Chapter 13 - THE WIFE WHO RETURNED TO THE HOUSE|
Victoria returned to the Moretti residence on a rainy Thursday morning.
She did not come back to reconcile.
She came to retrieve the remaining personal belongings that she had left behind.
Nathan accompanied her, along with a neutral property representative who documented the items removed. Victoria had learned that even ordinary tasks could become complicated when money, ownership, and a powerful spouse were involved.
The front doors opened before she reached the steps.
Alexander stood in the foyer.
He looked as though he had not slept.
“You came back.”
“To collect my things.”
He glanced at Nathan.
“Do you need him here?”
“Yes.”
Alexander stepped aside.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Victoria walked through the house, passing the staircase where Alexander had once carried her after she twisted her ankle, the sitting room where they had celebrated their engagement, and the dining room where she had learned about Sophia's pregnancy.
Every room contained a memory.
She refused to let those memories decide her future.
Upstairs, she packed books, photographs, clothes, and the jewelry that belonged to her before the marriage. She left the gifts Alexander had purchased with shared funds for the lawyers to review.
When she returned to the foyer, he was waiting beside the door.
“Can we talk for five minutes?”
“About what?”
“About us.”
Victoria looked at him.
“There is no us to discuss until the truth is established.”
He swallowed.
“I didn't know what Richard was doing.”
“You should have known.”
“I trusted him.”
“So did I. But I wasn't the one running the business.”
Alexander lowered his eyes.
“I know I hurt you.”
“You didn't just hurt me. You made decisions that could have put my freedom and my inheritance at risk.”
“I never intended that.”
“Intentions don't erase consequences.”
He looked at her for a long time.
“Do you still love me?”
The question might once have broken her.
Now it only made her tired.
“I loved the man I believed you were. I don't know who you are anymore.”
Alexander flinched.
Victoria continued.
“And even if some part of me still loves you, that doesn't mean I can remain married to you.”
He looked toward the staircase.
“There's something I need to show you.”
She almost refused.
Then he handed her a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Dominic Moretti standing beside Eleanor Bennett outside an old warehouse. They appeared younger than Victoria had ever seen them in family photographs.
On the back, Eleanor had written a date and a sentence.
Some debts cannot be paid with money.
Victoria looked up.
“Where did you find this?”
“In my father's office.”
“Why didn't you give it to me earlier?”
“Because I was afraid of what it meant.”
She studied his face.
For the first time, he looked less like a Mafia boss and more like a son who had discovered that the man he worshipped might have lied to him.
Nathan examined the photograph.
“The date corresponds with the original partnership documents.”
Victoria turned it over again.
Below Eleanor's sentence, there was a faint line of writing that she had missed.
Ask Dominic what happened at the harbor.
Alexander read it over her shoulder.
Neither of them spoke.
The old partnership had involved warehouses and freight contracts. The harbor had been central to its operations.
“What happened at the harbor?” Victoria asked.
Alexander shook his head.
“My father never spoke about it.”
Nathan photographed the note and placed the image with the evidence.
“We need to identify the incident before drawing conclusions.”
Victoria nodded.
As she prepared to leave, Alexander reached for her hand.
She stepped back.
“Don't.”
He let his arm fall.
She walked through the front door without looking behind her.
Outside, Nathan waited beside the car.
“Are you all right?”
Victoria looked at the photograph in her hand.
“No. But I'm finally asking the right questions.”
Her phone rang before she reached the vehicle.
The caller was the retired attorney who had found the Continuity Agreement.
He sounded frightened.
“Mrs. Moretti, I need to speak with you immediately.”
“About what?”
“The harbor records.”
Victoria stopped walking.
“What did you find?”
The attorney lowered his voice.
“Dominic Moretti didn't simply acquire your grandmother's share of the business.”
May you like
He paused.
“He acquired it after a man died.”
