Chapter 6: The Truth Sofia Left Behind
Victor placed the key in his pocket.
“You will leave this house,” Luca said.
Victor closed the folder.
“This residence belongs to the family trust.
As acting trustee, I could say the same to you.”
Isabella slipped her arm through his.
“Come, Victor.
We have a vault to open.”
Rosa blocked the doorway with her small frame.
“You are not taking that key.”
Victor laughed.
“Move.”
“No.”
I held up the broken memory card.
“The file may still be recoverable.”
Isabella’s smile disappeared.
Luca saw it.
“That frightens you more than the key.”
“Nothing frightens me.”
Matteo pulled free of Rosa and ran upstairs.
Isabella watched him go, then whispered something to Victor.
Luca pointed toward the front door.
“Out.
Both of you.”
Victor leaned closer.
“By tonight, the board will have enough evidence to send investigators after you.
Think carefully before making me your enemy.”
“You became my enemy when you stole from my son.”
After they left, I placed the pieces of the card on the table.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“If I hadn’t hidden it in the bandage—”
Luca struck the table with his palm.
“Stop apologizing for what they did.”
I flinched.
His hand opened immediately.
“Emma, I’m sorry.”
“You saw the bruises and became angry.
But where were you before that?”
The question came out harder than I intended.
Luca lowered his eyes.
“Working.”
“Matteo wakes calling for his mother.
He hides food when Isabella enters.
He begs me not to take days off.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t ask.”
He pulled out a chair but did not sit.
“Sofia told me Victor was changing.”
“And you believed your brother.”
“Yes.”
“Did she tell you about Isabella?”
“She said Isabella asked too many questions about Matteo’s trust.” His voice broke.
“I told Sofia grief was making her suspicious.”
“She was alive then?”
“For six weeks after she warned me.” Luca gripped the chair.
“The last painful truth I spoke to my wife was that I didn’t believe her.”
I covered my mouth.
Tears came before I could turn away.
Luca moved toward me, then stopped.
“May I?”
I nodded.
He held me carefully while I cried against his shoulder.
Rosa stood beside us and rested one hand on my back.
“We believe her now,” Rosa said.
“That is how we honor her.”
A man’s voice came from the doorway.
“Then you’ll need this.”
An elderly man entered carrying a metal document case.
Isabella had his eyes, but none of her coldness.
“My name is Dominic Vale,” he said.
“I’m Isabella’s father.”
Luca stiffened.
“She told me you were de@d.”
“She preferred me silent.”
Dominic set the case down.
Inside were ledgers bearing Victor’s initials and Isabella’s signature.
“I was the foundation accountant,” he said.
“They used my access to copy Luca’s authorization codes.
When I refused to continue, my daughter threatened to claim I had taken the money.”
“Why come now?” I asked.
“Rosa sent me the photograph of the necklace.” He looked at my bandaged hand.
“I spent years hoping Isabella would discover a conscience.
You paid the price for my cowardice.”
Luca pointed to the key.
“What is in box 317?”
“Original transfer orders, Sofia’s full recording, and a letter naming the person she trusted to protect Matteo.”
“Who?”
Dominic looked at me.
Before he could answer, Matteo’s nanny assistant rushed downstairs holding an empty coat.
“Matteo isn’t in his room.”
Luca ran for the front hall.
The security monitor showed Isabella leading Matteo through the garden gate.
My phone rang.
May you like
Isabella’s voice came through the speaker.
“Bring me the ledgers and the broken card,” she said, “or Luca may never see his son again.”
