Chapter 8 - The Father's Secret
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Vittorio Moretti lived in a mansion overlooking the Hudson River, where the grounds were trimmed with military precision and every hallway smelled faintly of lemon polish.
He was seventy-two, broad-shouldered despite his age, and possessed the kind of commanding silence that made people lower their voices without realizing it.
When Lorenzo arrived with Elara, Vittorio was seated in his study reading a newspaper.
“You're late,” he said.
“Someone tried to kill me.”
Vittorio folded the paper.
“Then you should be more careful about where you dine.”
Elara stared at him.
Lorenzo's expression did not change.
“Dario Bellini is dead.”
Vittorio's eyes flickered.
“That's unfortunate.”
“His mother has been receiving money from you for eleven years.”
A long silence followed.
Then Vittorio set the newspaper aside.
“Who told you that?”
“Does it matter?”
“It matters when people start confusing charity with conspiracy.”
“Was it charity?”
Vittorio stood and walked toward the window.
“Dario's father was a good man. His family suffered after he died. I helped them.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you had no reason to know.”
Lorenzo's voice sharpened.
“Apparently, I did.”
Elara looked between them.
“Did Dario know about the missing shipment?”
Vittorio turned toward her.
“And you are?”
“Elara Vance.”
Recognition crossed his face.
Only for a second.
But she saw it.
“You knew my mother,” she said.
Vittorio said nothing.
“You met her the night she died.”
His face grew hard.
“Who told you that?”
“Her husband.”
“Michael Vance?”
“Daniel Mercer now, apparently.”
Vittorio's jaw tightened.
“He should have stayed hidden.”
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Lorenzo stepped forward.
“You knew my mother—” He stopped, correcting himself. “You knew Elara's mother was in danger?”
“I knew she was asking questions about company records.”
“Was she killed because of those questions?”
Vittorio's silence became an answer of its own.
Elara felt a tremor pass through her.
“Tell me.”
Vittorio looked at her.
“Your mother believed she was exposing a criminal operation. She was right about some of it and wrong about other parts.”
“Which parts?”
“She believed I was responsible for the missing medical supplies.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
“Then who was?”
Vittorio walked to his desk and unlocked a drawer.
He removed a leather-bound ledger and placed it on the table.
“Your mother gave me copies of several documents before she died. I kept them because I believed they would be useful if the investigation ever reopened.”
Elara stared at the book.
“Why didn't you give them to the police?”
“Because the evidence implicated people who controlled the investigation.”
“And you decided to hide it.”
“I decided to keep my company alive.”
Lorenzo looked at his father with disgust.
“You let a woman die carrying the blame for your silence.”
Vittorio's expression darkened.
“I did not kill her.”
“You knew she was threatened.”
“I warned her to stop.”
“You warned her?”
“I told her the people she was investigating would not hesitate to hurt her family.”
Elara's voice shook.
“So you knew.”
Vittorio looked at her.
“Yes.”
The single word struck harder than any denial could have.
“I knew she was in danger,” he said. “I did not know they would sabotage her car.”
“Who did it?”
Vittorio closed the ledger.
“Victor Sloane arranged the operation. Senator Shaw helped bury the investigation. Dario provided internal records. There were others.”
“Names,” Lorenzo demanded.
“I don't have all of them.”
“Then give us the ones you have.”
Vittorio looked at his son.
“You think this is about justice? It is about survival. If those records become public, the company will collapse. Thousands of employees could lose their jobs.”
“People died.”
“And more people could suffer.”
Elara stepped forward.
“That's what people say when they want to keep doing nothing.”
Vittorio's eyes narrowed.
“You have no idea what it costs to protect a family.”
“I know what it costs when powerful people decide your family is expendable.”
For the first time, Vittorio seemed to have no answer.
Lorenzo took the ledger.
“We're giving this to Detective Collins.”
Vittorio's face hardened.
“You will destroy everything I built.”
“Maybe it deserves to be rebuilt.”
Lorenzo turned toward the door.
Elara followed.
Behind them, Vittorio spoke.
“Lorenzo, if you take those records outside this family, you will discover that your enemies are not the only people who have been lying to you.”
Lorenzo stopped.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
Vittorio looked directly at him.
“Ask your mother why she left this house.”
