Chapter 7 - THE ACCIDENT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING|
Marco located Evelyn Shaw at a private office on the north side of Chicago.
She agreed to meet Luca the following morning, but she insisted on bringing her attorney.
That alone told him the meeting would not be simple.
Evelyn was a composed woman in her late fifties with silver hair and a habit of studying people before answering questions. She had worked with the Moretti family for more than twenty years.
Luca placed the blue notebook on the table.
“Did Caroline ask you about the trust?”
Evelyn looked at the notebook.
“Yes.”
“What did she discover?”
“I can't answer without reviewing the documents.”
“Then review them.”
She turned several pages.
When she reached the entry containing her name, her expression changed.
“Caroline was worried about an old family agreement,” she said.
“What agreement?”
“One created by your father, Anthony Moretti, before you were born. It concerned the ownership of certain business assets and the rights of family members who had not yet reached adulthood.”
Luca leaned forward.
“Why would that concern Caroline?”
“Because someone had attempted to alter the beneficiary records.”
“Who?”
Evelyn folded her hands.
“I never established who authorized the changes. I suspected your father's business partner, but I could not prove it.”
“Who was the partner?”
“Richard Bellini.”
Vanessa's father.
Luca felt the room grow colder.
“Why didn't I know this?”
“Your father died before the dispute was resolved. The family attorney advised that the matter remain confidential.”
“What happened to the original documents?”
“They were placed in a private archive.”
“Where?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“I don't know. Your father moved them shortly before his death.”
Luca opened the notebook to Caroline's final entry.
If anything happens to me, Luca must never let Vanessa make decisions about Sophie without independent advice.
Evelyn read it carefully.
“Caroline believed the old dispute was connected to Vanessa's family.”
“Was it?”
“I don't know. But I can tell you that Vanessa began asking questions about the trust shortly after she returned to Chicago.”
“Why?”
“She said she wanted to understand your family's financial position before the wedding.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Did she have access to the archive?”
“No.”
“Could she have obtained copies?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Possibly. Your father's former assistant handled some of the records. His name was Daniel Price.”
“Where is he now?”
“He left Chicago years ago.”
Luca called Marco.
“Find Daniel Price.”
Evelyn continued.
“There is something else. Caroline contacted me three days before her fatal accident. She said someone had been following her.”
Luca stopped moving.
“Why wasn't I told?”
“She asked me not to tell you until she had proof. She believed you were being watched, too.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
He stood abruptly.
“Was her accident investigated?”
“Yes. The police concluded that she lost control of her car on a wet road.”
“Was there another vehicle?”
Evelyn looked uncomfortable.
“The report mentioned a car that left the scene before officers arrived.”
Luca felt his pulse quicken.
“Do you have the report?”
“No. But I know where a copy may exist.”
“Where?”
“In the private archive your father maintained.”
Luca looked down at Caroline's notebook.
The accident that had taken his wife had always been a tragedy he could barely discuss.
Now it was a question with too many missing answers.
As he left the office, Evelyn called after him.
“Luca, if you reopen this investigation, be careful. The people who wanted those records hidden may still have something to lose.”
He stopped.
“Do you think Vanessa knows what happened to Caroline?”
May you like
Evelyn's expression was unreadable.
“I think Vanessa knows more than she has told you.”
