Chapter 13 - THE NEPHEW WITH TWO FACESAdrian Moretti looked remarkably calm.
He stood in the basement holding the black notebook, as though he had been invited to inspect the building.
Dominic stepped forward.
"Put it down."
Adrian smiled.
"Hello, Uncle."
"You've got five seconds."
Adrian glanced at Maya.
"She's more important than you realize."
Maya folded her arms.
"Then perhaps you should explain why you've been trying to frighten me."
He placed the notebook on a wooden shelf.
"Because your aunt kept something that belongs to my family."
"Your family stole it."
Adrian's smile disappeared.
Dominic looked at him.
"How long have you been working with Victor?"
"Long enough to understand that you're losing control."
Dominic stepped closer.
"You arranged the robbery?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Daniel moved toward the stairs, preventing him from escaping.
Adrian sighed.
"Your father and Richard Reed destroyed our family business. Anthony was simply trying to restore what belonged to us."
Maya shook her head.
"By burning down a building?"
Adrian's expression hardened.
"You have no idea what happened."
"Then tell me."
For a moment, he looked genuinely troubled.
Adrian explained that his father had died under mysterious circumstances, leaving him with nothing. Anthony had raised him and promised him a future in the Moretti organization.
But Dominic inherited everything.
Adrian believed he had been cheated.
"Anthony told me that Richard Reed was responsible for my father's death," he said. "He said the Reeds stole the family business."
Dominic stared.
"Who was your father?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Raymond Cross."
The basement went silent.
Dominic looked toward Maya.
"Raymond's son."
Adrian nodded.
"Anthony promised that I would inherit the entire operation once you were removed."
Maya understood.
He wasn't simply trying to recover money.
He wanted power.
Dominic moved closer.
"Your father is alive."
Adrian's face changed.
"What?"
"Raymond Cross is alive. And he's been using you."
Adrian shook his head.
"You're lying."
Daniel opened his phone and showed him a photograph taken outside a private office in Philadelphia.
Raymond was standing beside Victor.
Adrian stared at the image.
"Where did you get that?"
"From the people who have been investigating your father."
Adrian's expression turned bitter.
"Then why hasn't he contacted me?"
"Perhaps because you're useful only when you're obedient."
Adrian suddenly lunged toward the shelf.
He grabbed the notebook and ran toward the stairs.
Daniel blocked his path.
The two men struggled.
Dominic ordered him to stop.
Adrian finally dropped the notebook.
Security officers rushed into the basement and restrained him.
Maya retrieved the notebook.
Its pages contained names, dates, and financial transactions.
One page was marked with a red circle.
THE ORIGINAL TRANSFER — LOCKER 17 — GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL.
Maya looked at Daniel.
"Is this what we've been searching for?"
Daniel nodded.
"Possibly."
But beneath the entry was another note.
If Maya survives, she must never learn who signed the final order.
Dominic examined the handwriting.
He recognized it.
Anthony's.
"There's something worse," he said.
Maya looked at him.
"What?"
Dominic turned the page.
The final order had been signed by a woman.
May you like
And the name was Isabella Moretti.
Dominic's mother.
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