Chapter 15 - The Truth About the Last Night|
Gabriel held the phone so tightly that his fingers began to ache.
“What does Anna know?”
Peter's voice remained calm.
“Ask her about the night your father died.”
“My father died years before Anna and I married.”
“Exactly. And yet she has spent the last year trying to find out what happened.”
Gabriel stared at Marco.
His security chief shook his head, equally confused.
“Why would Anna investigate my father's death?”
“Because she found a letter.”
“What letter?”
“The one Isabella gave her.”
Gabriel felt a chill move through him.
Isabella had given him a letter from his father, but she had not mentioned another document. He called her immediately through the secure line.
She answered after two rings.
“Gabriel?”
“Did you give Anna a letter about my father?”
A long silence followed.
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Anna asked me not to.”
He closed his eyes.
Another secret.
Another attempt to protect him from a truth he had not asked to carry.
“What did it say?”
Isabella drew a slow breath.
“Your father believed someone had used his medical records to influence the family trust. He suspected that Peter was involved, but he couldn't prove it. Before he died, he asked me to keep a copy of his final instructions.”
“What instructions?”
“That if he became incapacitated, the trust should be suspended until an independent review could be completed.”
Gabriel stared at the phone.
“Was the instruction ever filed?”
“No. Your father sent it to a lawyer, but the document disappeared after his death.”
“And Anna found it?”
“Yes. She discovered the reference in a box of old papers. She asked me whether the signature was authentic, and I confirmed that it was.”
Gabriel's throat tightened.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because she wanted to be certain before she raised the matter. She was afraid you would believe she was attacking your family.”
The words hurt because he knew they were true.
He ended the call and returned to Peter.
“You took Anna because she found the document.”
“She found a copy. The original is still missing.”
“Where is it?”
“I don't know. That's why I need her to tell me.”
“You could have asked her.”
Peter laughed.
“Would you have trusted me enough to let her speak freely?”
Gabriel had no answer.
Peter continued.
“Your father wanted the trust suspended. If that document surfaces, the entire structure becomes vulnerable. The trustees lose their authority, the financial accounts become subject to review, and every decision made under the trust can be challenged.”
“Then let the court decide.”
“The court will destroy the family.”
“No. The court will decide whether the family broke the law.”
Peter's voice sharpened.
“You sound like your father.”
“Good.”
A pause followed.
Then Peter said, “You have until midnight.”
The call ended.
Gabriel turned toward Marco.
“Where is Anna?”
“Police have confirmed the building. They believe she's in a second-floor office, but Peter may have access to the service corridor.”
“Can they get her out?”
“They're preparing a controlled entry. The negotiator is trying to keep Peter talking.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Tell them to proceed when they have a safe opportunity. I won't sign anything.”
Marco studied him.
“You're certain?”
“Yes.”
“Even if he threatens her?”
Gabriel looked at the photograph on the screen.
“I won't trade her freedom for a document that allows him to control her life. And I won't pretend signing it would make her safe.”
The police entered the building shortly before midnight.
Peter attempted to leave through the service corridor but was intercepted. Anna was found in the office, frightened and exhausted but conscious. Paramedics examined her immediately and transported her to the hospital for observation.
Gabriel arrived before the ambulance.
He stood beside the stretcher while the medical team checked her pulse and asked whether she had been injured.
Anna reached for his hand.
“You didn't sign?”
“No.”
Her eyes filled.
“Good.”
He bent down until his forehead touched hers.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“For every time I made you feel you had to handle something alone. For every time I thought knowing the truth would make me weaker. For every time I treated your fear as something I needed to fix instead of something I needed to hear.”
Anna closed her eyes.
“I was afraid you would choose the family over me.”
Gabriel held her hand more tightly.
“I won't ask you to trust that because I said it. I'll have to prove it.”
She nodded faintly.
Then the paramedic interrupted.
“Mr. Moretti, we need to get her to the hospital.”
Gabriel stepped back, allowing the team to work.
He followed the ambulance.
At the hospital, Dr. Reed confirmed that Anna had not suffered any serious physical injury, though the stress had left her exhausted. They monitored her blood pressure and reviewed her upcoming treatment schedule before allowing her to rest.
Gabriel sat beside her bed.
He did not call the security team.
He did not check the business accounts.
He did not ask the police for updates.
He simply stayed.
At dawn, Anna woke and found him still there.
“You haven't slept.”
“Neither have you.”
“That's different.”
“How?”
She gave him a faint smile.
“I'm the one with a medical excuse.”
He laughed quietly, and for a moment the fear lifted.
Then she looked toward the window.
“Gabriel, there's something else I need to tell you.”
He turned toward her.
“What is it?”
“The original document isn't missing.”
His heart began to pound.
“Where is it?”
Anna looked directly at him.
“I gave it to someone I trusted.”
“Who?”
She hesitated.
May you like
Then she whispered a name that made him sit upright.
“Your mother.”
