Chapter 8: Sofia’s Voice
St. Aurelia looked like a dead palace.
Plastic sheeting covered half the windows.
Construction fencing rattled in the wind.
Vittorio parked across the street.
Charles reached for the door.
“Wait.””
“You think Alessandro has people watching?””
“I know he does.””
Vittorio checked his phone.
Emma had sent one message.
*Lucy safe. Police on the way.*
He put the phone away.
“Let's go.””
Room 317 was on the third floor.
The hallway smelled of plaster and damp carpet.
The door stood open.
Inside, a single lamp burned.
Bianca sat in a chair.
Alessandro stood by the window.
No visible weapon.
No guards.
Nothing except a small metal case on the table.
“You brought Charles.””
Vittorio entered.
“You took Bianca.””
Bianca looked at him.
“Don't give him the key.””
Alessandro laughed.
“Now she develops principles.””
Charles closed the door.
“Where are Sofia's letters?””
“Safe.””
“And Emma's laptop?””
“Also safe.””
Vittorio held up the brass key.
“What does it open?””
Alessandro nodded toward the metal case.
“That.””
Vittorio stared at it.
“You already have the case?””
“I've had it for four years.””
Charles whispered, “Impossible.””
Alessandro smiled.
“Not impossible. Frustrating.””
He tapped the lid.
“No key. No combination.””
Vittorio approached.
The case had a keyhole and three rotating number wheels.
317.
He inserted the key.
Then entered the numbers.
Click.
Nobody breathed.
Vittorio opened the case.
Inside was an old digital recorder.
A flash drive.
A sealed letter.
And a small silver necklace.
Sofia's necklace.
Vittorio touched it.
His hands began trembling.
Alessandro looked away.
“Play the recorder.””
“Why?””
“Because you came for the truth.””
Vittorio pressed the button.
Static.
Then Sofia's voice filled Room 317.
“Vittorio, if you're hearing this, something went wrong.””
His eyes closed.
Four years disappeared.
For one second, she was alive again.
“I need you to understand that Alessandro has been stealing from the foundation.””
Vittorio opened his eyes.
Alessandro didn't react.
Sofia continued.
“But the money isn't why I'm afraid.””
A pause.
“I found payments connected to Bianca Russo. She says she didn't know what they were for. I don't know whether I believe her.””
Bianca began crying.
Then another voice entered the recording.
Alessandro.
“You shouldn't have involved Charles.””
Sofia answered.
“I shouldn't have trusted you.””
Vittorio stared at his brother.
The recording continued.
“I was trying to protect this family.””
“You stole sixty million dollars.””
“I borrowed against assets.””
“You forged Vittorio's authorization.””
“He would have refused.””
“Because it's criminal.””
Alessandro's recorded voice hardened.
“You think you're better than me because you married him?””
“No. I think I'm better than you because I don't destroy children to solve adult problems.””
Vittorio looked at Lucy's necklace in the case.
On the recording, a chair scraped.
Then Alessandro said something unexpected.
“I never touched your car.””
Sofia replied, “I didn't say you did.””
Silence.
Then:
“Who told you about the car?””
Everyone in Room 317 froze.
Charles stepped closer to the recorder.
Sofia's voice sharpened.
“Alessandro, what did Bianca tell you?””
Bianca shook her head violently.
“No.””
Vittorio looked at her.
“What?””
She began backing away.
Alessandro blocked the door.
“Listen.””
On the recording, Alessandro said:
“Bianca said Marcus was going to scare you.””
Marcus.
Vittorio felt the room tilt.
Sofia responded.
“Scare me how?””
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
“I'm not.””
Then a loud knock sounded on the recording.
Sofia whispered, “Someone's here.””
Another knock.
The recording muffled.
A man's voice entered.
Marcus.
“I just want to talk.””
Bianca covered her face.
Vittorio turned to Alessandro.
“You knew Marcus confronted her.””
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing.””
“I thought he frightened her. I didn't know what happened afterward.””
“Marcus was at the crash.””
“I found that out later.””
Charles looked at Bianca.
“What did Marcus do?””
Bianca sobbed.
“He was supposed to take the documents.””
“From Sofia?””
“Yes.””
“Did he sabotage her car?””
“No!””
“How do you know?””
“Because that wasn't the plan!””
Vittorio slammed his palm against the table.
“Then what was?””
Bianca broke.
“He was supposed to follow her. Force her to stop. Take the bag.””
“And?””
“She wouldn't stop.””
Vittorio stared at her.
Bianca's voice became barely audible.
“Marcus chased her.””
Charles closed his eyes.
Vittorio felt nausea rise.
“He chased my wife on the road.””
“Yes.””
“And she crashed.””
Bianca nodded.
“Marcus called Alessandro afterward because he panicked.””
Vittorio turned toward his brother.
“You covered it up.””
Alessandro looked ashamed.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because Marcus had evidence connecting Bianca to me. And Bianca had evidence of my fraud.””
“So you let Sofia's death become an accident.””
“Yes.””
Vittorio wanted to hit him.
Instead, he looked at the flash drive.
“What is this?””
Alessandro answered.
“I don't know.””
Charles examined it.
“Sofia must have added it after recording.””
Vittorio inserted it into Charles's laptop.
One folder appeared.
*FOR VITTORIO — IF THEY COME FOR LUCY*
Inside were bank records.
Photographs.
Copies of messages.
Then a video.
Sofia appeared onscreen in this very room.
She looked exhausted.
“Vittorio, there is one thing I haven't told you.””
Vittorio leaned closer.
“If I die, protect Lucy from anyone trying to remove her from your custody.””
She lifted a document.
“The trust isn't thirty-two million dollars.””
Elena's estimate had been wrong.
Sofia looked directly into the camera.
“That's only the liquid account.””
Alessandro whispered, “What?””
Sofia continued.
“My grandfather's controlling shares in Moretti Biotech are also held for Lucy.””
Charles grabbed the table.
“How much?””
Sofia answered from four years in the past.
“At today's valuation, approximately four hundred and eighty million dollars.””
Bianca stared at the screen.
Alessandro went completely still.
Vittorio finally understood.
This had never been about thirty-two million.
Lucy wasn't merely the beneficiary of a trust.
She controlled a fortune.
Then Sofia delivered the final blow.
“And if anyone attempts to fraudulently remove Lucy from Vittorio's custody, ownership does not transfer to the foundation board.””
Alessandro's face drained.
Sofia almost smiled.
“It transfers immediately to an independent trustee.””
Vittorio whispered, “Who?””
Sofia answered.
“Elena Moretti.””
Bianca stared at Alessandro.
“You said you'd get everything.””
Alessandro shook his head.
He looked genuinely stunned.
Then Bianca's phone began ringing.
Marcus.
She answered on speaker.
“Marcus?””
His breathing was frantic.
“Bianca, listen to me.””
“What?””
“I'm at the house.””
Vittorio grabbed the phone.
“Why?””
Marcus went silent.
Then Lucy screamed somewhere behind him.
Vittorio's blood turned to ice.
“Marcus!””
The line crackled.
Marcus finally answered.
“You want the truth about Sofia?””
Another scream.
May you like
Then his voice hardened.
“Bring me the flash drive, or you'll lose your daughter too.””
