Chapter 13 - The Killer at the Dinner Table
The Romano estate locked down in sixty seconds.
Nobody left.
Nobody entered.
Gabriele stood in the center of the foyer while Marco checked every guard.
Federica watched faces.
Fear.
Confusion.
Offense.
Innocence.
Maybe guilt.
Sofia came downstairs carrying Leo.
Rosa followed.
Alessandro emerged from the library, bruised but recovering.
“What happened?”
Gabriele answered.
“Matteo’s killer is here.”
The room went silent.
Alessandro looked around.
“Now?”
“According to Evelyn.”
Sofia’s face changed.
“You trust her?”
“No.”
Federica said, “But we verify.”
Gabriele looked at Marco.
“Everyone who had access to Matteo’s car.”
Marco pulled records.
Seven names.
Matteo himself.
Gabriele.
Marco.
Alessandro.
The estate mechanic.
Matteo’s driver.
And Matteo’s personal assistant.
Claire Donovan.
Federica remembered her.
Early forties.
Efficient.
Quiet.
She had remained employed by Romano Holdings after Matteo died.
Currently working in executive operations.
“Where is Claire?” Federica asked.
Marco checked.
“At the estate.”
“Why?”
“She came with archived files this afternoon.”
Gabriele’s expression hardened.
“Find her.”
They did.
Claire sat in the east dining room.
Alone.
Drinking coffee.
When Gabriele entered, she looked up.
“Something wrong?”
Federica studied her.
No obvious fear.
Claire had known Matteo for twelve years.
Scheduled his meetings.
Managed travel.
Held spare keys.
Had access to his vehicle.
Gabriele sat across from her.
“Where were you the morning Matteo died?”
Claire’s face changed.
“At home.”
“Can anyone confirm?”
“My husband.”
“Your husband died four months ago.”
She swallowed.
“Yes.”
Federica sat beside Gabriele.
“Claire, do you know Gray Consulting?”
“No.”
Too fast.
Federica noticed.
“So you never processed an invoice from them?”
“I processed thousands of invoices.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Claire looked at her.
“I don’t remember.”
Federica placed a document on the table.
Matteo’s archived expense authorization.
Gray Consulting.
Claire’s approval code.
Her face drained.
“I can explain.”
Gabriele’s voice became cold.
“Do.”
“Matteo told me to approve it.”
Federica believed that might be true.
The transaction fit his investigation.
“Did he tell you why?”
“No.”
“Did you know he was investigating Gray?”
Claire hesitated.
“No.”
Lie.
Federica could not prove it.
Yet.
Then she noticed Claire’s bracelet.
Tiny metal charm.
A bird.
Specifically a gray falcon.
Federica remembered a Gray communication file.
Operatives used bird identifiers.
Raven.
Hawk.
Falcon.
She looked at Gabriele.
He saw.
“Take off the bracelet.”
Claire’s breathing stopped.
“Why?”
“Now.”
She stood suddenly.
Marco blocked the door.
Claire backed away.
“Gabriele, please.”
“Did you kill my brother?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“No.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
“Because I made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
She looked at Federica.
Then at Gabriele.
“I gave someone his keys.”
Silence.
“Who?” Gabriele asked.
“Enzo.”
His expression changed.
“When?”
“The night before the crash.”
“Why?”
“He said Matteo asked him to retrieve documents from the car.”
“And you believed him.”
“Yes.”
Federica watched closely.
Claire was terrified.
But perhaps not guilty of murder.
“What happened afterward?” Federica asked.
“Enzo returned the keys.”
“Did Matteo know?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you tell investigators?”
Claire began crying.
“Enzo threatened my husband.”
“So you stayed silent.”
“Yes.”
“Then why does your bracelet match a Gray operative identifier?”
Claire stared at it.
“This?”
“Yes.”
“My husband gave me this.”
“When?”
“Anniversary.”
Federica frowned.
“What did your husband do?”
“Worked in transportation security.”
Gabriele looked at Marco.
“Name?”
“Michael Donovan.”
Marco searched.
Then became still.
“M. Donovan appears in Gray records.”
Claire stared.
“What?”
Federica felt the truth shifting again.
“Your husband was Gray.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
“He may have been the Falcon operative.”
“No.”
Marco showed her.
Payments.
Dates.
Access logs.
Michael Donovan had received $300,000 two days after Matteo died.
Claire covered her mouth.
“My husband…”
Gabriele’s face remained hard.
“Where did the money go?”
Federica traced it.
Mortgage.
Offshore account.
Then four months ago—
Withdrawal.
Complete.
Same week Michael died.
“How did your husband die?” she asked.
Claire whispered, “Suicide.”
Federica looked at Gabriele.
Gray cleaning up.
Again.
Claire sank into the chair.
“I didn’t know.”
Federica believed her.
Gabriele wanted to.
Eventually he nodded to Marco.
“Keep her protected.”
Claire looked up.
“Protected?”
“If Gray believes you know this, you’re next.”
She began crying harder.
Afterward, Federica and Gabriele met Evelyn in the basement of an abandoned church owned by a foundation lawyer loyal to Matteo.
Evelyn looked nothing like the elegant woman from the gala.
No makeup.
Dark coat.
Exhausted.
A woman running for her life.
She placed a box on the table.
“The ledger.”
Federica opened it.
Paper.
Actual handwritten records.
Names.
Payments.
Orders.
Matteo had apparently copied pieces himself.
Then she found Michael Donovan.
FALCON.
Order:
VEHICLE DEVICE INSTALLATION.
Authorized by:
CHICAGO ONE.
Richard Vale.
Gabriele closed his eyes.
Proof.
Real.
Clean.
Evelyn said, “Victor will testify.”
“Why help us?” Federica asked.
Evelyn looked tired.
“Because Vale ordered my death.”
“That is self-preservation, not remorse.”
“No.”
“Did you help kill Matteo?”
Evelyn looked at Gabriele.
“Yes.”
He moved.
Federica caught his arm.
Evelyn did not flinch.
“I transferred the payment.”
Gabriele’s voice was low.
“You killed my brother.”
“I helped.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed Vale when he said Matteo would destroy all of us.”
“And now?”
“Now I know Vale intended to destroy us anyway.”
Gabriele stared.
“Convenient morality.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn accepted the accusation.
Then she looked at Federica.
“There’s another entry.”
“What?”
“Leo.”
Federica opened the final pages.
The kidnapping order.
Authorization.
Not Vale.
Not Enzo.
Someone else.
Initials:
V.S.
Victor Sterling?
Federica looked at Evelyn.
“Your husband ordered Leo taken?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
“V.S.”
“That isn’t Victor.”
“Then who?”
Evelyn’s face tightened.
“Vale Senior.”
Federica frowned.
“Richard Vale’s father?”
“No.”
Evelyn whispered, “His son.”
Vincent Sterling Vale.
Federica stared.
The surname Sterling appeared as a middle name.
“Who is he?”
“The reason Victor and Richard stayed connected.”
Evelyn looked at Gabriele.
“Vincent is their shared blood.”
Silence.
Federica slowly understood.
Victor Sterling and Richard Vale had been tied by more than business.
A hidden family connection.
A younger generation.
Someone who stood to inherit both power structures.
“Where is Vincent?” Gabriele asked.
Evelyn’s eyes moved toward Federica.
“Romano Holdings.”
Federica went cold.
“What?”
“He joined six months ago under another name.”
The same time surveillance on Federica began.
“What name?”
Evelyn answered.
“Jonathan Pierce.”
Federica stopped breathing.
Jonathan Pierce was her direct supervisor.
The man who approved her assignments.
The man who knew her schedule.
The man who had given her the chipped mug that said NUMBERS DON’T LIE on her first week.
The man she had trusted completely.
And that morning, Jonathan had sent her a friendly message:
Hope you’re recovering. Don’t worry about work. I’ll handle everything.
Federica pulled out her phone.
Another message had just arrived.
From Jonathan.
I know you found the ledger.
Then another.
I also know where your aunt is sleeping tonight.
Federica looked at Gabriele.
And the final message appeared:
YOU SAVED THE BABY ONCE.
LET’S SEE IF YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN.
Attached was a live photograph of Leo’s nursery.
May you like
Taken from inside the Romano estate.
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