Chapter 6 - THE MAN LUCA TRUSTED WITH HIS LIFE
Luca Moretti took Daniel's gun before asking another question.
He didn't shout.
Didn't threaten him.
Didn't even raise his voice.
That frightened me more than anger would have.
“Sit down.”
Daniel obeyed.
Christopher moved away from the desk.
I stood beside the door, listening to my own heartbeat.
“Start with the hospital,” Luca said.
Daniel looked at the floor.
“Eight years ago, my daughter was sick.”
Luca's expression tightened.
“I remember.”
“Emma needed surgery. The insurance company denied part of the treatment. I was forty thousand dollars short.”
I had met Emma once.
A quiet fourteen-year-old girl who came to the estate every Christmas with a homemade gift for her father.
Daniel loved her more than anything.
“Dennis knew,” Daniel continued. “He offered to help.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Turning off a camera system at St. Agnes for twenty minutes.”
Luca stared at him.
“You didn't ask why?”
“He told me Teresa was meeting privately with a donor. Said she didn't want the meeting recorded.”
“And you believed him?”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“I wanted to.”
A terrible silence followed.
“After your mother died,” Daniel continued, “I knew something was wrong.”
“What did you do?”
“I confronted Dennis.”
“And?”
“He threatened to tell you I'd accepted money to compromise your mother's security.”
Luca looked away.
Daniel's voice broke.
“I was ashamed. I kept telling myself the camera footage wouldn't have changed anything.”
“Did you see anyone enter her room?”
Daniel nodded.
“Dr. Mercer.”
“Anyone else?”
“Dennis. And Vanessa.”
Luca's hands tightened.
“She was there?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Dennis said they'd destroy my family if I talked.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I'm not asking you to forgive me.”
Luca said nothing.
“I should have told you. I should have trusted you with the truth.”
“Where's Mrs. Carter?” Luca asked.
Daniel swallowed.
“Vanessa called after the engagement dinner. She told me to disable the rear-gate alarm.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then how did she leave?”
“Dennis had an old maintenance code.”
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
Daniel continued.
“She said she'd release Mrs. Carter if I helped her retrieve the trust ledger.”
“And you believed her?”
“No.”
“Then why didn't you come to me?”
“I was trying to locate her before Vanessa realized I was following her.”
Luca studied him.
Daniel reached into his pocket.
He placed a folded paper on the desk.
It contained an address near the Calumet River.
“An old warehouse,” he said. “It's owned by one of Dennis's companies.”
“Mrs. Carter is there?”
“I believe so.”
Luca looked toward Christopher.
“Can you confirm ownership?”
Christopher opened his laptop.
He searched the address.
A moment later, he nodded.
“Harbor Crest acquired that property seven years ago.”
Luca looked back at Daniel.
“You're going to tell the police everything.”
Daniel bowed his head.
“Yes, boss.”
“And until this is resolved, you're off my security detail.”
Daniel flinched.
But he nodded.
“I understand.”
Luca handed the gun to another guard.
“Keep him here until Detective Ellis arrives.”
Then he walked outside.
I followed.
He stopped beside the car.
For several moments, he stared into the darkness.
“You trusted him,” I said.
Luca gave a short laugh.
“I trusted him with my life.”
“He made a terrible mistake.”
“Yes.”
“He's trying to make it right.”
Luca turned toward me.
“Do you think that changes what happened?”
“No.”
I hesitated.
“But I think it matters what he does now.”
He studied me.
“You always defend people?”
“Not always.”
“Then why Daniel?”
“Because being guilty of one thing doesn't mean he's guilty of everything.”
Luca looked away.
“You sound like my mother.”
The words were so unexpected that I couldn't answer.
Then he added, “She believed people deserved a chance to tell the truth.”
“Maybe you should listen to her.”
He looked at me.
For the first time since the explosion, he smiled.
Not much.
But enough.
An hour later, Detective Harper Ellis arrived at the estate.
She was in her early forties, with dark hair pulled into a tight ponytail and an expression that suggested very little impressed her.
Especially Luca Moretti.
“I hear you've had an eventful evening,” she said.
“An attempted murder, kidnapping, and eight-year-old financial conspiracy,” Luca replied. “I've had better Tuesdays.”
She didn't smile.
“Tell me about the warehouse.”
Luca handed her the address.
Ellis studied it.
“Why should I believe this is where your house manager is being held?”
“Because the man who helped Vanessa escape gave it to me.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“And why hasn't that man already been arrested?”
“He's waiting in my study.”
For the first time, Ellis looked surprised.
“You're turning over one of your own people?”
“He has information about a kidnapping.”
“That's new behavior for you, Moretti.”
Luca met her gaze.
“Then enjoy it.”
I almost laughed.
Ellis looked at me.
“You're Laura Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“The employee injured in the pool house?”
“Yes.”
“I'll need a statement.”
“You'll have one.”
She studied the bandage on my arm.
“You should have gone to the police immediately.”
“I was afraid of losing my job.”
Ellis glanced at Luca.
He spoke before she could.
“She was afraid of the wrong person.”
Something in his voice made my chest ache.
The police raided the warehouse before dawn.
Mrs. Carter wasn't there.
But investigators found a chair with restraints, an empty medication bottle, and a woman's scarf.
I recognized the scarf.
Mrs. Carter had worn it during dinner service.
Ellis called Luca from the scene.
“We believe she was held here.”
“Where is she now?”
“We don't know.”
“Vanessa moved her?”
“Most likely.”
Then Ellis added, “We found something else.”
“What?”
“Financial documents. Several bear your mother's signature.”
Luca straightened.
“Originals?”
“We're examining them.”
“Send me copies.”
“I don't take orders from you, Mr. Moretti.”
He stared at the phone.
“Detective—”
“We'll follow procedure.”
She ended the call.
I looked at Luca.
“You're going to have to get used to not being in charge.”
He gave me a dry look.
“Don't enjoy this too much.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
By Wednesday afternoon, Ethan had confirmed that several trust amendments appeared fraudulent.
One supposedly bore Teresa Moretti's signature seventeen days after her death.
Another granted Dennis temporary authority over property transfers.
A third created an emergency succession plan that could benefit Luca's spouse if he were declared incapacitated.
Ethan explained that none of these documents should have been accepted without independent verification.
“But they were filed,” he said.
“By whom?” Luca demanded.
“A law office that closed six years ago.”
“Who ran it?”
“Victor Bellini's former business partner.”
Luca leaned back.
“So the same people who stole from my mother are still trying to steal from her trust.”
“Yes.”
“What happens Saturday?”
Ethan hesitated.
“According to the draft paperwork, Vanessa intends to have you sign a spousal authorization before the ceremony.”
“And if I refuse?”
“She can't lawfully assume control.”
“But she can still use forged paperwork,” Luca said.
“That's what concerns me.”
I was standing near the desk.
Something bothered me.
“Why would Vanessa need Luca to be incapacitated?”
Ethan looked at me.
“The altered trust provisions only become effective under certain circumstances.”
“But if she already has forged documents, why not just take the money?”
“Because the remaining assets are protected by additional controls.”
I looked at Luca.
“Then she's planning something worse than stealing.”
He stared at me.
We both remembered Christopher's warning.
Do not drink anything she gives you after the wedding.
Luca stood.
“Cancel every catering contract. Replace every employee Vanessa hired.”
Ethan frowned.
“What about the wedding?”
Luca looked toward the window.
“For now, we leave the announcement in place.”
I felt a chill.
“Why?”
“Because she needs to believe she still has a chance.”
I didn't like the sound of that.
Not at all.
That evening, I went home to pack a few things.
My mother was staying in a secure location arranged by Detective Ellis.
The police had recommended I do the same.
But I needed clothes, medication, and the old college textbooks I'd suddenly begun thinking about again.
Luca insisted on sending a guard.
I argued.
He won.
At least, I thought he had.
When I entered my apartment, two uniformed police officers were waiting inside.
Detective Ellis stood beside my kitchen table.
And on that table sat a black duffel bag.
It was open.
Inside were bundles of cash.
A laptop.
And a small electronic device.
I recognized the device immediately.
It looked exactly like the ignition receiver found outside the burning pool house.
My stomach dropped.
“What is this?”
Ellis watched me carefully.
“Do you recognize any of these items?”
“No!”
“Laura, I need you to remain calm.”
“Those aren't mine!”
One officer stepped forward.
I backed away.
Ellis opened a folder.
“We received evidence suggesting you accessed Mr. Moretti's private financial accounts.”
“What?”
“There's also footage placing someone using your employee credentials near the pool house shortly before the explosion.”
“That's impossible!”
She continued.
“Investigators believe the device used to start the fire may have been connected to equipment recovered here.”
I stared at her.
Vanessa.
This was Vanessa.
She had tried to kill me.
Now she wanted to make me responsible for the crime.
“Detective, somebody planted those things!”
Ellis looked almost sympathetic.
But she didn't put down the folder.
“Miss Bennett, you're under arrest on suspicion of theft, arson, and attempted murder.”
My knees nearly gave way.
I heard the guard outside calling Luca.
I heard an officer telling me to turn around.
Then the cold metal of handcuffs closed around my wrists.
My injured arm screamed with pain.
“Please,” I whispered. “You're making a mistake.”
Ellis looked at me.
“I hope you're right.”
As they led me toward the door, my phone vibrated on the kitchen counter.
The screen lit up.
A message from an unknown number.
You should have stayed in the servants' quarters, Laura.
Then another message appeared.
Tell Luca the wedding is still on.
And finally, a photograph arrived.
It showed Mrs. Carter sitting in a dark room.
Her hands were tied.
Behind her stood Vanessa, smiling at the camera.
May you like
Across the bottom were six words.
ONE WRONG MOVE, AND SHE DIES.
