Chapter 3 - The Woman in Red
Dr. Moretti stared at the photograph as if it belonged to someone else’s life.
“My sister is dead,” he said.
Alessandro looked at him.
“When?”
“Seven years ago.”
“Cause?”
“Overdose.”
“Where?”
“Paris.”
“Did you identify the body?”
Moretti hesitated.
That pause was enough.
“No,” he admitted. “The police contacted me. The body was cremated before I arrived.”
Luca laughed sharply.
“So the dead mistress returns to poison Alessandro through a cook?”
“Or someone wants us to think she did,” Renato said.
Alessandro handed the photograph to Matteo.
“Find her.”
“If she is alive, she may be using another name.”
“Then find the name.”
Matteo left immediately.
Vittoria remained standing near her chair.
Alessandro turned toward her.
“You recognized the description.”
“I recognized many women in red coats.”
“You reacted before Emma showed the photograph.”
Vittoria looked toward the portrait of her late husband hanging above the fireplace.
“Your father humiliated me with Clara for fifteen years.”
“Did she contact you recently?”
“No.”
“Did she threaten you?”
“No.”
“Did you hire Bianca?”
“No.”
“Did you know she was alive?”
Vittoria said nothing.
Alessandro’s voice changed.
“Mother.”
She looked at him.
“Yes.”
The room became still.
“I received a letter six months ago,” she said.
“What did it say?”
“That Clara had information capable of destroying the family.”
“What information?”
“She demanded money before she would tell me.”
“How much?”
“Twenty million euros.”
Luca stared.
“And you paid her?”
“No.”
“Did you tell anyone?” Alessandro asked.
“Renato.”
Every eye moved toward the lawyer.
Renato’s face lost color.
“I advised her not to respond.”
“Did you investigate?”
“I made inquiries.”
“Through whom?”
“A private firm.”
“Name.”
Renato looked toward Luca.
Alessandro followed the glance.
“Why are you looking at my brother?”
Luca stood.
“Because the firm belongs to one of my companies.”
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed.
“You knew.”
“I knew someone was blackmailing Mother. I did not know it was Clara.”
“That is a lie,” Vittoria said.
Luca turned toward her.
She gripped her cane.
“You saw the letter.”
“You never showed me the name.”
“I did.”
Isabella looked between them.
“What is going on?”
Luca’s voice rose.
“This family has been hiding scandals since before I was born. I was trying to protect us.”
“From whom?” Alessandro asked.
Luca said nothing.
“From Clara?”
Silence.
“Or from what she knew?”
Luca looked toward the windows.
That was answer enough.
Alessandro crossed the room and stopped in front of him.
“What did she know?”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“Father changed the trust before he died.”
“I know.”
“No. You know he changed voting rights.”
“What else?”
Luca looked at Vittoria.
She seemed suddenly older.
“He added a bloodline clause,” Luca said.
Alessandro frowned.
Renato closed his eyes.
“The clause recognizes any biological child of Lorenzo Duca,” Luca continued. “Legitimate or not.”
Isabella whispered, “Clara had a child.”
No one answered.
Alessandro looked at Dr. Moretti.
His face was gray.
“You knew.”
Moretti sat down.
“She gave birth twenty-nine years ago.”
“A son?”
“Yes.”
“Name?”
“Adrian.”
Luca looked at the floor.
Alessandro understood.
“Where is he?”
Moretti shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“Do not lie to me.”
“I helped her hide him.”
“Why?”
“Your father wanted the child taken away.”
Vittoria shut her eyes.
Alessandro turned toward her.
“You knew about that too.”
“I knew she was pregnant.”
“And?”
“Lorenzo told me the child died.”
Moretti laughed bitterly.
“He told everyone different lies.”
Alessandro stared at his father’s portrait.
The man had controlled the family even from the grave.
“What does Adrian inherit?” Alessandro asked.
Renato answered.
“If he proves paternity, he gains a seventeen-percent voting interest.”
Luca looked at Alessandro.
“Enough to determine control of the board.”
The pieces aligned.
The poison.
The emergency succession clause.
The family trust.
The hidden son.
Someone was not merely trying to kill Alessandro.
Someone was preparing to decide who ruled after his death.
A guard entered with new information.
“Sir, we traced the number used by the domestic agency that hired Bianca.”
“To whom?”
“A shell company registered in Malta.”
Luca’s face tightened.
Alessandro noticed.
“You know it.”
“No.”
“Your left hand closes when you lie.”
Luca looked down.
His fist was clenched.
The habit had started when they were boys.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“What is the company?”
Luca exhaled slowly.
“It belongs to me.”
Isabella recoiled.
“You hired the cook?”
“No.”
“You owned the company that hired her.”
“I own hundreds of holding companies.”
“This one paid for surveillance of Clara,” Renato said quietly.
Luca turned on him.
“You said those records were sealed.”
Renato’s expression changed.
He had exposed too much.
Alessandro looked between them.
“You were working together.”
Neither answered.
Vittoria sat down heavily.
“My own sons.”
“Mother,” Luca said, “I was trying to protect your position.”
“My position?”
“If Adrian appeared, he could expose Father’s affairs, challenge the trust, and force the sale of half our assets.”
“So you poisoned Alessandro?” Isabella asked.
“No!”
His denial echoed through the salon.
Emma began to cry in the hallway.
Sophia picked her up.
Alessandro looked toward the sound, then back at Luca.
“Take him to the west study,” he told the guards.
Luca stepped backward.
“You cannot imprison me.”
“I can isolate a suspect inside my own home.”
“You have no proof.”
“No. But I have your company, your lies, and your motive.”
The guards moved closer.
Luca looked at Alessandro with hatred.
“You always wanted this.”
“What?”
“To prove you were the only son worthy of Father’s name.”
Alessandro’s face remained unreadable.
“I spent my whole life trying not to become him.”
Luca laughed.
“You became worse.”
The guards led him away.
Isabella followed, demanding to see him.
Vittoria remained near the fireplace.
Dr. Moretti looked at the photograph of his sister.
“Clara will not stop,” he said.
Alessandro turned.
“You sound certain.”
“She believed Lorenzo stole everything from her.”
“He did.”
“She believes you inherited the crime.”
“I inherited many crimes.”
“Then she will expect payment.”
“For Adrian?”
“For herself.”
Alessandro looked toward the locked doors.
“What if Adrian is the one behind this?”
Moretti shook his head.
“He was gentle as a boy.”
“So was Luca.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
The sound came from Emma’s stuffed rabbit.
Sophia looked down in horror.
Matteo took the toy and carefully opened a seam along its back.
Inside was a small black phone.
It rang again.
Alessandro answered.
A woman’s voice spoke.
“Good morning, Alessandro.”
He looked at the photograph.
“Clara.”
She laughed softly.
“You have your father’s instincts.”
“What do you want?”
“What belongs to my son.”
“Then why poison me?”
“To see who would expose themselves when you became afraid.”
Alessandro looked toward the west study where Luca had been taken.
“You used the coffee as bait.”
“I used your family’s hunger for power.”
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
Then her voice became colder.
“And Alessandro?”
“Yes?”
“The poison in the coffee was only the first cup.”
May you like
The call ended.
At that exact moment, Vittoria collapsed.
