Chapter 19 - THE LAST NIGHT OF THE ENGAGEMENT|
The investigators located Daniel Price in a small town outside Philadelphia.
He had been living under another name, working as a bookkeeper and avoiding contact with anyone connected to the Moretti or Bellini families.
When Luca finally met him, Daniel looked like a man who had spent years waiting for someone to knock on his door.
“I wondered when you would find me,” he said.
Luca placed his father's letter on the table.
“Tell me what happened to Caroline.”
Daniel looked down.
“She discovered that Vincent had altered the beneficiary schedule. He wanted control over the assets that would pass to the next generation.”
“Why would he need Sophie?”
“Because Sophie was named as a protected beneficiary under the original agreement. If the amendment stood, Vincent could influence the trust through a separate guardianship provision.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Was Caroline's accident deliberate?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I cannot prove who caused it. But I know she was followed that night. I saw the vehicle that left the scene.”
“Who was driving?”
“I never saw the driver's face.”
“Then how do you know Vincent was involved?”
“Because he called me the following morning and told me to destroy the original records. He said Caroline had become a problem that could no longer be managed.”
Luca felt sick.
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
“Because I was afraid. Vincent told me that if I spoke, he would accuse me of falsifying the trust records. He had enough influence to make my life unbearable.”
“You let Caroline's death remain unexplained.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“Yes.”
Luca stood and walked to the window.
He wanted to hate Daniel, but the man looked as if he had been living inside his own punishment for years.
“Where is the original agreement?”
Daniel reached into a drawer and removed a sealed packet.
“I kept it because I knew Vincent would eventually come looking for it.”
Inside was the original beneficiary schedule.
Sophie's name appeared beside Luca's.
Vincent's name had been crossed out, with a handwritten note confirming that he had no authority over the child or her inheritance.
The amendment that had allowed a private trustee to recommend relocation had been added later.
Its witness signature belonged to Richard Bellini.
Luca stared at the page.
“Can this be authenticated?”
Daniel nodded.
“The notary's records still exist. So do the original meeting minutes.”
Rebecca, who had accompanied Luca, immediately contacted the investigators.
For the first time, the evidence connected the old agreement to the more recent attempt to remove Sophie from Chicago.
But one question remained.
“Why did Vincent tell Richard to take Sophie now?” Luca asked.
Daniel looked frightened.
“Because Vincent believes the trust review will expose him. He needs Sophie out of your custody before the court can suspend the disputed amendment.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel hesitated.
Then he reached for another envelope.
“Caroline left this for you. She told me to give it to you only if Sophie was ever in danger.”
Luca opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Caroline holding a newborn baby.
On the back, she had written:
The child in this photograph is not the child everyone believes she is.
Luca stared at the image.
He recognized the hospital bracelet around the baby's wrist.
The date was the day Sophie was born.
Rebecca leaned closer.
“Luca, we need to verify this before making assumptions.”
He nodded slowly.
But he could not stop thinking about Caroline's final warning.
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If the photograph was genuine, then the secret surrounding Sophie was far more complicated than an inheritance dispute.
And someone had spent years making sure Luca never discovered it.
