Chapter 9 - Someone Inside the House Betrayed Them
Adrian drove home with Luca hidden in the rear compartment of the armored sedan.
It was Luca’s idea.
“If Marco is with Gabriel, he can’t know I’m alive and close.”
“He already knows you’re alive.”
“Knowing and seeing are different.”
Adrian hated admitting the logic.
When they reached the estate, the gates were open.
Too open.
No guards visible.
Adrian stopped near the fountain.
Marco stood alone on the front steps.
Unarmed.
Adrian exited.
“Where is Sofia?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“I’ll take you.”
“Why should I follow you anywhere?”
Marco’s face tightened.
“Because Gabriel is watching the house.”
Adrian glanced toward the cameras.
“Then he’s watching us.”
“Not anymore.”
“What did you do?”
“Fed him a loop.”
Adrian stared.
“You took Sofia.”
“Yes.”
“You took Teresa.”
“She refused to leave Sofia.”
“That sounds like Teresa.”
Marco almost smiled.
Adrian did not.
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
Marco’s expression changed.
Adrian continued.
“Gabriel paid you three days after the fire.”
“Yes.”
“My father paid you a week later.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Marco looked around.
“Not here.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You do not get to decide where this conversation happens.”
Marco lowered his voice.
“I was undercover.”
Adrian stopped.
“What?”
“Your father hired me to get close to Gabriel.”
Luca, hidden inside the vehicle, could hear through the audio system.
Adrian remained still.
“Before you worked security?”
“Yes.”
“You were already working for my father?”
“Yes.”
“Why did Gabriel pay you?”
“He thought I was giving him information.”
“And my father?”
“Paid me to continue.”
Adrian studied him.
“Luca saw you with Gabriel.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“I saw Luca across the street.”
“Why didn’t you explain?”
“Because your father ordered me not to. Luca was already planning his own operation.”
Adrian’s anger flared.
“Everyone in this family seems to have had an operation except me.”
Marco’s voice softened.
“That was partly the problem.”
Adrian stared at him.
Marco continued.
“Your father wanted one son untouched by the secrets.”
“So he made me ignorant.”
“He thought ignorance was protection.”
“It wasn’t.”
“No.”
“Where is Sofia?”
Marco handed him a key.
“Old wine cellar beneath the west cottage.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“That place hasn’t been used in decades.”
“Exactly.”
They walked.
Luca remained hidden until the cameras disappeared from view.
Then he emerged.
Marco stopped.
For a moment, the two men stared at each other.
“Luca.”
“Marco.”
“You look terrible.”
“So do you.”
Neither smiled.
Adrian looked between them.
“Did you betray him?”
Marco answered immediately.
“No.”
Luca watched his face.
“Did you know Gabriel planned the fire?”
“No.”
“Did you know my mother planned to fake my death?”
“No.”
“Did you know my father helped afterward?”
“Yes.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“When?”
“The day after the fire.”
“Why didn’t you come find me?”
“I was told you were safer without anyone from Chicago contacting you.”
Luca looked away.
Adrian believed Marco.
Not completely.
But enough.
The wine cellar door opened.
Sofia ran out.
“Daddy!”
Luca dropped to his knees.
She collided with him.
Every hard line in Luca’s face disappeared.
He held his daughter and closed his eyes.
Adrian turned away.
Teresa stood nearby, crying openly.
“I’m not crying,” she said.
“No one asked.”
“Good.”
Sofia pulled back.
“Where’s Mommy?”
Luca’s expression changed.
“We’re going to find her.”
“You always say that.”
The pain in her voice silenced him.
Adrian crouched.
“Sofia, we need Bunny.”
She clutched the rabbit.
“Why?”
“Your father hid something inside.”
She looked at Luca accusingly.
“You put grown-up stuff in Bunny?”
Luca winced.
“Yes.”
“That was rude.”
Adrian almost laughed.
They opened the hidden zipper.
Removed the prepaid phone.
Then Marco felt along the stitching.
One ear was heavier.
Teresa cut three stitches.
A tiny cylindrical case slid out.
Inside was microfilm.
Luca exhaled.
“The ledger.”
Sofia stared.
“That tiny thing is why everyone is being weird?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Yes.”
“That’s stupid.”
This time even Marco laughed.
They digitized the microfilm on an isolated machine.
Pages appeared.
Names.
Accounts.
Transactions.
Properties.
Then one document stopped Adrian cold.
A trust agreement.
Original beneficiary:
CARLO MARCHETTI AND HIS DESCENDANTS.
Current successor:
ELENA MARCHETTI.
Secondary successor:
SOFIA ISABELLA DELUCA.
Adrian looked at Luca.
“You gave her our mother’s name.”
Luca nodded.
“She saved my life.”
Adrian looked back at the document.
The trust controlled waterfront property now worth nearly $480 million.
Property currently held through DeLuca companies.
If the document became public, Sofia could claim it.
Luca looked grim.
“That’s why Gabriel wants the ledger destroyed.”
Marco shook his head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
“If Gabriel only wanted it destroyed, he would have burned the backpack.”
Adrian understood.
“He wants Sofia’s claim.”
Marco nodded.
“How?”
Luca’s face hardened.
“By controlling Elena.”
A phone rang.
Not Adrian’s.
Not Marco’s.
Sofia’s prepaid phone.
The screen displayed a new number.
Luca answered.
A man spoke.
Smooth.
Calm.
Almost warm.
“Hello, little brother.”
Luca went rigid.
Gabriel.
Adrian held out his hand.
Luca passed him the phone.
Adrian lifted it.
“Gabriel.”
A soft laugh.
“So you finally remember me.”
“Where is Elena?”
“Alive.”
“For now?”
“That depends on whether our family can behave like adults for once.”
Adrian’s voice turned cold.
“What do you want?”
“The ledger.”
“You already know.”
“And Sofia.”
Luca grabbed Adrian’s arm.
Adrian did not react.
“Why?”
Gabriel laughed again.
“Because she owns something that should have been mine.”
“No.”
“She owns something our father spent his life pretending belonged to us.”
“That still doesn’t make it yours.”
Gabriel’s voice sharpened.
“You have no idea what was taken from me.”
Adrian looked at the microfilm.
“Then explain.”
A pause.
“Oh, I will.”
Gabriel’s voice dropped.
“But first, ask Luca what happened the night our father died.”
The line went dead.
Adrian turned slowly.
Luca had gone pale.
“What happened the night Dad died?”
May you like
Luca did not answer.
And Adrian knew instantly there was another secret.
