Chapter 4 - The Mother’s Secret
Alessandro reached Vittoria before she struck the floor.
Her cane rolled beneath the table.
Her eyes were open, but she could not speak.
Dr. Moretti dropped beside her and checked her pulse.
“What did she eat?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” the nurse said. “Only water and her medication.”
“Which medication?”
The nurse pointed toward a silver pill case.
Moretti opened it and smelled one of the tablets.
His face hardened.
“These are not her heart pills.”
Alessandro looked toward the sealed doors.
“Call the helicopter.”
The estate’s medical team moved Vittoria to the private landing pad within minutes.
Before the helicopter lifted, Moretti administered an antidote.
“She may survive,” he said.
“May?”
“The dose was large.”
Alessandro watched his mother disappear into the aircraft.
Then he turned to Matteo.
“Search everything she touched.”
“What about Luca?”
“Keep him isolated.”
“And the staff?”
“No one leaves.”
Sophia approached.
“Mr. Duca, Emma and I need to go.”
Alessandro looked at the child in her arms.
Emma’s face was buried against Sophia’s shoulder.
“You cannot stay here,” Sophia said. “Someone hid a phone inside her toy.”
“I know.”
“Someone touched the one thing she never lets go.”
“I know.”
“She is not safe.”
“No one is.”
“That is not good enough.”
Her anger surprised him.
Most employees became smaller when speaking to Alessandro.
Sophia did not.
She was frightened, but she stood her ground.
“My daughter warned you,” she said. “She has done enough.”
Alessandro looked at Emma.
The rabbit had been placed inside an evidence bag.
The child stared at it as if someone had taken away a friend.
“You are right,” he said.
Sophia seemed unprepared for agreement.
He turned to Matteo.
“Move them to the lake house.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
“It is secure.”
“It belongs to your family.”
“So does every road leaving the estate.”
“I have a sister in Cleveland.”
“You will not reach her before whoever planted the phone finds you.”
Sophia’s face tightened.
Alessandro lowered his voice.
“The phone was not meant only to reach me. It was placed inside Emma’s toy because someone expected the child to remain near you.”
“To watch us?”
“Or to listen.”
Sophia looked around the salon.
“Who would care what a housekeeper says?”
“Someone who believes you know more than you do.”
She held Emma closer.
“I don’t know anything.”
“You know Emma recognized the smell.”
Sophia went still.
Alessandro saw it.
“What are you not telling me?”
“Nothing.”
“You recognized the medicine too.”
“No.”
“When Emma mentioned her father, you turned white before the test confirmed poison.”
Sophia’s eyes filled with fear.
“That was because she spoke about him.”
“How did he die?”
She looked toward the guards.
Then back at Alessandro.
“He drank something.”
“What?”
“A tonic.”
“For what?”
“He was sick.”
“What kind of sickness?”
“He said it was stress.”
“What was his name?”
“Mateo Alvarez.”
Matteo, standing nearby, looked up sharply.
Alessandro noticed.
“You know that name.”
Matteo hesitated.
“He worked for Duca Maritime.”
Sophia stared at him.
“What?”
“As a financial controller,” Matteo said. “Five years ago.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No. He worked for a logistics company.”
“It was owned through a Duca subsidiary.”
Alessandro looked at Sophia.
“Did Mateo ever mention Luca?”
“No.”
“Renato?”
“No.”
“Clara?”
She froze.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“He did.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
“Once.”
“What did he say?”
“He said a woman in a red coat offered him money.”
“For what?”
“To change numbers in a shipping report.”
“Did he?”
“I don’t know. He told me he refused.”
“When did he die?”
“Two weeks later.”
Matteo swore under his breath.
Alessandro turned toward him.
“You investigated the death?”
“No. It was ruled accidental overdose.”
“By whom?”
Matteo looked at Dr. Moretti.
Moretti had not left with the helicopter.
The toxicologist’s face became empty.
“I signed the report,” he said.
Sophia stared.
“You said my husband died from mixing medication.”
“I was told that was the truth.”
“By whom?”
Moretti looked toward Alessandro.
“Your father.”
The room went silent.
Alessandro’s father had already been dead at the time of Mateo’s death.
“No,” Alessandro said.
Moretti blinked.
“Lorenzo died six years ago. Mateo died five years ago.”
Color drained from Moretti’s face.
“Then the instruction came from someone using his private authorization code.”
Only three people had retained that code after Lorenzo’s death.
Vittoria.
Renato.
And Luca.
Alessandro’s expression hardened.
He walked toward the west study.
The guards opened the door.
Luca stood near the window.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Mother was poisoned.”
For the first time, genuine fear crossed Luca’s face.
“What?”
“Her medication was replaced.”
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“Mateo Alvarez.”
Luca went still.
Sophia entered behind Alessandro.
She saw his reaction.
“You knew my husband.”
Luca did not answer.
“You knew him,” she repeated.
“He worked for one of my companies.”
“He died after refusing to change financial records.”
Luca looked at Alessandro.
“This is not what you think.”
“Then speak.”
Luca glanced at the guards.
Alessandro dismissed them to the hallway.
When the door closed, Luca lowered his voice.
“Mateo discovered payments from Maritime to private militias in North Africa.”
Sophia stared at him.
“He told me he found something dangerous.”
“It was Father’s old network,” Luca continued. “After Father died, someone kept using it.”
“Who?” Alessandro asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You lied about the shell company.”
“Because I used it to investigate.”
“With Renato?”
“Yes.”
“Why not tell me?”
“Because I thought you were involved.”
Alessandro’s face changed.
“You believed I continued Father’s network?”
“I found your authorization codes on the transfers.”
“They were forged.”
“I know that now.”
Sophia moved closer.
“What happened to Mateo?”
Luca looked at her.
“I met him the night before he died.”
Her breath caught.
“He gave me a drive containing records,” Luca said. “He said if anything happened, I should give it to his wife.”
Sophia stared at him.
“You had something for me?”
“Yes.”
“For five years?”
“I was afraid.”
She slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
Luca did not move.
“You let me believe he died because he was weak,” she said. “You let my daughter grow up without knowing her father tried to do the right thing.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“You were protecting yourself.”
“Yes.”
The honesty stopped her.
Luca looked at Alessandro.
“The drive is hidden in the old chapel.”
“What is on it?”
“Names. Accounts. Routes. Enough to bring down half the board.”
“And Clara?”
“Her name is there.”
“Renato?”
“Yes.”
“Mother?”
Luca hesitated.
“Yes.”
The door opened behind them.
May you like
Renato Conti stood in the hallway holding a gun.
“Then none of you will be leaving the room.”
