Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
“Why are you asking about my brother's coat?”
Gabriel stepped toward Vittorio Romano.
The older man adjusted his charcoal overcoat.
At sixty-eight, Vittorio still carried himself like someone who believed every room belonged to him.
“Isabella mentioned finding it among the old family belongings,” he replied. “I assumed you'd finally decided to have it restored.”
“You knew she had it?”
“Of course.”
“Then why did she tell my staff it had been destroyed?”
Vittorio glanced toward Inspector Price.
“Gabriel, must we discuss a family misunderstanding in front of government employees?”
Inspector Price didn't move.
“I'm here because your company appears to have installed construction materials previously rejected for safety reasons.”
Vittorio smiled politely.
“Then I suggest we allow qualified engineers to determine whether those concerns remain relevant.”
“That's precisely what we're doing,” she answered.
Her voice remained calm.
“Until testing is completed, the public walkway will remain closed.”
The smile vanished.
“You realize the financial consequences?”
“Not as important as the consequences of structural failure.”
Gabriel watched the exchange.
Four years earlier, he would have supported Vittorio automatically.
Romano Construction had completed major projects across the Northeast.
Vittorio had been a business associate of Gabriel's father.
And Isabella had spent the past year convincing Gabriel that merging their interests would strengthen both families.
Now Gabriel wondered how much of that relationship had been built on omissions.
“I want the original purchasing records,” he said.
Vittorio looked at him.
“You're entitled to request them through the proper channels.”
“This is a Moretti-owned property.”
“And the construction contracts belong to Romano Holdings.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“My brother died here.”
Vittorio's expression softened unexpectedly.
“And I buried two employees that winter. You weren't the only man who lost somebody.”
Rosa looked up.
For a moment, she saw genuine exhaustion in his face.
Then he continued.
“After that accident, my company nearly collapsed. Banks threatened our credit lines. Hundreds of workers depended on us. We made difficult decisions because people needed their jobs.”
Walter Dempsey approached from beside his truck.
“You made us work on a platform your own engineers called dangerous.”
Vittorio faced him.
“Walter, you received a substantial settlement.”
“My grandson limps when it's cold.”
The older man went silent.
Walter took another step.
“Matteo understood that a paycheck doesn't mean much to a dead worker.”
Gabriel placed himself between them.
“Enough. The county will finish its review.”
Vittorio lowered his voice.
“You've no idea what reopening this investigation could cost your family.”
Gabriel answered without hesitation.
“I know exactly what burying it has already cost.”
He walked away with Rosa.
Behind them, Inspector Price began placing closure notices along the walkway.
The grand opening banners remained hanging.
For now, they advertised an event that could not safely happen.
During the drive home, Rosa stared out the window.
Gabriel waited until they passed the estate gates.
“There's something you haven't said.”
She kept looking outside.
“Vittorio recognized me.”
“Yes.”
“He came to the staff entrance after Matteo died. I remember his voice.”
Gabriel turned toward her.
“What happened?”
“He asked whether Matteo had left me any papers.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
“Did he threaten you?”
Rosa's hands tightened.
“He said powerful families sometimes paid people to disappear from difficult situations. Then he asked whether I wanted a comfortable future or a complicated one.”
Gabriel felt sick.
“Why didn't you report it?”
“To whom?”
She finally looked at him.
“You believed Matteo was guilty. Isabella knew what was happening. Everyone else worked for your family.”
He had no answer.
Rosa leaned against the seat.
“I didn't know how to fight people like that.”
“You shouldn't have needed to.”
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“I shouldn't have.”
When they reached the mansion, Isabella was waiting in the front hall.
She looked as though she hadn't slept.
“Father told me what happened.”
Gabriel removed his coat.
“Then he probably told you I intend to cooperate with the inspection.”
“He says you'll destroy both companies.”
“Maybe that should concern him more than it concerns me.”
Isabella looked toward Rosa.
“Could we speak privately?”
Rosa started to leave.
Gabriel stopped her.
“If this concerns Matteo, Rosa stays.”
Isabella rubbed her forehead.
“Fine.”
She reached into her handbag.
Inside was a thick envelope containing several faded payment receipts.
Gabriel recognized the bank that had handled Matteo's accounts.
“Where did you get these?”
“Your brother gave them to me before the accident.”
Rosa stepped closer.
Each receipt listed payments to workers, medical facilities, and temporary housing providers.
The dates matched the transfer Gabriel had believed was theft.
“You kept these?” he asked.
Isabella looked down.
“I was afraid of what would happen if I handed them over.”
“Afraid of what?”
“My father losing everything.”
Gabriel spread the papers across a table.
“Matteo's reputation was destroyed because of that accusation.”
“I know.”
“You watched me believe he stole from me.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Isabella's composure finally cracked.
“Because my father's company was already drowning in debt. He'd borrowed against our home. Against the business. Against everything my mother left us.”
Her eyes filled.
“He told me that if the investigation reopened, two hundred employees would lose their jobs. He said Matteo's death couldn't be changed, but the living still needed protecting.”
Rosa stared at her.
“And what about my daughter?”
Isabella closed her eyes.
“I didn't know how to handle that.”
“You called her filthy.”
“I was angry.”
“At a three-year-old?”
Isabella couldn't answer.
Rosa stepped closer.
“Lily walked up to you because she thought the button was pretty. She wanted to give it to you.”
A tear slipped down Isabella's cheek.
For the first time, her shame seemed real.
“I saw the button,” she whispered. “I thought she'd found something she shouldn't have.”
“So you screamed at her.”
“Yes.”
Rosa's voice steadied.
“You don't get to turn your fear into my child's pain.”
Isabella nodded slowly.
“No. I don't.”
Gabriel collected the receipts.
“Why did your father know about the coat?”
Isabella hesitated.
“He told me to destroy it after the accident.”
“And you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn't believe everything he said about that night.”
A long silence followed.
Then Isabella added something unexpected.
“The stain on Matteo's sleeve wasn't his blood.”
Rosa stared.
“Whose was it?”
“Walter's. Matteo helped pull him away from a falling support beam earlier that evening. I was there when they came off the platform. Walter's hand was bleeding.”
Gabriel thought of Walter's missing fingertips.
Isabella had known more than she'd admitted.
“Were you there when Matteo died?”
She shook her head.
“I left before the collapse. I've spent almost four years wishing I'd stayed.”
Before Gabriel could question her further, Rosa spoke.
“You keep telling us why you were frightened. But Lily was frightened this morning too.”
Isabella looked at her.
“And the difference is that she's three. You're an adult.”
Rosa turned toward Gabriel.
“I want to take Lily home.”
“You and Lily can stay here,” he said. “There's plenty of room.”
“That isn't the point.”
“What do you need?”
“To know my daughter belongs somewhere because she's loved. Not because somebody suddenly discovered she might inherit money.”
Gabriel absorbed the words.
“You're right.”
Rosa nodded.
“Then tomorrow, we talk about how to establish who she is.”
Isabella looked sharply at her.
“Without a legally recognized relationship, that won't be simple.”
Rosa's expression changed.
Gabriel noticed.
“What is it?”
Rosa looked down at the silver ring around her neck.
Then she reached into her apron and removed a small, worn envelope.
“I never wanted money,” she whispered.
She opened the envelope.
Inside lay a folded certificate bearing the seal of the City of Beacon.
Gabriel read the names.
Matteo Anthony Moretti.
Rosa Elena Delgado.
The date was October 24.
Two weeks before Matteo died.
Gabriel looked up.
“Rosa…”
Her eyes filled.
“Matteo wasn't just Lily's father.”
May you like
She touched the silver ring.
“He was my husband.”
