Chapter 5 - THE BROTHER THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD BUY
“Don't you dare use my brother as another piece of your family mystery.”
Natalie's voice carried across the upstairs hallway.
Luca had found her outside the guest rooms, speaking to Daniel's caregiver on her phone.
When he showed her the photograph, the color drained from her face.
“Why does Vanessa have a picture of Daniel?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Then find out before you come near him.”
Luca accepted the anger without defending himself.
“I will.”
Natalie ended her call.
“His caregiver says someone from the Moretti Foundation called this afternoon.”
Luca frowned.
“About what?”
“An offer to transfer Daniel into a private residential program.”
“Did they ask your permission?”
“No. They said arrangements could be made immediately.”
Natalie's hands shook.
“My brother has a home, Luca. He has friends. He goes to an art program three mornings a week. Nobody gets to decide where he belongs because it's convenient for them.”
“I agree.”
“Then stop whoever is doing this.”
Luca called Marcus.
“Find out who contacted Daniel's agency. Cancel any transfer request. Tell them all decisions must come directly from Natalie or Daniel through his established care arrangements.”
Marcus confirmed the instruction.
Natalie watched Luca carefully.
For the first time since Teresa revealed the photograph, her anger softened slightly.
“Thank you.”
“That's the least I can do.”
She looked down at the image again.
“Daniel was born when I was six,” she said. “My mother never told me anything unusual about his father.”
“Was Thomas still alive?”
“Yes. He died the following year.”
Luca hesitated.
“Did your parents ever separate?”
“No. Not that I remember.”
He didn't push.
A photograph with Daniel's name didn't establish parentage, and Luca was beginning to understand the damage caused when powerful people treated other people's lives like puzzles they owned.
Downstairs, Vanessa was waiting near the grand staircase.
The engagement party had ended. The last guests had departed after hearing vague explanations about a medical emergency.
Flowers still covered the tables.
Half-filled champagne glasses stood beneath fading candles.
Vanessa approached Luca with a strained smile.
“Can we please discuss this privately?”
“We can discuss it here.”
She looked toward Natalie.
“Without the staff.”
“Natalie isn't the problem.”
Vanessa's cheeks flushed.
“She's been here six months. I've been with you three years.”
“And in three years, I've never seen you threaten someone's disabled brother.”
Vanessa went still.
“I didn't threaten him.”
“You threatened his care arrangements.”
“I was trying to make sure she'd keep quiet about something she didn't understand.”
“Why?”
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Because Raymond told me your grandmother was becoming unstable.”
“And you believed him?”
“He showed me medical reports.”
Luca stared.
“What reports?”
“Memory assessments. Notes from her doctor.”
“Grandma's doctor says she has normal age-related forgetfulness. Nothing that prevents her from managing her affairs.”
Vanessa looked startled.
“That's not what Raymond said.”
“Show me what he gave you.”
She hesitated, then opened her phone.
An image appeared.
A medical assessment bearing Teresa's name.
Luca recognized the clinic logo.
But he also noticed the date.
The report was signed three days after the clinic had permanently closed.
“It's forged,” he said.
Vanessa blinked.
“What?”
“This doctor retired last year. The clinic closed before this date.”
She stared at the document.
For one second, Luca saw genuine shock.
Then her expression closed.
“You're just saying that to defend her.”
“I'm showing you proof.”
Vanessa slipped the phone into her purse.
“Raymond told me Teresa was making dangerous accusations and that we needed to keep her away from the guests.”
“So you locked her in the cellar?”
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“I thought she'd be there for a few minutes.”
Luca felt the words strike him harder than a denial would have.
“You admit it.”
“I didn't know the cooling system was running that low!”
“You locked my grandmother behind a heavy door.”
“Raymond said someone would bring her upstairs after the photographs!”
Luca stared at her.
“Photographs?”
“The engagement pictures. He said if Teresa interrupted, people would start asking questions.”
“And you thought that justified what you did?”
Vanessa looked away.
“I know it was wrong.”
“Where is her bracelet?”
She reached into her evening bag.
For a moment, Luca thought she might finally hand it over.
Instead, she withdrew the velvet pouch and placed it on the table.
Inside was Teresa's bracelet.
The diamonds glittered beneath the chandelier.
Luca picked it up carefully.
The clasp had been scratched.
Someone had forced open the hidden compartment.
It was empty.
“Where's the photograph?” he asked.
“Raymond took it.”
“Yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you have the bracelet yesterday?”
“Teresa left it in the sitting room. Raymond said it belonged in the safe. He asked me to bring it to him.”
“Then you returned it?”
“Yes.”
“And tonight you took it again to accuse Natalie.”
Vanessa's face crumpled.
“Raymond said Natalie was trying to get close to your grandmother because she wanted money.”
“That's a lie.”
“I know that now.”
Luca looked at her for a long moment.
“Why did you believe it so easily?”
Vanessa's voice became smaller.
“Because I've spent three years trying to be accepted into this family, and Raymond was the only person who ever acted as though I belonged.”
Luca felt a flicker of sadness.
He had loved Vanessa once.
But love couldn't erase what she'd done.
“You could have come to me.”
“You were always working. And every time I asked about our future, you told me everything would be fine.”
“That doesn't excuse cruelty.”
“I know.”
He placed the bracelet back in its pouch.
“I'm ending the engagement.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
A single tear ran down her cheek.
“Raymond told me you'd say that if you ever learned about Natalie.”
“Then Raymond knew more than he admitted.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“You don't understand. He's not just afraid she'll receive money.”
“What is he afraid of?”
She looked toward the hall.
“That she'll recognize someone.”
Before Luca could ask whom, Marcus entered with a file.
“I checked Daniel Brooks's care records,” he said.
Natalie stepped forward.
“What about them?”
“Nothing has been changed. But someone submitted an authorization request this morning.”
“Who?” Luca asked.
Marcus opened the file.
“The request was signed by a woman named Margaret Bellini.”
Luca frowned.
“Margaret disappeared.”
“Apparently not.”
Marcus turned the page.
“The residential program rejected the request because the signature on the accompanying medical release didn't match Daniel's records.”
Natalie reached for the paper.
Her breath caught.
The release bore her mother's name.
CLAIRE BROOKS.
But Claire had died seven years earlier.
And the witness signature beneath it belonged to someone Natalie hadn't seen since her mother's funeral.
“That's impossible,” she whispered.
Luca leaned closer.
“Who is it?”
Natalie's eyes filled.
“Thomas Brooks's sister. Aunt Evelyn.”
Marcus looked up.
“Do you know where she lives?”
Natalie shook her head.
“She disappeared after my mother's funeral.”
Vanessa went pale.
“Evelyn Brooks?”
Luca turned sharply.
“You know her?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Raymond introduced me to a woman named Evelyn last month.”
“Where?”
“At his office.”
“What did she want?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“She said Daniel had something that belonged to Carlo Moretti.”
Natalie stared.
“My brother?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not money. Not jewelry.”
May you like
She looked directly at Luca.
“She said your father gave Daniel a recording before he died.”
