Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN IN THE SNOW
At 11:42 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Matteo Bellini found his executive secretary dying of cold outside the entrance to his Chicago headquarters.
Clara Vance was slumped against the granite wall.
Her blouse was wet.
One shoe was broken.
And four dark fingerprints marked her wrist.
Matteo had seen enough violence to recognize the difference between an accident and an assault.
“Clara?”
Her eyes opened slightly.
“Don't authorize Cypress.”
Matteo crouched beside her.
“What?”
“Page four.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“Forged.”
Then she whispered a company name.
Northbridge Meridian Holdings.
Matteo went still.
The shell company was scheduled to receive $3.8 million from Bellini Holdings before midnight.
His longtime financial adviser, Julian Vain, had personally recommended the transfer.
Matteo looked toward Dante Moretti, his security chief.
“Get a doctor.”
Dante checked Clara's pulse.
“Weak.”
Matteo removed his coat and wrapped it around her.
Then he lifted her into his arms.
Clara's head fell against his chest.
Her fingers remained locked around a battered moss-green notebook.
Matteo looked down at the bruises on her wrist.
Someone had hurt her.
Someone had tried to stop her.
May you like
And someone had believed Matteo Bellini would never notice.
They were wrong.
