Chapter 4 - THE ROOM ALESSANDRO NEVER ENTERED
Alessandro Moretti lived in a mansion with twenty-three rooms.
He used six.
The others remained immaculate, quiet, and largely untouched.
There was a library filled with first editions.
A formal dining room used for business meetings.
A music room with a piano nobody played.
A gallery displaying paintings inherited from his grandfather.
And a room at the end of the upstairs corridor that remained locked.
Elena had never entered it.
Mrs. Bennett once told her it belonged to Alessandro's younger sister, Lucia.
She died six years earlier.
No one discussed the circumstances.
Not in front of employees.
Not during meals.
Not even when visitors asked why Alessandro never allowed anyone to touch the white roses planted outside her bedroom window.
The evening Sophie received the threatening photograph, Alessandro was standing inside that locked room.
He'd entered for the first time in almost a year.
A pale blue bedspread covered the bed.
Books lined the shelves.
A framed photograph stood beside the window.
Lucia Moretti.
Twenty-two years old.
Brown eyes.
Dark curls.
A smile that made her look younger.
Alessandro picked up the photograph.
He remembered the last conversation they'd had.
She accused him of protecting dangerous people.
He told her she didn't understand family business.
She said that was exactly the problem.
Three days later, she was dead.
A vehicle collision on a rainy highway.
The official investigation found no evidence of foul play.
Alessandro had always wondered.
Now Elena Carter's mother's name had appeared in old records connected to his uncle.
And the same uncle had been involved in disputes Lucia once questioned.
A knock sounded.
Marco entered.
"Boss."
Alessandro looked up.
"What?"
"We confirmed Bellamy's connection to Ryan Mercer."
"Explain."
"Bellamy's holding company made several transfers to an account Ryan controlled."
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
"When?"
"Beginning two months after Margaret Carter died."
He closed his eyes.
A pattern was forming.
But he wasn't willing to draw conclusions without evidence.
"Give the records to the investigators handling Elena's complaint," he said.
Marco nodded.
"There's something else."
Alessandro looked at him.
"The supplier accounts your sister questioned six years ago."
He went still.
"What about them?"
"Carter-Ridge later became a subcontractor on several related projects."
Silence.
Marco continued.
"Lucia may have been looking at the beginning of the same financial network."
Alessandro sat down.
For six years, he'd told himself his sister died because she was reckless.
She'd driven too fast.
Ignored the weather.
Refused to listen to him.
But now he wondered whether he'd used that explanation because it was easier than admitting he hadn't taken her concerns seriously.
"Do you have her old files?" he asked.
Marco nodded.
"Some."
"Bring them."
An hour later, Alessandro sat at Lucia's desk surrounded by documents.
There were notes about contractor payments.
Shipping discrepancies.
Payments to consulting firms.
And a name repeated several times.
Daniel Bellamy.
His stomach tightened.
Bellamy.
The man who accompanied Ryan to the gate.
The intermediary associated with Vittorio's transactions.
The man who appeared whenever questionable money moved through the construction network.
Alessandro opened another folder.
Inside was a photograph of Lucia at a charity event.
She stood beside a woman in a blue dress.
The woman was smiling.
Her dark hair was pinned back.
On the back of the photograph, Lucia had written:
Margaret Carter. Finally, someone who understands the numbers.
Alessandro stared.
Elena's mother had known Lucia.
Not casually.
They'd worked together.
His sister's death and Margaret Carter's death were separated by several years.
But both women had questioned financial records connected to Bellamy.
Both were now gone.
And Ryan Mercer had spent eighteen months pressuring Margaret's daughter.
Alessandro looked toward the window.
Then whispered, "Lucia, what did you find?"
His phone vibrated.
A message from Elena.
Mr. Moretti, someone has Sophie's laptop. We think they may have entered our apartment.
Alessandro stood immediately.
He called her.
"Elena."
Her voice trembled.
"Yes?"
"Are you and Sophie safe?"
"We're at our attorney's office."
"Good."
He took a breath.
"Stay somewhere you feel secure, and let the investigators know immediately."
A pause.
Then Elena whispered, "Mr. Moretti, did you know my mother?"
Alessandro closed his eyes.
"No."
He looked at Lucia's photograph.
"But my sister did."
Silence.
Then Elena said, "Your sister?"
"Yes."
He swallowed.
May you like
"I think they were trying to expose the same people."
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