Chapter 14 - THE ORIGINAL TRUSTEE| The note had no date, but the envelope bore a postmark from six days earlier.
Adriano examined the handwriting carefully. His father had been dead for four years—or so the official records stated. The signature matched the letters Anthony had left in the family archive.
Marcus placed a second document on the table.
"We traced the envelope to a private mail service in Wisconsin. The sender paid in cash."
"Can they identify the person?"
"They're checking the surveillance footage."
Adriano called Patricia at the care facility.
When he read the note aloud, she became visibly distressed.
Her hands moved rapidly.
The original trustee is not your father.
Adriano waited for the interpreter.
"Who is it?"
Patricia closed her eyes.
Then she signed a name.
Eleanor Castellano.
His grandmother.
She had died when Adriano was eleven, after a long illness. Her funeral had been small, and Anthony had refused to discuss her final days. The family records listed her estate as settled.
Adriano stared at Patricia.
"My grandmother was the original trustee?"
Patricia nodded.
She created the medical fund to protect children who had been harmed by the family. Anthony used it to conceal his crimes.
"Why would someone say she's still alive?"
Patricia hesitated.
Because her death was never confirmed by an independent physician.
Adriano felt a chill.
He remembered the closed coffin, the hurried funeral, and the way his father had insisted that the family move on. He remembered his grandmother's room being emptied within days.
"Do you believe she survived?"
Patricia signed slowly.
I believe someone has been using her identity.
Marcus contacted the attorney who had handled Eleanor's estate. He confirmed that the original death certificate had been issued by a private clinic, not a hospital. The physician who signed it had later lost his license following an investigation into false medical records.
The same clinic had been connected to the unexplained payments involving Dr. Ferro.
Adriano leaned back.
"Everything leads to the same place."
Marcus nodded.
"The medical center. The trust. The false identities. Someone has been maintaining the system long after your father supposedly died."
That evening, Nina returned to the estate with Rosa.
Adriano had insisted they remain away until the security review was complete, but Rosa needed to collect her belongings before beginning a new job elsewhere.
Nina entered the office quietly.
"Sir?"
Adriano looked up.
"Hello, Nina."
She studied the desk.
"The glass is gone."
He followed her gaze.
The dark tumbler had been removed for testing and replaced with an ordinary cup.
"Yes. We're keeping it safe."
Nina nodded.
"Good."
She opened her notebook and pointed to the original sketch of the tumbler.
"I drew the scratch before everything happened."
Adriano looked closely.
"Why?"
"Because I thought someone might take the glass away."
She turned to another page.
It contained a drawing of the office, including the desk, window, and the small cabinet behind the chair.
A little rectangle had been drawn beneath the cabinet.
"What's this?"
Nina looked at him.
"There's a second glass."
Adriano felt his stomach tighten.
"What do you mean?"
"I saw it once. Mrs. Valentina took it out of the cabinet. It looked exactly like the first one."
She pointed to the drawing.
"But the scratch was on the other side."
Adriano slowly turned toward Marcus.
May you like
If Nina was right, the tumbler they had tested might not have been the only glass being used.
And the person responsible might still have access to the office.
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