Chapter 18 - THE NAME ON THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT|
Luca returned to the archive with Evelyn and Rebecca.
The original agreement was still missing, but the copy recovered from Richard's property contained an appendix that had not appeared in the earlier records.
It listed the names of several individuals connected to the trust.
Anthony Moretti.
Richard Bellini.
Daniel Price.
And Vincent Moretti.
Beside Vincent's name was a handwritten notation.
Biological relationship to the beneficiary disputed.
Luca stared at the words.
“Why would Vincent be listed as a biological relative of Sophie?”
Evelyn examined the page.
“I don't know. But the notation suggests someone challenged the family relationship years ago.”
Rebecca turned to another document.
“This could relate to a separate inheritance dispute. We need to verify the signatures and the chain of custody before drawing conclusions.”
Luca opened Caroline's blue notebook.
Several pages had been removed from the binding.
He remembered that Sophie had carried the notebook for years, keeping it in her bedroom. Someone might have taken the missing pages before the notebook reached him.
“Could the missing pages contain the original beneficiary schedule?” he asked.
“Possibly,” Evelyn said.
They searched the archive for any reference to the missing pages.
At the bottom of a box containing old correspondence, Rebecca found a letter from Caroline to Evelyn.
The letter was dated two months before Caroline's death.
I know the family has lied about the past. I know the agreement was changed. But if I reveal what I found, Sophie may become a target. I need proof before I tell Luca.
Luca read the letter twice.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
Evelyn's expression softened.
“She may have believed she was protecting you.”
“By keeping me ignorant?”
“People sometimes make terrible decisions when they are afraid.”
He looked at her.
“That's not an excuse.”
“No,” she replied. “It isn't.”
The letter included a reference to a storage facility near the old Moretti estate. Caroline had written that the missing documents were hidden somewhere associated with the family piano.
Luca immediately thought of the removable panel beneath the bench.
They returned to the mansion and examined it again.
This time, Marco noticed a narrow gap along the back of the piano. A small wooden compartment had been built into the frame.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
The label read:
For Luca, if Vincent returns.
Luca opened it carefully.
The letter inside was written by his father.
My son, if you are reading this, then the family has failed to keep its oldest promise. Vincent believes that power belongs to the person who can control the next generation. I believed the opposite. A family is only worth protecting if the children within it are free to become themselves.
Luca's hands trembled.
The letter continued.
Caroline knows the truth about the beneficiary schedule. I asked her to keep it safe because I no longer trust the people around me. If anything happens to her, do not accept the first explanation you are given.
The final paragraph contained a name.
Daniel Price.
He knows which record was altered and who ordered it. Find him before Vincent does.
Luca closed the letter.
For years, he had believed his father's death had ended the old family disputes.
May you like
Instead, it appeared to have left a dangerous secret waiting for the next generation.
And now Sophie was caught in the middle.
