Chapter 10 - THE NIGHT GIOVANNI MORETTI DIED|
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Teresa's voice came through Nora's phone.
“Luca, are you still there?”
He swallowed.
“Yes, Mom.”
“I'm sorry.”
His expression softened.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because I should have told you sooner.”
“Tell me now.”
A shaky breath sounded.
“Your father had been arguing with Richard all afternoon.”
Luca pulled out a chair.
“About the warehouse?”
“Yes.”
Teresa paused.
“Richard came to the mansion carrying a bottle of expensive whiskey and a box of tea.”
I looked at Luca.
His eyes were fixed on the phone.
“He said he'd come to make peace.”
Teresa continued.
“Giovanni refused the whiskey.”
“Why?”
“He didn't trust Richard.”
Luca nodded slowly.
“And the tea?”
“Richard said it was a special herbal blend from a doctor in Europe.”
I felt sick.
“He wanted your father to drink it after dinner.”
“What happened?”
“Giovanni set the cup aside.”
Teresa's voice trembled.
“Michael came downstairs looking exhausted.”
Nora covered her mouth.
“He'd been arguing with Elena.”
Luca closed his eyes.
“Go on, Mom.”
“Your father offered him the tea.”
A long silence followed.
“Michael drank half of it.”
Teresa began crying.
“Within an hour, he was vomiting.”
Luca stood.
“Did you call an ambulance?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“The doctors thought he'd suffered a severe reaction to something he'd eaten.”
“Did they test the tea?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Teresa began crying harder.
“Because Richard took the box away.”
I looked toward Dominic.
He was taking notes.
Luca's expression was almost unreadable.
“What happened to Dad?”
Teresa took a shaky breath.
“He became ill two days later.”
“Did he drink anything else Richard gave him?”
“I don't know.”
A pause.
“He was already having heart problems.”
Her voice broke.
“That's why I never knew what to believe.”
Luca sat down slowly.
“Mom, listen to me.”
She sniffed.
“You didn't cause this.”
“But I should have remembered.”
“You were grieving.”
“I was frightened.”
“I know.”
Teresa began crying.
“Richard told me not to tell anybody about Michael getting sick.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Why?”
“He said people would blame Giovanni for giving him the tea.”
Nobody moved.
Luca looked at Nora.
She was trembling.
Then Teresa whispered, “And Michael believed him.”
The silence became painful.
Luca closed his eyes.
His father had suspected a dangerous man.
His brother had been frightened into silence.
And his mother had carried a memory that had haunted her for eight years.
“Mom,” Luca said, “I need you to tell Rachel everything you remember.”
“Will I have to go to court?”
“Possibly.”
She was quiet.
Then she asked, “Will you be there?”
Luca looked toward me.
“Yes.”
“And Hannah?”
I leaned closer.
“I'll be there if you want me.”
Teresa gave a small, shaky breath.
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
The call ended.
For several moments, we sat silently.
Then Rachel closed the folder.
“We need an independent medical review.”
Luca nodded.
“Of both incidents.”
“Yes.”
She looked toward Dominic.
“And we need to locate the original hospital records.”
Dominic stepped out to make the arrangements.
Nora wiped her cheeks.
“Does that mean Grandpa was murdered?”
Rachel answered carefully.
“It means there are reasons to investigate suspicious circumstances.”
Nora lowered her eyes.
“But we don't know yet.”
“Not yet.”
Luca looked at his niece.
“We're not going to replace one lie with another.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
Then the door opened.
Michael entered.
Nobody had summoned him.
He looked toward Nora.
Then toward Luca.
“I heard Mom remembered the tea.”
Luca stood.
“Sit down.”
Michael obeyed.
He looked older than he had the night before.
The confidence was gone.
His expensive suit hung awkwardly from his shoulders.
Luca placed the medical documents in front of him.
“Tell me what happened.”
Michael stared at the papers.
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
Michael closed his eyes.
Then he began.
“I thought Dad was trying to control my life.”
Nora looked away.
“He hated Richard.”
“Because Richard was stealing from people,” Luca said.
“I know that now.”
“You knew enough then.”
Michael nodded.
“Yes.”
He rubbed his face.
“I was twenty-one when Daniel Voss first offered me a job.”
Luca listened.
“He said I could make my own money.”
“Doing what?”
“Processing invoices for his construction companies.”
“False invoices?”
Michael nodded.
“At first, I told myself they were just accounting tricks.”
He looked at Nora.
“I was young and arrogant.”
Her expression didn't change.
Michael continued.
“Then Elena's father found out.”
“Gabriel Salazar,” Luca said.
“Yes.”
“He threatened to report the fraud.”
Michael nodded.
“And Daniel threatened him.”
Nora's eyes filled.
“What did you do?”
Michael's voice cracked.
“Nothing.”
She closed her eyes.
“I was afraid of losing the money.”
He looked down.
“And afraid of admitting I was involved.”
The room became very quiet.
Michael continued.
“After the fire, Dad learned I'd signed documents that helped hide the transfers.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“He should have turned you in.”
Michael nodded.
“Yes.”
Those words surprised me.
There was no defensiveness left.
Only shame.
“He wanted me to cooperate with investigators.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because Daniel said Elena would be next.”
Nora's eyes filled again.
Michael turned toward her.
“I believed him.”
She looked at him.
“And you believed staying away from us would keep us safe?”
Michael swallowed.
“Yes.”
Nora shook her head.
“You didn't protect us.”
“I know.”
“You left Mom to work two jobs.”
“I know.”
“You let Grandpa Giovanni be our only family.”
Michael began crying.
“I know.”
She stood.
“Stop saying that.”
His face crumpled.
“I'm sorry.”
Nora looked at him for a long time.
Then she whispered, “I needed a father.”
Michael covered his face.
“And I got a man who visited on birthdays and acted like I was a secret he was ashamed of.”
I felt tears sting my eyes.
Michael couldn't answer.
Nora walked toward the window.
Luca let her have the silence.
Then he returned to the question.
“What happened the night Dad became ill?”
Michael wiped his face.
“I drank the tea.”
“Did you know what was in it?”
“No.”
“How sick did you get?”
“I couldn't stop vomiting.”
“Did Richard contact you?”
Michael nodded.
“The next morning.”
“What did he say?”
“He said the tea was meant for Dad.”
The room went cold.
Luca stared at him.
“And you never told me?”
Michael's voice broke.
“He said if I told anybody, he'd make sure Elena and Nora disappeared.”
Nora turned from the window.
“So you knew he might have tried to poison Grandpa?”
Michael nodded.
“Yes.”
She looked devastated.
“And you kept working for him.”
Michael's eyes filled.
“I thought I could keep him close enough to know what he was planning.”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
Michael lowered his gaze.
“I know.”
“You kept working for him because you were afraid of what would happen if you stopped.”
Michael began crying.
“Yes.”
There it was.
The truth.
Ugly.
Humiliating.
And long overdue.
Luca sat opposite his brother.
“Did you help him take Elena?”
Michael looked up sharply.
“No.”
“Did you know he planned it?”
“No.”
“Did you give him access to her address?”
Michael hesitated.
Nora stepped closer.
“Dad?”
His eyes filled.
“I gave Vanessa Elena's number.”
Nora covered her mouth.
Michael continued.
“She said she wanted to negotiate a peaceful settlement.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“You believed her?”
“Yes.”
“After what she did to Mom?”
Michael lowered his eyes.
“I was desperate.”
Nora shook her head.
“You always are.”
Michael began crying silently.
Luca waited until he could speak again.
Then he asked, “Are you prepared to give a full statement to investigators?”
Michael nodded.
“Yes.”
“Even if it means being prosecuted?”
A long pause.
Then Michael whispered, “Yes.”
Luca leaned back.
“Good.”
His brother looked startled.
“That's all?”
“No.”
Luca stood.
“You also need to stop asking Nora to forgive you before you've done anything to earn her forgiveness.”
Michael lowered his head.
“Understood.”
“And you will never threaten my mother's home again.”
“No.”
“Or Hannah's job.”
Michael looked toward me.
His eyes were red.
“Hannah.”
I stiffened.
He swallowed.
“I was wrong.”
I didn't answer.
He continued.
“I knew Mom trusted you.”
His voice broke.
“And I used that against both of you.”
I stared at him.
“You made her think she had to choose between keeping her home and protecting me.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“She cried every night.”
Michael covered his mouth.
I felt tears running down my own cheeks.
“She was seventy-eight years old.”
My voice shook.
“And she was afraid to ask her own son for help.”
Michael couldn't look at me.
“I'm sorry.”
I took a breath.
“Then tell the truth.”
He nodded.
“I will.”
For the first time, I believed he might.
Not because he'd apologized.
Because he'd finally stopped making excuses.
A few minutes later, Rachel escorted him into another room to prepare a formal statement.
Luca stood beside the window.
I approached quietly.
“Are you okay?”
He gave a tired laugh.
“No.”
I nodded.
“That's fair.”
He looked toward me.
“I spent years thinking my brother was reckless.”
He swallowed.
“I never imagined he'd been carrying this.”
“Fear makes people do terrible things.”
He nodded.
“But it doesn't excuse them.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Thank you for understanding that.”
I wasn't sure what to say.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from Dominic.
Luca read it.
His expression changed.
“What?” I asked.
He looked at me.
“We have a possible location for Elena.”
My heart pounded.
“Where?”
“A former industrial property near the river.”
He held up the phone.
“It's owned by a holding company connected to Bellini Development.”
Nora hurried toward us.
“Is Mom there?”
Luca looked at her.
“We don't know yet.”
Then Dominic called again.
Luca answered.
His expression grew colder.
“Tell me.”
A pause.
“How recent?”
Another pause.
Then he looked at Nora.
“Dominic found a vehicle matching the one from the photograph.”
Nora covered her mouth.
“And?”
Luca swallowed.
“It arrived at the property less than an hour ago.”
She began crying.
“Please.”
Luca reached for his jacket.
But before he could leave, Rachel returned.
“Luca, wait.”
He turned.
“What?”
She held out a sealed packet.
“This just arrived from your mother's attorney.”
Luca frowned.
“What is it?”
Rachel's expression was grim.
“A notice of an emergency hearing.”
I looked at her.
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Nora stared at us.
“For Grandma?”
Rachel nodded.
“Richard's attorneys are trying to accelerate the guardianship petition.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“On what basis?”
Rachel hesitated.
Then looked at me.
“They're alleging Hannah Collins has been exploiting Teresa financially.”
I felt the room spin.
“What?”
Rachel continued.
“They've submitted a second statement.”
She handed me the page.
It claimed I had manipulated Teresa into giving me money and confidential family documents.
My hands trembled.
Then I saw the attached photograph.
It showed Teresa handing me an envelope outside the mansion.
I remembered that afternoon.
She'd given me a birthday card for my mother.
Inside had been a small handwritten prayer.
Nothing else.
But the photograph made it look as though she were secretly paying me.
I looked at Luca.
“They're trying to make me the reason your mother can't be trusted.”
He nodded slowly.
Then his expression changed.
Because he understood something I didn't.
He looked at Rachel.
“Where did they get that photograph?”
She frowned.
“We don't know.”
Luca pointed to the edge of the image.
“Look at the reflection.”
I leaned closer.
In the mansion's glass door, a woman stood holding a phone.
Red dress.
Dark hair.
Diamond earrings.
Vanessa.
Rachel stared at it.
Then Luca whispered, “She wasn't documenting Mom's decline.”
May you like
He looked at me.
“She was manufacturing it.”
