Chapter 8 - THE BROTHER THEY TAUGHT HIM TO HATE
“Adrian didn't steal from the trust?”
My mother shook her head.
“No, Emily. He tried to stop it.”
For a moment, all I could hear was the refrigerator humming beside the kitchen window.
I'd worked in Luca Moretti's mansion for ten months.
During that time, I'd heard Adrian's name only twice.
Once from the cook.
Once from Daniel.
Both times, the subject had been dropped immediately.
The story everyone knew was simple.
Adrian had stolen money from the family business.
Luca had discovered it.
The brothers had argued.
And Adrian had disappeared from the family three years earlier.
Now my mother was telling me that story was a lie.
“Why didn't Adrian defend himself?” I asked.
“He tried.”
Mom looked toward Daniel.
“Dominic controlled the records. He showed Luca transfers that appeared to lead to Adrian's accounts.”
“And Caroline knew?”
“She suspected the evidence had been manipulated.”
I felt sick.
“Then why didn't she tell Luca?”
“She tried. But she was becoming seriously ill, and Dominic kept insisting that Adrian was using her sympathy.”
My mother wiped her eyes.
“Caroline didn't want to accuse anyone until she had proof.”
Daniel folded his arms.
“Where is Adrian now?”
Mom hesitated.
“I don't know his current address. But I know the name of the nonprofit he started.”
She wrote it on a piece of paper.
Second Chance Music Initiative.
I stared at it.
A music program.
Like Caroline's.
My mother nodded.
“He started helping children whose scholarships had disappeared.”
By that afternoon, Luca had been told everything.
He didn't react with anger at first.
He simply sat behind his desk, staring at the photograph of his brother.
Then he spoke.
“I told Adrian never to come near my family again.”
Daniel remained silent.
Luca rubbed his face.
“He begged me to look at the original statements. I wouldn't.”
I stood near the doorway.
“Mr. Moretti, you believed the records Dominic showed you.”
Luca shook his head.
“Adrian was my brother. I should have heard him out.”
He looked at the photograph again.
“He came to Caroline's funeral. I had security keep him outside.”
The words came slowly.
“He stood across the street in the rain. I saw him through the church window.”
Luca swallowed.
“And I did nothing.”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Nathan entered the office, holding his dinosaur book.
“Daddy?”
Luca immediately straightened.
“Hey, buddy.”
“Why are you sad?”
Luca glanced at the photograph.
“I'm thinking about Uncle Adrian.”
Nathan looked interested.
“The uncle from Mommy's pictures?”
“Yes.”
“Can he visit?”
Luca's face tightened.
“I hope so.”
Nathan walked closer.
“Mommy said he was funny.”
Luca smiled faintly.
“He was.”
“Did you fight?”
Luca nodded.
“Yes, buddy. We did.”
Nathan thought about that.
“Maybe you can say sorry.”
Luca pulled him into his arms.
“That's exactly what I need to do.”
The investigators took possession of the storage drive through a documented transfer from my mother.
Luca arranged for independent specialists to examine a forensic copy.
The original was preserved.
By evening, the accountant had identified several files matching transactions in Margaret's blue ledger.
There were also recordings.
One contained a conversation between Dominic and Anthony discussing how to conceal the misuse of charitable funds.
Another described how Adrian's employee credentials had been used to authorize transfers he hadn't approved.
The third was the most disturbing.
It was Caroline's voice.
She sounded weak.
But determined.
“Dominic, I know what happened to the scholarship money.”
Dominic answered.
“You don't understand what was at stake.”
“I understand children lost opportunities because you moved their money.”
“The company was close to collapsing. Those loans saved hundreds of jobs.”
“Then you should have told the trustees.”
A long silence followed.
Dominic finally spoke.
“Your father-in-law built everything we have. I wasn't going to watch it fall apart.”
Caroline answered.
“Protecting a company doesn't mean you own the money entrusted to children.”
Luca lowered his head.
The recording continued.
“And Adrian?” Caroline asked.
Dominic's voice hardened.
“He should have stayed quiet.”
“You ruined his reputation.”
“He threatened to expose the family.”
“He was telling the truth.”
Dominic didn't answer.
Then Caroline spoke again.
“I've made copies. Margaret has the originals. You can't erase this.”
The recording stopped.
Luca sat motionless.
I could almost see the past rearranging itself inside his mind.
His brother's exile.
Caroline's fear.
The forged documents.
Vanessa's strange behavior.
The missing recordings.
Everything led back to Dominic's decision to protect the company by stealing from the people it was supposed to serve.
That evening, Luca asked Daniel to locate Adrian through the nonprofit.
It wasn't difficult.
Second Chance Music Initiative operated out of a renovated community center in Milwaukee.
Adrian was its director.
Luca studied the website.
There was a photograph of his brother standing beside a group of children holding violins.
Adrian looked older.
His hair had begun to gray at the temples.
But his smile was familiar.
Luca touched the screen.
“He looks like Dad.”
I said nothing.
He turned toward me.
“Emily, would you come with me tomorrow?”
I hesitated.
“Why me?”
“Because Nathan trusts you. And because you've been willing to tell me the truth even when it was uncomfortable.”
I looked at him.
“Your brother may not want to see you.”
“I know.”
“And you can't make him forgive you.”
Luca nodded.
“I know that too.”
The next morning, Luca traveled to Milwaukee with Daniel.
I stayed at the mansion with Nathan.
Before leaving, Luca gave me permission to help restore Caroline's music room.
Nathan and I spent the morning dusting shelves and arranging her sheet music.
We placed the silver recorder beside her photograph.
Patrick had repaired the damaged casing.
He'd also restored the bedtime recordings from the surviving backup.
When Nathan heard his mother's voice again, he pressed his cheek against the little silver device.
“Hi, Mommy,” he whispered.
I turned away so he wouldn't see my tears.
Luca returned that evening.
His expression was difficult to read.
“Did you find Adrian?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Did he speak to you?”
“For nearly two hours.”
I waited.
“He was angry.”
“I imagine he would be.”
“He told me I didn't deserve his forgiveness.”
Luca looked toward the music room.
“And he was right.”
“Will he come back?”
“I don't know.”
Then he handed me a small envelope.
“Adrian asked me to give this to Nathan.”
Inside was an old photograph.
Two brothers standing beside Caroline.
Luca held a baby Nathan.
Adrian was making a ridiculous face.
On the back he'd written:
For Nathan. Your mom loved you more than anything. So do I. Uncle Adrian.
I smiled through tears.
“He remembered Nathan.”
“He never forgot him.”
Luca sat down.
Then he took another paper from his pocket.
“Adrian gave me this.”
It was a copy of a hospital visitor log.
Dated the night before Caroline died.
I frowned.
“What does it show?”
Luca pointed to the last entry.
Dominic Moretti had visited Caroline shortly before midnight.
Anthony Bellini had entered thirty minutes later.
And Vanessa had been there that afternoon.
But the final visitor was someone else.
Luca stared at the signature.
His face was ashen.
“Adrian said Caroline asked him to find this record years ago, but he couldn't understand why it mattered.”
I looked closer.
The final visitor had signed in at 1:17 a.m.
The name was written clearly.
Dr. Samuel Foster.
Nathan's physician.
The doctor who had examined his swollen hand.
The man who'd treated Caroline during her final illness.
And according to the official medical record, Caroline had been resting peacefully that entire night.
Luca stood.
May you like
His voice was barely audible.
“Why was Caroline's doctor visiting her secretly after Dominic and Anthony had already left?”
