Chapter 10 - The Last Secret of Marco Vieri
Alessandro placed the file on Isabella’s desk.
She did not open it immediately.
“What is this?”
“My father’s medical report.”
“You said no more secrets.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
She opened the folder.
Marco Vieri had officially died of cardiac arrest.
Four years earlier.
Age sixty-eight.
Nothing suspicious.
Until Isabella reached the toxicology addendum.
A drug she did not recognize appeared in trace amounts.
“What is this?”
“A medication that can trigger arrhythmia in high doses.”
“Was it prescribed?”
“No.”
Her eyes lifted.
“You think someone killed him.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Until now?”
“Marcus had access to the same physician who signed this report.”
Isabella sat back.
“You think Marcus murdered your father.”
“I think Marcus was involved.”
“Why didn’t you go to police?”
“My family did not traditionally solve problems through police.”
“That’s not an answer I’m going to accept.”
“I know.”
“Did you kill anyone over this?”
“No.”
She studied him.
“Did you want to?”
“Yes.”
That answer she believed.
“What stopped you?”
“My father.”
“He was dead.”
“He left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
Alessandro removed another letter.
Marco’s handwriting.
If my death appears suspicious, do not avenge me. End this cycle.
Isabella read it.
“You listened?”
“Eventually.”
“What does eventually mean?”
“I broke three men’s ribs.”
She stared.
He added, “No one died.”
“That is not reassuring.”
“I didn’t expect it to be.”
Despite herself, she almost smiled.
Then Isabella noticed another sentence.
Protect Javier’s daughter only if she asks.
She pointed.
“Interesting.”
“Yes.”
“Your father understood boundaries better in death than you did alive.”
“Yes.”
“Good. We agree.”
They spent the next hour comparing records.
Victor Vain died six years before Marco.
Marcus inherited pieces of his network but lacked his father’s discipline.
He became reckless.
Debt schemes.
Extortion.
Corporate leverage.
He wanted the archives because they contained proof of crimes committed by both families.
But Marco’s medical file suggested something else.
Marcus may have been eliminating anyone who knew where the records were.
Javier.
He threatened.
Marco.
Possibly poisoned.
Alessandro.
Next?
“Why hasn’t Marcus come after you directly?” Isabella asked.
“He has.”
She looked up.
“How?”
“Three attempts.”
Her mouth went dry.
“When?”
“Over four years.”
“And you never mentioned that?”
“To whom?”
“To anyone.”
“I’m still alive.”
“That is not the standard for healthy communication.”
A faint smile appeared.
“No.”
She leaned back.
“So Marcus wasn’t afraid of you because you’re a Vieri.”
“Not entirely.”
“He’s afraid because you know what happened.”
“Yes.”
“And now I know too.”
“Yes.”
“Great.”
There was a knock.
Margaret Chen entered.
Isabella’s board chair looked exhausted.
“We have another problem.”
“Of course.”
Margaret placed a tablet down.
A major news outlet had received anonymous files linking Marquez Development to Vieri Holdings.
Headlines already appeared online.
MAFIA MONEY BEHIND MARQUEZ WATERFRONT PROJECT?
Isabella stared.
“That’s false.”
“Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
Margaret pointed to an old investment.
Five years earlier, one Vieri-managed fund had purchased bonds issued by a bank that financed one of Marquez’s projects.
Indirect.
Legal.
Meaningless.
But enough to create a headline.
Marcus was attacking reputation now.
By noon television trucks parked outside the office.
By two sponsors began calling.
By four the mayor’s office demanded clarification.
Isabella entered the press conference alone.
Alessandro offered to stand beside her.
She refused.
This was her company.
Her name.
Her fight.
Cameras flashed.
A reporter shouted:
“Ms. Marquez, is your company financed by organized crime?”
“No.”
“Do you have a personal relationship with Alessandro Vieri?”
Isabella paused.
Every camera seemed to move closer.
“My personal life is not relevant to my company’s financing.”
“Did Mr. Vieri help you obtain the waterfront property?”
“No.”
“Were you aware the Vieri family once owned that land?”
“No. I learned recently.”
Murmurs.
She continued.
“My company is cooperating fully with federal investigators concerning historical records discovered beneath the development site.”
Another reporter shouted:
“Are you under investigation?”
“No.”
“Is Marcus Vain?”
“That is a question for law enforcement.”
“Are you afraid?”
Isabella looked directly into the cameras.
“No.”
It was technically a lie.
She was terrified.
But courage was not the absence of fear.
Courage was refusing to hand fear the microphone.
The press conference ended.
Online reaction shifted.
People admired her composure.
Then a reporter published footage from the ballroom.
Marcus grabbing her wrist.
Her gown tearing.
Alessandro walking beside her through the crowd without touching her.
The video went viral.
Public opinion exploded.
Women shared stories of powerful men who mistook control for affection.
Marcus became the symbol of something much bigger than his criminal case.
And unexpectedly, Alessandro became the man in the video who had simply protected Isabella’s dignity without demanding gratitude.
Isabella hated that the internet romanticized everything.
But she could not deny the contrast.
That evening she returned to the hotel.
Sofia ran into her arms.
“Mommy!”
Isabella hugged her.
Sunny barked.
Elena looked pale.
“What?”
Elena handed her an envelope.
“It was delivered downstairs.”
No sender.
Inside was one photograph.
Alessandro.
Leaving Isabella’s office.
A rifle scope centered over his chest.
On the back:
HE’S NEXT.
Isabella immediately called him.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Her heart raced.
She called security.
“Where is Mr. Vieri?”
Silence.
Then:
“Ms. Marquez…”
“What?”
“There’s been an accident.”
The room tilted.
“What accident?”
“His car was hit.”
Isabella could barely hear her own voice.
May you like
“Is he alive?”
The answer took one second too long.
