Chapter 8 - THE PRICE OF KEEPING ISABELLA ALIVE
I looked at Daniel.
He was still sitting by the window, watching me.
“Rachel?” he asked.
I lowered the phone.
“Something happened.”
“Something good?”
“I hope so.”
But I wasn't sure.
A woman accused of helping destroy the Moretti family had been paying for Isabella's care.
For six months.
Maybe longer.
And Samuel, the man who'd claimed to protect Isabella, had never mentioned it.
I returned to the mansion that afternoon.
Luca was waiting in the library.
The room smelled of polished wood and old books.
A photograph lay on his desk.
I recognized Isabella immediately.
She was older than in the childhood pictures, of course.
Her dark hair was streaked with silver.
Her face looked thinner.
But her eyes were unmistakably those of the young woman who'd stood beside my grandmother.
“She's alive,” I whispered.
Luca nodded.
“Apparently.”
“Where?”
“An assisted-living residence outside Harrisburg.”
“Why there?”
“According to the facility, she suffered a serious medical crisis seven months ago. She needed supervised rehabilitation.”
I stared at the photograph.
“And Evelyn paid?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Luca looked exhausted.
“That's what we're trying to understand.”
Samuel sat near the fireplace.
He hadn't spoken since I entered.
I turned toward him.
“Did you know?”
He nodded.
I felt anger rise.
“You knew Isabella was alive and where she was?”
“Yes.”
“Then why let Luca believe nobody knew?”
Samuel's eyes filled.
“Because Isabella asked me not to bring him there.”
Luca stood.
“Why would my sister refuse to see me?”
Samuel looked at him.
“She didn't refuse you, Luca. She was afraid of what would follow you.”
“After eighteen years?”
“Especially after eighteen years.”
Luca stared at him.
Samuel continued.
“The people who profited from the stolen estate weren't all Bellinis. Some were inside your own organization.”
The room went cold.
Anthony stepped forward.
“We've begun reviewing historic payments and personnel records.”
Luca looked at him.
“Anyone current?”
“Possibly.”
“Who?”
Anthony hesitated.
“A former finance officer still receiving consulting payments.”
Luca frowned.
“Name?”
“Richard Voss.”
Luca's expression changed.
I knew the name.
I'd seen it on donation plaques throughout the mansion.
Richard Voss had managed the Moretti family's charitable foundation for nearly fifteen years.
He was respected.
Quiet.
A man guests described as dependable.
Luca slowly sat down.
“Richard helped my mother establish that foundation.”
Samuel nodded.
“And after Elena died, he controlled its accounts.”
Anthony placed a document on the desk.
“Several payments intended for Saint Agnes were routed through companies connected to Voss.”
Luca stared.
“Then he had access to the money.”
“And to the children's records,” I added.
Samuel nodded.
“Yes.”
A terrible thought crossed my mind.
“Rebecca and Daniel weren't merely witnesses. Their names were used to justify transfers.”
Anthony looked at me.
“That's one possibility.”
I felt sick.
Children turned into numbers.
Names turned into accounts.
Lives reduced to entries in ledgers.
Luca looked toward Samuel.
“What happened to Rebecca?”
Samuel closed his eyes.
“I lost contact with her after Margaret moved the children.”
“Both children?” I asked.
He nodded.
I thought about the photograph.
Rebecca holding the red balloon.
Daniel beside her.
“Where did they go?”
“Margaret changed their location. She refused to tell me.”
“Why?”
“She believed someone was watching Saint Agnes.”
Luca looked at Anthony.
“Find Rebecca through lawful records. Quietly. If she's alive, she deserves to know what happened.”
Anthony nodded.
Then I asked the question that had been haunting me.
“Why did Grandma keep Daniel but not Rebecca?”
Samuel looked at me with sadness.
“I don't know.”
The answer hurt.
But for once, I believed he was telling the truth.
That evening, Evelyn Bellini came to the mansion with her attorney.
She was a slender woman in her late seventies.
Her silver hair was neatly arranged.
She wore a simple navy coat.
Nothing about her suggested the woman who might have helped destroy a family.
But when she saw Samuel, her expression hardened.
“You should have told him years ago.”
Samuel stood.
“So should you.”
She looked away.
Luca approached her.
“Where is my sister?”
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“She's safe.”
“That's not enough.”
“I know.”
“Then why have you been paying for her care?”
Evelyn folded her hands.
“Because I owe her more than I can repay.”
Luca stared.
“You forged my mother's signature.”
“Yes.”
“You helped Carlo steal from my family.”
“Yes.”
“And now you expect me to believe you protected my sister?”
Evelyn's voice broke.
“No. I expect you to believe I spent eighteen years regretting what I did.”
Silence filled the room.
Then she reached into her handbag.
She removed a small velvet pouch.
Inside was a pearl necklace.
I recognized it.
Elena Moretti wore it in the portrait above the ballroom fireplace.
Luca stared.
“My mother's necklace.”
Evelyn nodded.
“She gave it to Isabella before she died.”
“Then why do you have it?”
“Isabella gave it to me six months ago.”
“Why?”
Evelyn looked at Samuel.
“Because she discovered something new.”
Samuel went pale.
“What?”
Evelyn turned toward Luca.
“Richard Voss wasn't simply helping Carlo Bellini.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Then what was he doing?”
“He was using the fraud to gain control of the family foundation.”
Anthony stepped closer.
“That's consistent with the records.”
Evelyn nodded.
“But Isabella found something worse.”
I looked at the necklace.
One pearl had a small scratch.
Evelyn twisted the clasp.
A tiny compartment opened.
Inside was a narrow strip of paper.
Luca took it.
It contained three names.
Carlo Bellini.
Richard Voss.
And a third name.
Luca stared.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he looked toward Anthony.
“Get everyone out of this room.”
Anthony frowned.
“Boss?”
“Now.”
I felt my heart pounding.
Luca held up the paper.
The third name was familiar.
Not because I'd seen it in the estate documents.
May you like
But because it belonged to someone who had been standing beside Luca throughout the entire investigation.
Anthony Russo.
