instead, I helped create a system where people were afraid to speak openly about their own lives.”
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then Anna spoke quietly.
“I don't hate you, Lucia. But I need you to understand that what happened cannot be repaired by saying you meant well.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
Lucia's eyes filled.
“I am beginning to.”
Anna nodded.
“That is a start.”
After Lucia left, Gabriel remained beside Anna.
He wanted to apologize for his family's actions, but the words seemed inadequate. The Morettis had spent decades making private decisions about other people's bodies, finances, and futures. He had inherited the power to continue the pattern, and he had used it without questioning the system that supported him.
Anna touched his hand.
“You're thinking too loudly.”
He managed a faint smile.
“I didn't know that was possible.”
“With you, anything is possible.”
He looked at her.
“Do you think we can come back from this?”
“From what?”
“All of it. The secrets. The things I didn't notice. The way I let my work become more important than our marriage.”
Anna was quiet for a moment.
“I don't know what our marriage will look like after this. I'm still sick. I'm still frightened. And I still don't know how to tell you everything without worrying about your reaction.”
Gabriel swallowed.
“But I want to try,” she continued. “I want us to build something different. Not because you can promise to protect me from every bad thing, but because we can tell each other the truth even when it hurts.”
He took her hand.
“Then that's what we'll do.”
The next morning, Gabriel and Lucia met with Evelyn to begin dismantling the private medical trust. They agreed to preserve the records required by law, restrict access to authorized medical personnel, and establish independent oversight for any remaining financial arrangements.
Gabriel also ordered an audit of the payments made under Peter's direction.
For the first time, the family was going to examine its own records without treating privacy as a privilege granted by the powerful.
But before the audit could begin, Marco called.
“Boss, we've located Peter Lang.”
“Where?”
“An office outside the city. He's been meeting with Richard Sloane.”
Gabriel stood.
“Bring them both in.”
Marco's voice tightened.
“We can't. Sloane has already contacted the police. He claims Peter has been blackmailing him with medical records belonging to several prominent families.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“How many families?”
“We don't know yet.”
May you like
Marco paused.
“But one of the names on the list is Anna Moretti.”
