Chapter 5 - The Dog Vanessa Wanted Erased
Three days after Bruno came home, he walked into the kitchen on his own.
Slowly.
Stiffly.
But proudly.
Every employee applauded.
Bruno looked confused.
Then he spotted me.
His tail started moving.
I knelt carefully.
He walked over and pushed his head against my knee.
That was when I cried.
Not at the engagement dinner.
Not when police arrived.
Not when Vanessa blamed me.
I cried because an old golden retriever was alive.
“You scared us,” I whispered.
Bruno sneezed.
Mrs. Carter laughed.
Behind her, Luca stood in the doorway.
He watched for a moment.
Then said, “He likes you.”
“He likes everyone.”
“Not Vanessa.”
The room became quiet.
Luca almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Daniel entered.
The smile disappeared.
“We found where the signature came from.”
Luca straightened.
“Where?”
“A merger agreement from eighteen months ago.”
“Who accessed it?”
“Five people.”
Daniel handed him a list.
Luca read.
I wasn’t trying to look.
Then one name made him stop.
Anthony Bellini.
Vanessa’s older brother.
He worked for Moretti Capital.
Senior acquisitions analyst.
Suddenly the family connection mattered.
“He accessed this document six times last month,” Daniel said.
“For what reason?”
“None listed.”
Luca looked toward his office.
“Bring him in.”
Anthony arrived forty minutes later.
He was handsome in the same polished way Vanessa was.
When he saw police cars still near the estate, he became nervous.
“Luca, what’s happening?”
Luca placed the forged surrender paperwork on his desk.
“Recognize that signature?”
Anthony stared at it.
“No.”
“It came from a document you accessed.”
“That means nothing.”
“Maybe.”
Luca slid another paper toward him.
“Recognize this?”
Anthony went pale.
Bank transfers.
Small amounts at first.
Then larger.
Payments to a consulting company registered in Delaware.
The company belonged to Vanessa.
Daniel had discovered it that morning.
Anthony swallowed.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
“Good.”
Luca sat down.
“Then tell me what it looks like.”
Anthony began sweating.
Vanessa had convinced him she needed money for wedding expenses Luca would eventually reimburse.
At least that was his story.
But the transfers went back fourteen months.
Long before wedding deposits.
“She said she was embarrassed to ask you,” Anthony said.
“So you stole from my company?”
“I borrowed.”
“You disguised transfers.”
“I was going to replace it.”
“How much?”
Anthony looked at the floor.
Daniel answered.
“Four hundred eighty-six thousand.”
My stomach tightened.
Luca didn’t move.
“How much did Vanessa receive?”
“Three hundred twelve thousand.”
“And the rest?”
Anthony said nothing.
Luca stood.
“Where is it?”
“I invested it.”
“In what?”
Anthony’s eyes filled with panic.
“A private fund.”
“What fund?”
Silence.
Daniel tossed another file onto the desk.
“North Lake Holdings?”
Anthony’s face collapsed.
That was the moment Luca knew.
North Lake Holdings had recently attempted to purchase two properties near a Moretti distribution facility.
At the time, Luca considered it ordinary business.
Now it looked different.
“Who owns North Lake?”
Anthony shook his head.
“I can’t tell you.”
“You just admitted stealing half a million dollars.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me.”
Anthony looked toward the door.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not fear of Luca.
Fear of someone else.
“I thought Vanessa was only trying to secure herself.”
“For what?”
“In case the marriage failed.”
Luca stared.
“Before it began?”
“She said you would make her sign another agreement.”
“My prenup.”
Anthony nodded.
“She hated it.”
“So she stole family jewelry?”
“I didn’t know about that.”
“The dog?”
Anthony looked genuinely confused.
“What dog?”
For the first time, I believed him.
Then his phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
Went completely white.
Daniel took the phone before he could stop him.
A text message.
Unknown number.
YOU TALK, YOUR SISTER PAYS.
Luca read it.
His expression changed.
“Who is this?”
Anthony whispered, “I don’t know.”
Another message arrived.
YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO LEAVE THAT HOUSE.
Daniel immediately called security.
The estate gates locked.
Anthony began breathing too quickly.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Luca grabbed his shoulder.
“What wasn’t?”
“Vanessa met someone.”
“Who?”
“I never knew his real name.”
“When?”
“Last year.”
“Business?”
“At first.”
Anthony shook his head.
“She wanted leverage before marrying you.”
“What kind of leverage?”
“Financial records. Private files. Family information.”
Luca released him.
The room seemed colder.
Anthony continued.
“She said rich men always leave women with nothing.”
“So she decided to steal before the wedding?”
“She said she was protecting herself.”
“What changed?”
Anthony looked toward Bruno sleeping beside the fireplace.
Then at me.
“Three months ago, she told me she had enough information to destroy you if you ever tried to leave her.”
Silence.
I looked at Luca.
His expression revealed nothing.
“Destroy me how?”
Anthony swallowed.
“She said she had proof connecting you to crimes.”
Luca almost laughed.
“What crimes?”
“I don’t know.”
“Real proof?”
Anthony looked ashamed.
“I think she was manufacturing it.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Using company documents?”
“Yes.”
That explained the signature.
The theft.
The files.
But not Bruno.
Not entirely.
Then Anthony said something that made me remember the afternoon at the kennel.
“The man Vanessa met always wore gray gloves.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Everyone looked at me.
“The transport worker.”
I stood.
“The man who took Bruno wore gray gloves.”
Anthony stared.
“Was he tall?”
“Yes.”
“Scar near his chin?”
I tried to remember.
“Yes.”
Anthony sank into a chair.
“That wasn’t an animal transport worker.”
“Who was he?” Luca asked.
Anthony whispered:
“His name is Victor Hale.”
Daniel immediately went still.
Luca did too.
I had never heard the name.
But judging by their faces, I should have.
Luca turned to me.
“Emma, when Vanessa told that man to take Bruno…”
“Yes?”
“Did he look at the house?”
I remembered.
Not once.
Several times.
Especially the cameras.
“Yes.”
Luca exchanged a glance with Daniel.
Victor Hale had not come to remove a dog.
May you like
He had come to test the estate’s security.
And Vanessa had opened the gate for him.
