Chapter 10 - The Enemy Sitting at Their Table
Elena Moretti was buried in a private family cemetery behind Saint Catherine’s Church.
The Morettis had donated the chapel, restored the bell tower, and funded enough local charities that nobody asked why armed men occasionally attended funerals.
Dominic went alone.
At least he tried to.
Norah discovered his plan and intercepted him in the foyer.
“You’re not coming.”
“We’ve had this conversation.”
“This isn’t medical.”
“Your father’s blood pressure rises every time you disappear.”
“That sounds like his problem.”
“It becomes my problem.”
Dominic sighed.
“You are professionally exhausting.”
“Thank you.”
Frank drove them.
Elena’s grave sat beneath a maple tree.
The inscription was simple.
ELENA BELLINI MORETTI
1959–1997
BELOVED MOTHER
No mention of wife.
Norah noticed.
Dominic noticed her noticing.
“He chose the inscription.”
“Salvatore?”
“Yes.”
Dominic looked down.
“He said being my mother was the part of her life she was proudest of.”
Norah swallowed.
Even in silence, the old man had left messages.
Frank located a loose stone behind the memorial base.
Inside was a waterproof tube.
Dominic opened it.
A flash drive.
Modern.
Norah frowned.
“Your father didn’t hide that twenty-eight years ago.”
“No.”
Frank looked grim.
“He’s been updating the evidence.”
Back at the estate, they used a computer disconnected from the network.
The files contained payment records from the previous four years.
Police officials.
Local inspectors.
Private security contractors.
Two politicians.
And one name that made Dominic stop.
Matteo Moretti.
His cousin.
The man who had arrived with Paolo the day someone climbed onto Salvatore’s balcony.
Norah leaned closer.
“What are those payments?”
“Consulting fees.”
Frank gave a humorless laugh.
“Those are not consulting fees.”
Dominic opened additional folders.
Matteo had been moving money through Moretti construction subsidiaries into companies owned by Victor.
Millions.
Dominic’s face hardened.
“They’re stealing from us.”
Norah shook her head.
“That seems like the least important part.”
Dominic looked at her.
“They used your legitimate companies to move money.”
She pointed to another spreadsheet.
“If these records are real, they’ve been building a separate organization inside yours.”
Frank nodded.
“A shadow family.”
Dominic sat back.
That was the danger Salvatore had seen.
Victor was not protecting the old Moretti empire.
He was replacing it.
And Dominic was standing in his way.
That evening Matteo requested dinner.
Dominic accepted.
Norah thought he had lost his mind.
“You know he’s working with Victor.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re inviting him here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Dominic adjusted his cuff.
“Because guilty men become nervous when they don’t know how much you know.”
“That sounds like something from a crime movie.”
“It’s also true.”
Salvatore insisted on attending.
Norah objected.
Salvatore ignored her.
The dining room where everything had changed became a stage.
Dominic sat at the head.
Salvatore sat to his right.
Matteo sat opposite.
Norah remained near Salvatore.
Frank stood by the door.
Dinner arrived.
No one ate.
Matteo was forty-one, handsome in the polished way of men who spent money to look careless.
He smiled at Norah.
“You must be the famous nurse.”
Norah did not smile back.
“I didn’t realize I was famous.”
“Uncle Salvatore has kept a nurse longer than two weeks. That qualifies.”
Salvatore glared.
Matteo raised his wine.
“To miracles.”
Dominic watched him.
“You visited with Paolo.”
“Business.”
“What business?”
“Family.”
“Be specific.”
Matteo’s smile tightened.
“You’re in a strange mood tonight.”
Dominic placed a folder on the table.
Matteo stopped smiling.
“What’s that?”
“You tell me.”
He opened it.
Bank transfers.
Matteo looked at the first page.
Then the second.
His face did not change enough.
That was the change.
“Where did you get this?”
Dominic leaned back.
“Wrong question.”
Matteo looked toward Salvatore.
The old man’s expression revealed nothing.
“Uncle?”
Salvatore lifted his left hand.
One finger.
Basta.
Matteo’s eyes narrowed.
Norah saw fear.
Dominic did too.
“How long have you been moving money for Victor?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Dominic pushed another paper forward.
Matteo stood.
“This is insulting.”
“Sit down.”
It was said quietly.
Matteo sat.
Norah felt the room become colder.
Dominic continued.
“You helped Paolo enter this house.”
“No.”
“You paid the maintenance supervisor.”
“No.”
“You arranged the security outage.”
“No.”
“Then somebody is making you look incredibly guilty.”
Matteo’s jaw flexed.
“Victor said you were losing control.”
There.
Not a confession.
But close.
Dominic stared.
“What else did Victor say?”
Matteo realized his mistake.
Salvatore released a low sound.
Matteo looked at him with sudden hatred.
“You should have died when you had the stroke.”
Norah stiffened.
Dominic remained still.
Matteo continued.
“You destroyed this family because you got sentimental over one woman.”
Salvatore’s breathing quickened.
Norah touched his shoulder.
“Don’t.”
Matteo laughed.
“You think he cares about you?”
He looked at Norah.
“You’re useful. That’s all.”
Dominic’s voice lowered.
“Watch yourself.”
Matteo turned.
“Why? You sleeping with the help now?”
Frank moved before Dominic.
One step.
Enough.
Matteo raised his hands.
“There’s the old family.”
Dominic’s eyes were lethal.
But he did not rise.
That mattered.
Norah knew it did.
“Get out.”
Matteo pushed back his chair.
“You should ask your father about Victor before you decide who the enemy is.”
Dominic did not respond.
Matteo walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Oh.”
He turned.
“One more thing.”
He looked directly at Salvatore.
“Paolo didn’t disappear after the school.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
Matteo smiled.
“He’s already inside your house.”
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the dining room.
A woman screamed somewhere in the corridor.
Frank shouted.
“Down!”
Norah instinctively moved toward Salvatore.
A chair crashed.
Footsteps ran.
Then emergency lights flickered red.
Matteo was gone.
The dining-room doors stood open.
May you like
And Salvatore’s wheelchair was empty.
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