Chapter 11 - THE RECORDING NOBODY WAS SUPPOSED TO HEAR|
Grace was questioned by my security team.
She answered every question calmly.
She had not accessed the archive.
She had not shared her password.
And she had no idea why her credentials had been used.
I believed her.
But believing her wasn't enough.
I needed proof.
Marco discovered that the access code had been duplicated through a device connected to the estate's maintenance network.
The device belonged to Vanessa.
We found her in a hotel suite overlooking Biscayne Bay.
She was preparing to leave the city.
When I entered, she dropped her champagne glass.
"Luca!"
I placed a photograph of the access device on the table.
"Explain."
Vanessa recovered quickly.
"Your security system is compromised."
"By you?"
She laughed.
"You cannot seriously believe that."
I moved closer.
"Why did you access Claire's recording?"
Her smile disappeared.
"Because I wanted to know what she said."
"Why?"
"Because your family has been lying to mine for years."
I stared at her.
"What does that have to do with my wife?"
Vanessa opened a drawer and removed a folder.
Inside were photographs of my father and her father standing together outside a private club.
There were also documents relating to an old shipping company.
My father had once entered a business arrangement with the Harts.
After his death, I had ended it.
Vanessa's father had never accepted that decision.
"Your father promised mine a permanent partnership," she said.
"My father made plenty of promises."
"He also left behind obligations."
"Not involving my wife."
Vanessa stared at me.
"Claire discovered the company was being used to move money through illegal medical contracts."
I froze.
"What?"
"She found records linking your family to my father's businesses."
"Why would she investigate them?"
"Because she was worried about Noah's inheritance."
Vanessa stepped closer.
"She wanted you to leave the criminal business."
I said nothing.
"She thought she could expose everything without understanding what it would cost."
I grabbed the folder.
"Did your father hurt her?"
Vanessa looked away.
Then she said something that made my blood run cold.
"He didn't have to."
I turned toward the door.
But before I could leave, Vanessa called after me.
"Luca, you still haven't heard the recording."
She held up a small digital drive.
"Your mother gave this to my father three years ago."
I stopped.
Vanessa pressed a button.
A woman's voice filled the room.
It was Claire.
And she was crying.
"Luca, if you ever hear this, please don't trust Margaret. She knows what they are planning for our son."
Then another voice interrupted.
A man's voice.
My father's former attorney.
"Mrs. Moretti, the decision has already been made."
May you like
And Claire whispered:
"Then somebody is going to die."
