Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO HELD MY MOTHER'S HAND|
There are moments when betrayal arrives so quietly that your mind refuses to accept it.
Mine arrived in the form of a photograph on Dominic's phone.
Aaron Voss.
The man I'd thanked for helping my mother recover.
The man who'd carried groceries upstairs when the elevator broke.
The man who'd told her she was making excellent progress.
He was related to Richard Bellini.
And he'd been inside our apartment more times than I could count.
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
Dominic said nothing.
I shook my head.
“That can't be right.”
Luca moved closer.
“Hannah.”
“He's been treating my mother for weeks.”
My voice rose.
“He helped her after surgery.”
Luca reached for the phone.
“Dom, verify the identification again.”
“We already did.”
“Then verify his credentials.”
Dominic nodded.
“I've started.”
I looked at Luca.
“Does that mean he isn't really a therapist?”
“We don't know yet.”
I thought of my mother standing beside her walker.
Trusting him.
Following his instructions.
Telling him about her pain.
And telling him about me.
My stomach turned.
“I need to call her.”
Luca handed me his phone when my own hands shook too badly to unlock it.
My mother answered on the second ring.
“Hannah?”
“Mom, is Aaron supposed to come today?”
A pause.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
I closed my eyes.
“When?”
“Two.”
I looked at the clock.
It was nearly one.
“Cancel it.”
“Why?”
“Please.”
My voice cracked.
“Don't let him come inside.”
“Hannah, what's wrong?”
I couldn't lie to her.
Not after spending an entire night watching what lies could do to a family.
“Mom, we found out he may not be who he says he is.”
Silence.
Then she whispered, “What do you mean?”
“I don't know everything yet.”
I sat on a bench near the station entrance.
“But someone connected to him has been threatening people.”
My mother inhaled sharply.
“Sweetheart, he has a key.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“What?”
“He said the building manager gave him an emergency key while I was recovering.”
My heart pounded.
“Mom, why didn't you tell me?”
“I thought you knew.”
I looked at Luca.
He saw my expression.
“What is it?”
I covered the phone.
“He has a key.”
Luca turned immediately.
“Dominic.”
Dominic was already moving.
Luca spoke into his phone.
“Send someone to the building manager and have the lock changed immediately with Mrs. Collins's approval.”
I heard Dominic repeat the instructions.
Then Luca crouched in front of me.
“Tell your mother to stay on the phone.”
I nodded.
“Mom, don't hang up.”
“All right.”
“Are the doors locked?”
“Yes.”
“Can you see the hallway from the peephole?”
“Yes.”
“Don't go near it.”
My mother made a small sound.
“Hannah?”
“Yes?”
“I think I should tell you something.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“Aaron asked about your employer.”
I closed my eyes.
“When?”
“Last week.”
“What did he ask?”
“Whether Mr. Moretti was getting married.”
Luca's expression changed.
“And whether I knew his mother.”
I felt cold.
“What did you tell him?”
“That you worked at the house.”
My mother began crying.
“Oh, Hannah.”
“Mom, don't.”
“I told him Mrs. Moretti was a lovely woman.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I didn't know.”
“Of course you didn't.”
Then she whispered, “He asked whether Mrs. Moretti ever gave you gifts.”
I looked at Luca.
He leaned closer.
“What kind of gifts?”
I repeated the question.
My mother hesitated.
“I told him about the blue scarf.”
I blinked.
“What blue scarf?”
“The one you brought me last month.”
I remembered.
Teresa had knitted it herself.
She'd insisted that my mother needed something soft during recovery.
I had taken it home after work.
My mother wore it every morning.
Luca looked sharply at me.
“Did Mom give you anything else?”
I thought hard.
“She gave me a small card.”
“What card?”
“A thank-you note.”
“Anything inside it?”
“I don't know.”
I felt embarrassed.
“I read it, then put it in my bedside drawer.”
Luca glanced toward Dominic.
“Have someone preserve the card and envelope.”
I nodded.
Then my mother suddenly whispered, “Someone's at the door.”
My blood turned cold.
“Mom?”
A knock sounded through the phone.
Then a man's voice.
“Mrs. Collins?”
I recognized it.
Aaron.
My mother gasped.
“It's him.”
“Don't answer.”
The knocking continued.
“Mrs. Collins, it's Aaron.”
His voice sounded just as gentle as it always had.
“I've come to check your hip.”
I covered my mouth.
The man who'd helped my mother stand was now standing outside her door.
And I had no idea what he intended to do.
Luca took the phone.
“Mr. Whitcomb, this is Luca Moretti.”
Silence.
Then Aaron laughed softly.
“Well, that's unexpected.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Step away from the apartment.”
“I have an appointment.”
“It's canceled.”
“I'd prefer to hear that from my patient.”
“My attorney and the building's security manager can explain the situation.”
A pause.
Then Aaron's voice changed.
“You sound like Giovanni.”
Luca went completely still.
“Did you know my father?”
Another silence.
Then Aaron said, “Everybody knew your father.”
Luca leaned closer.
“Why are you using the name Whitcomb?”
The line went quiet.
I heard a faint sound through my mother's phone.
Footsteps.
Then Aaron spoke again.
“Tell Hannah her mother would have been perfectly safe if she'd stayed out of family business.”
My whole body began shaking.
Luca's voice became colder.
“Walk away.”
Aaron laughed.
“You Morettis always think you can give orders.”
Luca didn't respond.
A moment later, a second voice sounded in the hallway.
Building security.
Then another.
Police officers.
Aaron stopped speaking.
My mother whispered, “They're here.”
I nearly collapsed with relief.
Luca handed me the phone.
“Mom?”
“Oh, Hannah.”
She began crying.
“I'm okay.”
I closed my eyes.
“I know.”
“Sweetheart, I'm so sorry.”
“Please don't apologize.”
I looked at the blue blanket in the briefcase.
At Giovanni's records.
At Luca standing beside me.
“You didn't do anything wrong.”
We remained at the station until Dominic confirmed that Aaron had left the building and been detained for questioning in connection with allegations involving identity fraud and harassment.
The apartment lock was changed.
My mother agreed to stay with her sister for several days.
And the legitimate rehabilitation agency confirmed that Aaron had used false information to obtain his assignment.
The news devastated her.
But she was safe.
For the moment, that was enough.
By late afternoon, we had returned to Luca's office.
An attorney named Rachel Bennett joined us.
She specialized in financial investigations and complex property disputes.
She examined the documents from Union Station.
Then she looked at Luca.
“These records are significant.”
He nodded.
“Can they help Elena?”
“Potentially.”
She turned another page.
“But we need to handle them correctly.”
Nora sat beside me.
“What does that mean?”
Rachel's expression softened.
“It means the evidence has to be verified, preserved, and presented through lawful channels.”
Nora looked disappointed.
“But Mom is missing now.”
“I understand.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“That's why the kidnapping investigation and the financial investigation need to run together.”
Luca looked at Dominic.
“Do we have a location?”
“Not yet.”
Rachel continued.
“We should also discuss your mother's legal situation.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“What about it?”
She removed another folder from her briefcase.
“This was filed yesterday.”
Luca stared at the heading.
I leaned closer.
It was a petition seeking temporary guardianship over Teresa Moretti.
The petitioner was listed as Michael Moretti.
Supporting statements had been provided by Vanessa Bellini.
My stomach dropped.
“They actually filed it?”
Rachel nodded.
“Yes.”
Luca opened the document.
His expression grew colder with every page.
Vanessa had described Teresa as confused.
Emotionally unstable.
Unable to maintain an appropriate living environment.
Dependent upon domestic staff.
And incapable of understanding complex financial matters.
I felt tears sting my eyes.
They had taken ordinary signs of aging and turned them into accusations.
Her blanket.
Her trembling hands.
Her grief over her husband.
Even her need for help walking down the stairs.
All of it had been rewritten to make her seem incapable.
Luca closed the folder.
“Mom has her own attorney.”
Rachel nodded.
“That's good.”
“I want her informed of everything.”
“Of course.”
“And I want the court to hear directly from her.”
Rachel looked at him.
“That's essential.”
Then I noticed a familiar name near the bottom.
The person who had provided a statement about Teresa's daily behavior.
Hannah Collins.
My name.
I stared at it.
“That isn't possible.”
Luca looked toward me.
“What?”
I pointed.
“That's my name.”
Rachel examined the page.
A signed statement claimed I had observed frequent confusion, memory problems, and unreasonable behavior.
I hadn't written it.
I hadn't signed it.
I had never even seen it.
My hands began shaking.
“They forged my signature.”
Luca stared at the document.
Then he looked at me.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
My voice cracked.
“I would never say those things about your mother.”
“I know.”
I looked at the signature.
It resembled mine.
Close enough to fool someone who didn't know me.
And then I remembered something.
Three weeks earlier, Vanessa had asked me to sign a routine payroll acknowledgment.
She'd insisted on having a paper copy.
I'd thought nothing of it.
Now the shape of the letters looked horribly familiar.
I looked at Rachel.
“Can that be challenged?”
She nodded.
“Yes, and we need to preserve evidence of the forgery.”
I sat back.
Anger replaced my fear.
They had threatened my job.
Humiliated Teresa.
Frightened my mother.
And now they'd put my name on a lie meant to take away an elderly woman's independence.
Luca looked at me.
“Hannah, you don't have to be involved in the hearing.”
I shook my head.
“Yes, I do.”
He studied my face.
“You're certain?”
I nodded.
“Your mother stood beside me when Vanessa threatened my job.”
I took a breath.
“I'm going to stand beside her when Vanessa tries to take her rights.”
Rachel gave a small nod.
Then she turned toward Luca.
“We should also examine the identity of the supposed medical evaluator.”
Luca frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the petition mentions an assessment scheduled for Friday.”
Friday.
The same day Michael had insisted Teresa's bedroom be emptied.
The same day somebody was supposedly coming to inspect the mansion.
I looked at Luca.
He looked back at me.
Suddenly, the last piece of the plan became clear.
Vanessa hadn't moved Teresa because her parents needed a bedroom.
She had moved Teresa to make her appear displaced, confused, and dependent.
Then someone would arrive to write a report supporting the story.
Rachel turned the page.
“The evaluator's name is Dr. Simon Reeves.”
Dominic immediately took out his phone.
Within minutes, his expression changed.
“Sir.”
Luca looked up.
“What?”
Dominic held out the screen.
“Dr. Reeves isn't licensed to practice medicine in Illinois.”
Rachel frowned.
“Then what is he?”
Dominic swallowed.
“He's a consultant employed by Bellini Development.”
The room went silent.
Then Nora's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
“It's Grandma.”
Luca immediately nodded.
“Answer.”
Nora put the call on speaker.
“Grandma?”
Teresa's voice sounded faint.
“Sweetheart, are you with Luca?”
“Yes.”
“Is Hannah there?”
“I'm here, Mrs. Moretti.”
A pause.
Then Teresa whispered, “I've remembered something about your father's last night.”
Luca stood.
“Mom?”
Her voice trembled.
“Giovanni didn't drink the tea Richard brought him.”
Nobody moved.
Then she began crying.
“He gave it to someone else.”
Luca gripped the table.
“Who?”
Teresa took a shaky breath.
“Michael.”
May you like
The room went completely silent.
Then she whispered, “And that night, your brother became terribly ill.”
