Chapter 5: My Brother’s Name
For several seconds, Vittorio could hear only Charles's recorded voice and the faint hum of the laptop.
Then Bianca whispered, “You don't understand.””
Vittorio looked at her.
“My brother is standing beside my wife's wrecked car.””
“It isn't what it looks like.””
“That's becoming your favorite sentence.””
Marcus edged toward the hallway.
Vittorio pointed at a chair.
“Sit.””
“I'm not your prisoner.””
“No. But if you run now, you'll look like a man who knows why Alessandro was there.””
Marcus stopped.
Elena paused the video.
The photograph remained frozen onscreen.
Sofia's silver Mercedes sat against a concrete barrier, its front end crushed. Marcus stood near the passenger side.
Beside him was Alessandro DeLuca.
Vittorio's younger brother.
His best man.
Lucy's godfather.
The man who had stood beside Vittorio at Sofia's funeral and held his shoulder while the coffin was lowered.
Vittorio turned to Marcus.
“Why were you there?””
Marcus rubbed both hands over his face.
“I got a call.””
“From whom?””
“Alessandro.””
Bianca snapped, “Marcus.””
“No.”” Marcus glared at her.
“I'm not going down for this.””
Vittorio stepped closer.
“What did Alessandro say?””
“He said Sofia had been in an accident. He needed help.””
“You arrived before the police?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Yes.””
“Before the ambulance?””
Another pause.
“Yes.””
Vittorio's voice dropped.
“How did Alessandro know she'd crashed?””
Marcus looked at Bianca.
That was answer enough.
Vittorio's hands curled into fists.
Elena touched his arm.
“Keep listening.””
She resumed the video.
Charles appeared again.
“I spent four years believing the missing money was the crime. I was wrong. The money was leverage.””
He held up several pages.
“Sofia discovered Alessandro had accumulated massive private debts. She also discovered he had used DeLuca company guarantees without Vittorio's authorization.””
Vittorio whispered, “No.””
Charles continued.
“When Sofia confronted him, Alessandro needed her silent. Bianca became useful because she already controlled parts of the foundation administration.””
Bianca shouted, “He's lying!””
Elena paused the video.
“Then tell us which part.””
“All of it.””
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Really?””
Bianca spun toward him.
“Don't.””
“You told me Alessandro was just an investor.””
“Marcus!””
“You said we'd move some money, make Lucy temporarily ineligible, then put everything back.””
Vittorio stared at him.
“Make her ineligible how?””
Marcus swallowed.
“The trust has conditions.””
Elena nodded slowly.
“What conditions?””
Marcus looked trapped.
“If Lucy permanently leaves Vittorio's legal custody before she turns eighteen, management of the trust transfers.””
“To whom?”” Vittorio asked.
Nobody answered.
He looked at Bianca.
“To whom?””
Bianca's chin lifted.
“To the foundation board.””
“And who controls the board?””
Marcus whispered, “Alessandro.””
The truth landed with brutal simplicity.
The humiliation.
The forged authorization.
The ticket.
They hadn't wanted Lucy in Zurich because Elena was her mother.
They wanted Lucy outside Vittorio's custody.
Long enough to trigger the trust.
Vittorio looked at Elena.
“Why put your name on the document?””
“To make it believable,” Elena said.
“If anyone questioned Lucy leaving, they could claim a biological-family dispute.””
“But you're not her mother.””
“No.””
“Then why does the document say you are?””
Elena glanced at Bianca.
“Because someone knew Sofia and I shared a father. A careless investigator might see the family connection and stop digging.””
Vittorio turned to Bianca.
“You were going to send an eight-year-old child across the world using forged documents.””
Bianca's eyes flashed.
“She would've been safe.””
“She was terrified in her own kitchen.””
“I never intended—”
“You put food on the floor and told my daughter to eat like an animal.””
Bianca's mouth closed.
“Why?””
The question came from the staircase.
Lucy stood there again.
Emma was behind her.
“Why do you hate me?””
Bianca stared at the child.
For once, she had no quick answer.
Lucy walked down two steps.
“I tried to be good.””
Vittorio moved toward her.
“Sweetheart—”
“I cleaned my room. I stopped asking for dessert. I didn't tell Daddy when you locked my toys away.””
Vittorio stopped.
Bianca's face tightened.
“You locked her toys away?””
Lucy nodded.
“And Mommy's pictures.””
Vittorio looked at Bianca.
“What?””
“She said Mommy made you weak.””
Bianca exploded.
“Because Sofia never left!””
Everyone froze.
Bianca's breathing turned ragged.
“Her photograph was in every room. Her name was on every account. Her money controlled everything. And every time Lucy looked at me, I saw Sofia staring back.””
Lucy flinched.
Vittorio stepped in front of her.
“You punished a child because you were jealous of a dead woman.””
“You don't know what it was like!””
“No,” Elena said.
“You don't know what it was like.””
Bianca looked at her.
Elena's voice trembled.
“I lost seventeen years with my sister because our father was a coward. Then I lost any chance to fix it because she died. And you used her daughter to steal what Sofia protected.””
Bianca's anger vanished.
She looked suddenly exhausted.
“Alessandro said nobody would be hurt.””
Vittorio went still.
It was the first admission.
“You worked with him.””
Bianca realized what she'd said.
Too late.
Marcus lowered his head.
Vittorio asked, “Did Alessandro kill Sofia?””
“No.””
“Did he cause her crash?””
“I don't know.””
“Bianca.””
“I don't know!””
She began crying.
“He told me Sofia had evidence that could destroy him. He wanted documents from her office. That's all I knew then.””
“Then?””
Bianca looked at the frozen photograph.
“After she died, Alessandro paid me.””
“How much?””
“Three million.””
Vittorio felt sick.
“For documents?””
Bianca nodded.
“What documents?””
“I never opened the envelope.””
Marcus laughed.
“You expect us to believe that?””
Bianca turned on him.
“You drove it to Alessandro!””
Vittorio looked at Marcus.
Marcus stood abruptly.
“She said it was financial paperwork!””
“And the crash?””
“I didn't touch Sofia's car.””
“Why were you there?””
“Because Alessandro called me to remove something before police arrived.””
Vittorio's voice became almost inaudible.
“What?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“A black leather bag.””
Elena inhaled.
Vittorio remembered it immediately.
Sofia carried that bag everywhere.
“What was inside?””
“I don't know. I gave it to Alessandro unopened.””
Emma suddenly spoke.
“Mr. DeLuca?””
Everyone turned.
She held up her phone.
“There's another file.””
“From when?””
“Tonight.””
Bianca stared at her.
Emma's face was pale.
“I left my phone recording in the pantry after Mr. DeLuca arrived.””
She pressed play.
Bianca's voice came first.
Then Marcus's.
Then, beneath them, another sound.
A phone call.
Bianca had apparently dialed someone while everyone was focused on Lucy.
A man's voice answered.
“Did Vittorio see the files?””
Bianca whispered, “Yes.””
The man's response was immediate.
“Then leave the house. Now.””
Vittorio knew that voice.
Alessandro.
Emma increased the volume.
Bianca whispered, “What about Lucy?””
A pause.
Then Alessandro answered.
“The trust doesn't matter anymore.””
May you like
Another pause.
“Vittorio does.””
