Chapter 5 - Bianca’s Price|
I could not stop looking at the note.
Someone had planned for me to become the face of a financial crime before I even knew the crime existed.
My father wanted me to remain at the house while Ms. Harper contacted the authorities. I agreed to stay, but I refused to sit quietly while strangers dismantled my life.
The next morning, Daniel Cross arrived with a small black notebook.
“I believe Bianca has the original ledger,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because I saw her remove it from Roberto’s study three nights ago.”
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
“Because I was following instructions from someone I thought I could trust.”
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Your husband’s chief financial officer, Adrian Vale.”
The name meant nothing to me until Daniel added, “Bianca’s older brother.”
Everything shifted.
The wardrobe. The dinner. The false accusation. The messages about the ledger.
“Did Roberto know they were related?”
“Yes. He knew Bianca had a brother in the company. He did not know Adrian was using her to move documents.”
“Are you sure?”
Daniel met my eyes.
“No. That is why I brought you the notebook.”
Inside were dates, account numbers, and brief descriptions of transfers. Several entries corresponded to the money Ms. Harper had found. Others referred to a storage unit near the river.
One line had been underlined twice.
Original ledger — moved before Elena’s return.
“Why would Bianca hide in my wardrobe?” I asked.
“To retrieve a key,” Daniel said. “There is a locked compartment behind the bottom shelf. Your mother-in-law kept private documents there.”
I felt a chill.
I had used that wardrobe every day for four years. I had never known it contained a hidden compartment.
“Why would she hide documents in my bedroom?”
“Because no one in the family was supposed to search your things. She believed your room would be the last place Roberto’s men would look.”
I looked at him sharply.
“His men?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Mr. Moretti runs legitimate businesses. He also inherited relationships that are not legitimate. Some people in his organization believe loyalty means silence. Others believe it means doing whatever it takes to protect the family.”
“And what does Roberto believe?”
“I think he is still deciding.”
I hated that answer because it sounded true.
That afternoon, I asked Roberto to meet me at Ms. Harper’s office. He arrived with two attorneys, but he sent them outside when he saw me.
“I want the truth,” I said.
“You deserve it.”
“Start with Bianca.”
“She approached me six months ago. She claimed Adrian was moving company money through false contracts. She said she had evidence.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
His face changed.
“Elena—”
“That’s a yes.”
“It was a mistake. It happened before I understood what she was doing.”
“How long?”
He looked away.
“Several months.”
I absorbed the answer without giving him the satisfaction of seeing me break.
“Did you love her?”
“No.”
“Did you love me while you were lying to me?”
His eyes met mine.
“Yes.”
“Then your understanding of love is deeply broken.”
He accepted the blow without defending himself.
“I know.”
“Why did you let her accuse me?”
“Because I believed she had evidence against Adrian, and I thought keeping her calm would help me find the ledger. I never imagined she would accuse you.”
“You believed her before you believed me.”
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Roberto leaned forward.
“I want to make this right.”
“You cannot make four years of lies disappear.”
“I know.”
“You cannot buy my forgiveness.”
“I know that, too.”
“Then why are you here?”
His voice softened.
“Because I have spent my entire life believing I could control every threat by keeping it away from the people I loved. I turned that belief into an excuse to lie to you. I thought protecting you meant deciding what you were allowed to know.”
“And now?”
“Now I understand that I made you vulnerable by keeping you ignorant.”
Before I could answer, Daniel burst into the room.
“Bianca has disappeared,” he said. “And Adrian just emptied the storage unit.”
He placed a photograph on the desk.
It showed a metal box lying open on a concrete floor.
Inside was an empty space shaped like a book.
May you like
Beneath the photograph was a message.
Tell Elena her mother-in-law left something else behind.
