Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO CALLED HERSELF FAMILY
Adrian replayed the recording three times.
Each time, his mother's voice sounded exactly the same.
Calm.
Controlled.
Almost disappointed.
“You should have stayed out of the foundation accounts, Isabella.”
Then Isabella's voice.
“Your son deserves to know what you've done.”
And finally, the older woman answered.
“Adrian has enough burdens. Don't make me choose between protecting him and protecting you.”
A chair scraped across the floor.
The recording ended.
Sophie looked at Adrian.
He sat perfectly still.
His mother, Victoria Moretti, had been the center of his family for as long as he could remember.
She'd survived his father's death.
Raised two sons.
Protected their reputation.
And spent years reminding Adrian that family loyalty came before everything.
Now her voice was on a recording that sounded disturbingly like a threat.
“Adrian,” Sophie said gently.
He stood.
“I need to speak to her.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Then do it carefully.”
He looked at Leo.
The little boy had fallen asleep against Sophie's shoulder.
His small hand still held the corner of the dinosaur drawing.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“I won't frighten him again.”
Sophie studied his face.
For the first time, she believed he meant it.
Victoria lived in the east wing of the mansion.
She occupied rooms decorated with antique furniture, family portraits, and expensive flowers.
When Adrian entered her sitting room, she was reading beneath a brass lamp.
She looked up.
“It's nearly one in the morning.”
“We need to talk.”
Victoria closed her book.
“About?”
“Isabella.”
Her expression changed almost imperceptibly.
“What about her?”
Adrian placed his laptop on the table.
Then played the recording.
Victoria didn't interrupt.
She didn't deny recognizing her voice.
When it ended, she removed her glasses.
“Where did you find that?”
“Answer my question first.”
“You haven't asked one.”
“Did you threaten my wife?”
Victoria looked at him for a long moment.
Then said, “Yes.”
Adrian felt as though something inside him had broken.
“Why?”
“Because she was about to expose financial dealings that could have destroyed this family.”
“So you threatened her?”
“I warned her.”
“She was your daughter-in-law.”
“And you are my son.”
Adrian took one step closer.
“Did you arrange the accident?”
Victoria's face tightened.
“No.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I loved Isabella.”
He stared at her.
“You just admitted threatening her.”
“And I regret it every day.”
For the first time, her voice cracked.
Victoria stood and walked toward a photograph on the mantel.
It showed Isabella on her wedding day.
Smiling.
Young.
Hopeful.
“She came to me because she believed Matteo was stealing,” Victoria said. “She wanted me to help her confront him.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew Matteo wasn't acting alone.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Who was he protecting?”
Victoria looked toward the window.
“Someone who had been managing portions of the foundation long before Isabella became involved.”
“Name them.”
“Your uncle Salvatore.”
Adrian felt sick.
Salvatore Moretti was his father's younger brother.
He'd helped build the family's businesses.
He was charming, generous, and deeply respected among their relatives.
He had also served as chairman of the foundation's financial committee.
“Did you know he was stealing?”
“I suspected.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Salvatore knew about payments made through several companies you controlled. He threatened to make it appear that you personally approved everything.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“So you protected me by threatening my wife.”
Victoria lowered her eyes.
“I convinced myself I was keeping the family together.”
“And Isabella died.”
Victoria's hands trembled.
“Yes.”
Adrian looked at his mother and felt something worse than anger.
Disappointment.
“You taught me that family was everything.”
“It is.”
“No, Mother. You taught me that our name mattered more than the people carrying it.”
Victoria flinched.
He closed the laptop.
“Until this is resolved, you're not going near Leo without my permission.”
Her face crumpled.
“Adrian—”
“He trusted you.”
“So did Isabella,” Victoria whispered.
The admission made the room feel unbearably quiet.
Adrian turned to leave.
But Victoria called after him.
“There is something else.”
He stopped.
“Salvatore wasn't the only person who knew about the recording.”
Adrian turned.
“Who else?”
“Daniel Russo.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Again.
The same man.
His oldest friend.
His security chief.
The person who had found Leo in the woods.
“Why?”
“Isabella asked Daniel to arrange a meeting with a journalist. She wanted someone outside the family to hold the truth.”
“Did they meet?”
“No. The journalist canceled.”
“Why?”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Adrian stared at her.
Then Victoria added something unexpected.
“Daniel came to me the morning after Isabella died. He said Leo had witnessed something terrible and begged me to make sure the boy received proper care.”
“So he was helping?”
“He was trying to.”
“Then why did he conceal so much?”
Victoria's expression darkened.
“Because Daniel believed the danger came from inside this house.”
Adrian left without another word.
Downstairs, Sophie was sitting beside Leo on a sofa.
The boy slept beneath a blanket.
Adrian approached quietly.
Sophie looked up.
“Well?”
“My mother threatened Isabella.”
Sophie absorbed the words.
“Did she hurt her?”
“She denies it.”
“And you?”
“I don't know what to believe.”
Sophie nodded.
“That may be the first sensible thing you've said tonight.”
Adrian almost smiled.
“Most people wouldn't dare say that to me.”
“Most people know who you are.”
He looked at her.
“And you?”
“I know you're Leo's father.”
The answer settled somewhere deep inside him.
Adrian sat opposite her.
“Isabella was trying to expose my uncle.”
“Then we need proof.”
“There's more.”
He explained what Victoria had said about Daniel and the journalist.
Sophie listened carefully.
When Adrian finished, she asked, “What happened to the journalist?”
“I don't know.”
“Could the foundation records still exist?”
“Possibly.”
“Then find them before accusing anyone else.”
Adrian nodded.
He reached for his phone.
But Sophie gently touched his wrist.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Leo shouldn't have to sit through any more of this.”
Adrian looked toward his sleeping son.
He knew she was right.
He'd spent years trying to protect Leo through guards, locked gates, and expensive doctors.
But tonight, he'd dragged him through frightening conversations and painful memories.
“Tomorrow,” Adrian said, “he gets a normal day.”
Sophie smiled faintly.
“Does he know what normal looks like?”
Adrian glanced around his enormous mansion.
The expensive paintings.
The marble floors.
The armed guards outside.
Then he looked at the boy who'd laughed over a burned dinosaur pancake.
“Maybe you could show us.”
Sophie hesitated.
She couldn't afford to miss work.
Her mother's bills were growing.
And Adrian knew it.
“I'll cover your wages,” he said.
Sophie shook her head.
“I don't want charity.”
“Then consider it payment for your time.”
She looked at Leo.
Finally, she nodded.
“One day.”
The next morning, Sophie found Adrian in the kitchen attempting to make pancakes.
He had burned three.
Leo stood beside him, watching.
Sophie stared.
“Should I call the fire department?”
Adrian looked offended.
“I'm learning.”
Leo made a tiny snorting sound.
Sophie grinned.
“Mr. Pickles would be proud.”
Leo laughed.
And Adrian laughed too.
For ten precious minutes, they were simply three people in a kitchen.
No secrets.
No fear.
No guards hovering over them.
Then Adrian's phone vibrated.
It was a message from Matteo.
Not a mysterious threat.
A photograph of a ledger page from the foundation's internal accounting system.
Beside a series of payments was an authorization code.
Adrian recognized the code as his own executive approval.
But he hadn't approved the transfers.
Matteo's message read:
I found the original instructions. Someone used your authorization after Isabella died.
Adrian studied the dates.
The payments hadn't ended with Isabella's death.
They'd increased.
He opened another image.
This one showed the destination of the largest transfer.
A private medical consulting company.
Bennett Clinical Services.
Sophie saw the name.
Her smile disappeared.
“That's impossible.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because Bennett Clinical Services was my mother's company.”
She took the phone.
May you like
Her hands started trembling.
“And she closed it five years ago.”
