Chapter 4 - THE BABY WHO DISAPPEARED FROM THE FAMILY RECORDS
“Because that baby wasn't Vincent,” Teresa whispered. “She was his daughter.”
Alessandro stared at his mother.
For several seconds, he couldn't make sense of the words.
“Vincent was eight years old.”
“I know.”
“Then how could he have a daughter?”
Teresa shut her eyes.
“He didn't. I was frightened, and I said the wrong thing. The baby was connected to Vincent, but she wasn't his child.”
Rachel stepped toward the bed.
“Mrs. Romano, please. We need the truth.”
Teresa looked at her with an expression of terrible regret.
“That little girl was supposed to become Vincent's responsibility. Your grandfather arranged it.”
Alessandro placed the photograph on the bedside table.
“Start at the beginning. No more half-truths.”
Teresa drew a shaky breath.
“Twenty-six years ago, your father, Salvatore, became involved in a terrible financial scheme with Arthur Bellamy. Arthur managed charitable trusts for children whose parents had died or couldn't care for them. Your father supplied the money and influence to expand those trusts.”
“Why would that be illegal?”
“Because the money didn't always reach the children.”
Alessandro felt a familiar anger rising.
His father had built the Romano empire with a mixture of legitimate business, intimidation, and carefully purchased loyalty.
Alessandro had spent years removing the worst parts of that legacy.
But apparently, some of the damage had never been uncovered.
“Arthur created accounts in the children's names,” Teresa continued. “Then he used their identities to move money through companies your father controlled.”
Rachel frowned.
“Identity theft?”
“Among other things.”
“And the baby?”
Teresa touched the photograph.
“Her name was Isabelle. Her mother worked at one of Arthur's offices. After the mother died, Arthur promised the child would be cared for.”
“Instead?” Alessandro asked.
“He used her name to establish another account.”
Rachel looked at the little girl.
“Did anyone actually take care of her?”
“I tried.”
Teresa's voice broke.
“I visited her foster family. I paid for her clothes. I made sure she had doctors.”
“But you didn't stop Arthur,” Alessandro said.
“No.”
“Why?”
Teresa looked at him.
“Because your father told me that if I exposed what he'd done, you'd both lose everything. He said Vincent would be taken away because he'd already put accounts in Vincent's name.”
Alessandro went still.
“Vincent was eight.”
“Your father made him a beneficiary and used his identity as a signatory through forged authorizations. He wanted the paperwork to look legitimate when Vincent became an adult.”
Rachel stared at Teresa.
“So Vincent grew up knowing money was being moved through accounts that weren't really his?”
“Not at first. I tried to keep him away from it.”
Alessandro studied the picture again.
The child wore a small gold heart necklace.
He recognized the design.
It looked almost identical to Elena's missing necklace.
“Why did Isabelle have Elena's necklace?”
Teresa shook her head.
“She didn't. Your father ordered matching pendants for several people involved in the trusts. Each held a tiny numbered brass insert.”
Rachel felt a chill.
“Like identification tags?”
“Yes.”
Alessandro remembered Elena once telling him her necklace was older than their marriage.
She had refused his offer to replace it with diamonds.
He had thought she simply liked the old-fashioned design.
Now he wondered whether she had known what was hidden inside.
“What happened to Isabelle?” he asked.
Teresa stared at the photograph.
“Arthur moved her to another foster home when she was three. After that, he wouldn't tell me where she was.”
“Did you look?”
“For years.”
“And Vincent?”
“Your brother found the old account records when he turned twenty-one.”
Alessandro calculated the dates.
Thirteen years ago.
The same year Elena died.
“He confronted Dad?”
“Your father was already dead. Vincent confronted Arthur.”
“And Arthur started paying him?”
Teresa nodded.
“Vincent told me it was money he was entitled to receive.”
Rachel looked disgusted.
“Money stolen from children?”
Teresa lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
Alessandro stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, the gardens were dark.
He remembered Vincent as a frightened little boy following him through those same gardens.
Their father had been harsh with both sons, but Vincent had suffered differently.
Where Alessandro learned to resist, Vincent learned to please.
He had grown up believing affection was something to earn through obedience.
Alessandro had protected him from their father's temper.
Apparently, he had not protected him from their father's lessons.
“Why did you suddenly start investigating?” he asked Teresa.
“Because Evelyn Shaw brought me something last month.”
“What?”
“A copy of a hospital payment record. Arthur had arranged for a large transfer to Hawthorne Medical Center the morning after Elena died.”
Alessandro turned.
“Payment for what?”
“The entry was labeled medical consultation. Evelyn said the money was distributed among people who had handled Elena's case.”
Rachel looked alarmed.
“So the hospital staff were paid to stay quiet?”
“Some were. Evelyn wouldn't tell me who else was involved.”
“Where's the record?” Alessandro asked.
“Inside the cream coat.”
Rachel nodded.
“I saved it when Camille ordered it burned.”
Alessandro looked toward his security chief.
“Marco, bring that coat here.”
Marco returned fifteen minutes later carrying the garment inside a clean protective bag.
Rachel immediately recognized the cream wool, pearl buttons, and beautiful hand-stitched collar.
“Elena took care of this coat,” Teresa murmured.
Alessandro couldn't stop looking at it.
He remembered buying it for his wife during a snowy December trip to New York.
She had complained that it was too expensive.
He had told her he wanted something beautiful to keep her warm.
Now the coat was the only thing in the room that still seemed to carry her presence.
Rachel carefully turned the lining outward.
“There was something stiff beneath this seam.”
Using small sewing scissors, she opened the loose stitches.
A flat packet slid into her hand.
Inside were three photocopied financial records and a handwritten letter.
The letter was addressed to Teresa.
Alessandro recognized Elena's handwriting immediately.
He began reading aloud.
“Teresa, I found the accounts Arthur concealed from Margaret. But there's something worse. The children were used to move money, and when they became adults, Arthur continued using their signatures.”
Rachel covered her mouth.
Alessandro continued.
“Margaret believes her daughters' funds were taken to cover a debt her father owed Salvatore. I found proof that no such debt existed.”
Rachel's eyes filled.
Her mother had spent years believing the money was gone because of a legitimate family obligation.
It had been stolen.
“Keep reading,” she whispered.
Alessandro swallowed.
“Arthur knows I'm asking questions. He invited me to meet him tomorrow. If anything happens, don't let Vincent handle my belongings.”
The room fell silent.
Alessandro looked at the date.
The letter had been written the day before Elena died.
He remembered that evening.
Elena had asked him to come home early.
He had refused because Vincent needed help closing a shipping contract.
He suddenly remembered something else.
Vincent had insisted the contract couldn't wait.
“Vincent knew she was going to meet Arthur,” he said.
Teresa nodded.
“He was the one who told Arthur.”
Alessandro's hands tightened around the letter.
“Did he arrange the crash?”
“I don't know.”
The answer frustrated him more than any accusation could have.
Rachel gently took the final document from the packet.
It was a transfer receipt showing a substantial sum routed through a company called Bellamy Heritage Management.
The recipient was listed as Vincent Romano.
But there was a second beneficiary.
Rachel read the name twice.
Then she looked at Alessandro.
“Why is my sister on this?”
He took the paper.
The second beneficiary was Sophie Bennett.
The transfer had been made six weeks after Sophie's car accident.
Alessandro frowned.
“Arthur opened an account in her name.”
Rachel shook her head.
“No. Look at the date.”
She pointed to a notation beneath the transfer.
MEDICAL INCIDENT SETTLEMENT — CLAIM CLOSED.
Rachel's voice became unsteady.
“Sophie's accident was a hit-and-run. The driver was never found.”
Alessandro looked up.
“When did it happen?”
“Two years ago.”
“Where?”
“Outside a rehabilitation center in West Philadelphia.”
Teresa made a small sound.
Rachel looked toward her.
“What is it?”
The elderly woman gripped the edge of her blanket.
“Arthur owns that property.”
Rachel stared at the document.
Her sister's injuries had changed their lives.
Sophie had lost the ability to walk without assistance.
Rachel had left college and worked every job she could find.
And now there was a financial settlement nobody had told them about.
“Was someone paid to keep the driver secret?” she whispered.
Alessandro couldn't answer.
Marco examined the account number.
“Sir, this isn't an ordinary settlement. It was paid into a restricted trust.”
“Who controls it?”
Marco turned the page.
His expression changed.
“Vincent.”
Rachel backed away.
“No.”
Alessandro reached for the document.
Marco showed him the authorization.
Vincent's signature appeared beside a second signature belonging to Sophie.
“Sophie never signed this,” Rachel said. “She was recovering from surgery.”
Marco studied the date again.
“There's a witness listed.”
“Who?”
“Camille Whitmore.”
Rachel looked at the woman who had nearly cost her the only job keeping her family afloat.
Then Alessandro spoke.
“Rachel, where was Camille working two years ago?”
Rachel hesitated.
“At Bellamy Heritage Management.”
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
He looked at the forged settlement, the stolen trust records, and Elena's letter.
For the first time, the woman he planned to marry seemed connected to every secret surrounding his family.
But before he could speak, Teresa pointed toward the bottom of the settlement.
“Alessandro.”
“What?”
“That's not the full document.”
He turned it over.
On the reverse was a handwritten notation:
ORIGINAL INCIDENT VIDEO — TRANSFERRED TO V. ROMANO.
Beneath it was a location.
LOCKER 214.
Rachel looked at Alessandro.
“If Vincent has the video, he knows who hit my sister.”
Alessandro folded the receipt carefully.
“And tomorrow, we're going to find out.”
Teresa caught his arm.
“No. You mustn't go without asking Evelyn one question first.”
“What question?”
May you like
The elderly woman stared at Elena's letter.
“Ask her why your wife was alive when Arthur Bellamy told you she was dead.”
