Chapter 6 - Dante Moretti’s Secret
Evelyn remembered the day her father died.
She was nineteen.
Celeste was sixteen.
Their mother had called Evelyn at college shortly after dawn.
Come home.
There had been no warning.
No illness.
No final conversation.
Thomas Vale had supposedly collapsed in his office after a heart attack.
Evelyn remembered standing beside his closed coffin wondering how a man who had spent the previous weekend building bookshelves could suddenly disappear.
Doctors had said cardiac event.
Her mother had accepted it.
Or pretended to.
Now, fifteen years later, Adrien stood in Dante Moretti’s library telling Evelyn it had been murder.
“Proof,” Evelyn said.
Her voice sounded distant.
Adrien looked exhausted.
“I don’t have it.”
“Then shut up.”
“I saw records.”
“What records?”
“My father kept files on everyone.”
Dante said, “Where?”
“Private archive.”
“Location.”
“I don’t know.”
Dante stepped closer.
Adrien lifted both hands.
“I’m telling you the truth.”
Evelyn’s vision blurred.
“Why would Charles kill my father?”
Adrien looked at Dante.
“Because Thomas Vale and Lorenzo Moretti were going to expose him.”
Dante’s face went still.
Adrien continued.
“They discovered the route together.”
Evelyn turned toward Dante.
“You said your father discovered it.”
“He did.”
“You didn’t mention mine.”
“I didn’t know.”
Adrien said, “Thomas was the accountant. Lorenzo had access to shipping. Together they figured out Charles was laundering assets through land transfers.”
Dante looked like a man trying not to break something.
“What happened?”
“Charles learned about their meeting. Lorenzo’s car went over the bridge first. Thomas panicked. He copied records.”
Evelyn whispered, “Then Charles killed him.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who does?”
“My father.”
“Where is he?”
Adrien laughed once.
“Probably trying to leave the country.”
Dante turned to Marco.
“Find him.”
Marco nodded.
“Airports?”
“Private fields. Marinas. Border crossings. Everything.”
Marco left.
Evelyn sat.
For the first time all night, she felt tired enough to disappear.
Dante crouched in front of her.
“Evelyn.”
She stared past him.
“My father was murdered.”
“We don’t know that conclusively.”
“You believe Adrien.”
“I believe parts.”
“My mother knew.”
“Maybe.”
“She had to.”
Dante waited.
Evelyn thought about twelve years of her mother refusing to discuss the Whitmores.
How she always changed the subject when Charles was mentioned.
How she encouraged Evelyn to marry Adrien but never looked happy about it.
“She knew.”
Dante’s voice softened.
“Then she may have been protecting you.”
“Everyone keeps protecting me by lying.”
He absorbed that.
“You’re right.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Did you lie to me?”
“Yes.”
The immediate answer surprised her.
“About what?”
“I knew your name before you introduced yourself.”
She stood slowly.
“You said—”
“I asked because I wanted to hear how you answered.”
“Why did you know me?”
“The vineyard.”
“You knew I was connected?”
“I knew Evelyn Vale’s consulting company was being used in the acquisition.”
“So when I bumped into you…”
“I recognized you.”
The humiliation was different from Adrien’s betrayal.
Sharper because she had started trusting Dante.
“You let me believe it was random.”
“The collision was random.”
“The rest?”
“The kiss was your idea.”
“Don’t be clever.”
“I’m not.”
“Did you kiss me because you thought I could help you?”
Dante’s expression tightened.
“No.”
“How am I supposed to know?”
“You aren’t.”
That stopped her.
He continued.
“You have no reason to trust me yet.”
Yet.
The word hung between them.
Evelyn looked away.
“You investigated me.”
“I investigated the transaction.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
“It feels the same.”
“I’m sorry.”
The apology sounded strange from him.
Not practiced.
Not easy.
Evelyn looked back.
“Do men like you apologize?”
“Rarely.”
“Should I feel special?”
“Probably not.”
She almost smiled despite herself.
Dante stood.
“I came tonight because Charles Whitmore was announcing the vineyard acquisition. I intended to stop it.”
“How?”
“By purchasing the debt behind his holding company.”
Evelyn blinked.
“You can do that?”
“I already did.”
“What?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Evelyn stared.
“So Charles doesn’t control the financing.”
“No.”
“You do.”
“Yes.”
“Why hasn’t he collapsed?”
“He didn’t know.”
Until now.
Dante’s phone buzzed.
He looked at the message.
A faint, dangerous smile appeared.
“He knows.”
“What happened?”
“The bank called his note.”
Adrien sank into a chair.
“You just destroyed the deal.”
Dante looked at him.
“I destroyed the part belonging to your family.”
Evelyn understood.
“My underground rights.”
“Still yours.”
“And the surface?”
“The financing entity now controls the default option.”
“Which belongs to you.”
“For the moment.”
Evelyn narrowed her eyes.
“For the moment?”
Dante met her gaze.
“If we survive tonight, I’ll transfer the acquisition option to you.”
Silence.
Adrien laughed.
“You expect her to believe that?”
Dante ignored him.
Evelyn said, “Why?”
“Because it should have been yours in the first place.”
“That much land is worth tens of millions.”
“Yes.”
“And you’d give it to me?”
“No.”
She stiffened.
Dante continued.
“I would sell it to you for one dollar.”
Evelyn stared.
“That’s absurd.”
“It’s cleaner legally.”
“Why?”
His expression shifted.
“Because my father died trying to stop that property from being used to hurt people.”
He looked at her.
“If your father died beside him in the same fight, then neither Charles Whitmore nor my family should profit from it.”
Something inside Evelyn moved.
Not trust.
Not yet.
But possibility.
Then Marco entered quickly.
“We found Charles.”
“Where?”
“Private airfield.”
“Take him.”
“He’s not alone.”
Dante’s gaze sharpened.
“Who?”
Marco hesitated.
“Margaret Vale.”
Evelyn went cold.
“My mother?”
“She boarded the plane voluntarily.”
“No.”
Marco showed her surveillance footage.
Margaret Vale walked beside Charles Whitmore toward a private jet.
No restraints.
No struggle.
Charles held the door.
Margaret entered.
Evelyn whispered, “Why would she go with him?”
Adrien looked at the screen.
Then suddenly stood.
“Oh, no.”
Everyone turned.
“What?” Evelyn demanded.
Adrien’s face had gone pale.
“My father wasn’t threatening your mother because of the accident.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He was protecting her.”
“From whom?”
Adrien looked at Dante.
“From the Morettis.”
Dante’s expression hardened.
Adrien continued.
“Because Margaret Vale was the person who gave Charles the route fifteen years ago.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“No.”
“She betrayed both of your fathers.”
The room went silent.
And for the first time that night, Dante looked at Evelyn as if he had no idea what to say.
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End of Chapter 6.
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