Chapter 5 - THE NAME ON THE SECOND LIST
“Why would Richard Sinclair want me dead when I was eighteen?”
Sophie stared at her mother, unable to make sense of the words.
Laura tightened her grip.
“Because Richard believed you had something he'd spent years looking for.”
“What?”
“A copy of the financial records.”
“But I didn't know anything about them.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“Then why would he think I did?”
Laura looked toward the hospital window.
“Because Margaret told him she'd passed the evidence to my daughter.”
Sophie stood.
“She used me?”
“No. She never gave you anything. She was trying to draw his attention away from the actual records.”
“And she put my life in danger.”
Laura's silence answered.
Sophie stepped away from the bed.
She'd spent her childhood believing the worst problem their family faced was money.
They'd moved apartments whenever the rent rose.
Laura worked two jobs until Sophie finished high school.
Every birthday, she'd saved enough for a cake.
Every Christmas, she'd found a way to make their small apartment feel warm.
Now Sophie was learning that underneath those ordinary struggles had been years of fear.
“Why didn't we leave Boston?”
“We tried,” Laura said.
“Where?”
“Portland, Maine. When you were twelve.”
Sophie remembered.
They'd packed their belongings into a rented van.
Then, suddenly, the move was canceled.
Laura told her she'd lost the job offer.
“That wasn't true?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“Richard found out. Two days before we left, someone put a photograph of you outside your school into our mailbox.”
Sophie's stomach tightened.
Laura wiped her eyes.
“I couldn't take the risk.”
For a long moment, Sophie couldn't speak.
Then she asked the question that hurt most.
“Did you ever trust anyone enough to help us?”
Laura looked at the silver rosary.
“Margaret. And later, Rebecca Hayes.”
“Where is Rebecca?”
“I don't know anymore.”
“Did she disappear?”
“She went into hiding after reporting Richard. Margaret helped her find work at the Romano estate because she believed Alessandro could protect her.”
Sophie shook her head.
“But he didn't.”
“He didn't know.”
“How can someone own an estate and not know what's happening inside it?”
Laura looked at her sadly.
“That's something he needs to answer.”
An hour later, Alessandro arrived at the hospital.
Sophie had agreed to let him come after she spoke with her mother.
He entered carrying no flowers, no expensive gifts, and no promises.
“Mrs. Miller,” he said, “I'm Alessandro Romano.”
Laura looked at him.
“I know who you are.”
He pulled a chair beside the bed.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For what happened to Rebecca. For what happened to Sophie. And for running a household where people were afraid to speak.”
Laura studied him.
“Your brother once told me you were a good man trapped inside a bad family.”
Alessandro looked down.
“I don't know whether he was right.”
“Neither do I.”
Sophie stood near the window.
“Mom has evidence.”
Alessandro looked up.
Laura nodded.
“At First Harbor Bank. A safe-deposit box in my name.”
“Richard knows about it?”
“He knows there was a box. He doesn't know which branch.”
Alessandro thought carefully.
“We should contact investigators before retrieving anything.”
Laura watched him.
“You're not going to take it yourself?”
“No.”
“Good.”
For the first time, she appeared slightly relieved.
Then she reached for a small notebook beside her bed.
“I've written down what I remember.”
She handed it to Sophie rather than Alessandro.
“Keep this yourself, honey.”
Sophie opened the notebook.
Inside were names, dates, and brief explanations.
One entry mentioned Giuseppe Romano.
Another mentioned Richard Sinclair.
A third name appeared repeatedly.
FRANK BELLINI.
Sophie frowned.
“Bellini?”
Alessandro took one look at the name.
“Marco's father.”
Laura nodded.
“He was chief of security for the Romano family before Marco took over.”
“He died six years ago,” Alessandro said.
“That's what I was told.”
Alessandro felt a familiar uneasiness.
“Did he work with Richard?”
“Sometimes.”
“How?”
“Richard paid him to remove certain visitors from the building and intercept correspondence.”
Alessandro remembered Daniel's rejected visitor log.
“My brother tried to see me.”
Laura nodded.
“Frank made sure he couldn't.”
“On my orders, according to the record.”
“He used your authorization code.”
Alessandro turned toward the doorway.
Marco stood outside, speaking with a hospital security officer.
Sophie followed his gaze.
“Does Marco know?”
“I don't know.”
Laura touched Sophie's hand.
“Don't assume a son knows everything his father did.”
Alessandro nodded slowly.
He'd spent seven years assuming his own brother had died.
He wasn't about to repeat the same mistake with Marco.
When they returned to the estate near midnight, Daniel and Vanessa were waiting in the study.
Richard remained in police custody for questioning following Sophie's complaint and the evidence of intimidation.
Vanessa had changed into plain black trousers and a sweater.
She looked exhausted.
Alessandro placed Laura's notebook on the desk.
“Does the name Frank Bellini mean anything to you, Daniel?”
Daniel's face tightened.
“He handled security the night of the boat fire.”
“Did he help Richard?”
“I never knew for certain.”
Vanessa spoke.
“My father used to meet him at our summer house.”
“When?” Alessandro asked.
“Before Daniel's accident. Sometimes afterward.”
Daniel lowered himself into a chair.
“I remember Frank coming to the hospital once.”
Alessandro turned.
“You said Margaret found you.”
“She did. Frank came later. He told me Alessandro believed I'd betrayed the family.”
Alessandro stared at him.
“What?”
“He said you knew about the financial transfers and blamed me.”
“I never believed that.”
Daniel's voice hardened.
“I know that now.”
Vanessa rubbed her hands together.
“There was something my father used to say about Frank.”
“What?”
“That Frank knew which Romano was worth more alive.”
The room fell silent.
Alessandro looked at his brother.
“Did Dad know about any of this?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I don't think he knew what Richard intended. But I believe he discovered the financial fraud before he died.”
Giuseppe Romano had suffered a fatal heart attack eight years earlier.
Alessandro remembered the final weeks.
His father had been anxious and unusually quiet.
He'd asked to meet Alessandro privately.
Then he'd died before the meeting happened.
Daniel reached into his pocket.
He placed a folded photograph on the desk.
It showed Giuseppe Romano sitting with a small boy at a kitchen table.
The boy was Alessandro, perhaps eight years old.
His father had written something on the back.
The truth belongs to both my sons.
Alessandro stared.
“Where did you get that?”
“Margaret.”
“Why would Dad write that?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because he found out Richard wasn't stealing only money.”
Sophie turned from the window.
“What else?”
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“He'd been selling ownership interests in Romano properties without authorization. He used forged signatures and hidden debts to gain control.”
Alessandro shook his head.
“That would mean our businesses have been compromised for years.”
“Exactly.”
“And Margaret knew?”
“She discovered part of it.”
Vanessa looked suddenly frightened.
“Alessandro, my father told me something last month.”
“What?”
“He said once our wedding was official, the Romano properties would finally belong to the right family.”
Daniel stood.
“What did you say?”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I thought he meant we'd be married.”
Alessandro slowly looked at the engagement ring still resting on the dressing-room table in his mind.
Richard hadn't merely tolerated their relationship.
He'd encouraged it.
Five years of invitations.
Business introductions.
Family dinners.
Every step had moved Vanessa closer to Alessandro's assets.
Daniel opened the old personnel file.
Inside was a copy of an unsigned restructuring proposal.
Across the front appeared the name:
SINCLAIR-ROMANO HOLDINGS.
Daniel pointed at the proposed effective date.
It was the date of Alessandro and Vanessa's wedding.
Three weeks away.
Alessandro read the next page.
A clause transferred control of several major properties following a specified marriage-related financing arrangement.
His signature appeared beneath it.
He'd never signed the document.
But the authorization stamp was genuine.
Vanessa stared at the page.
“Oh my God.”
Alessandro turned to her.
“What?”
“My father wasn't arranging a wedding.”
She covered her mouth.
“He was arranging a takeover.”
Then Daniel pointed to the final page.
“Alessandro, look at the witness signature.”
May you like
It belonged to someone Alessandro trusted more than almost anyone.
MARCO BELLINI.
