Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE RED DRESS
Vanessa called me the next morning.
Not Adrian.
Vanessa.
I stared at the unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Elena.”
I recognized her voice from the church.
“Congratulations. You found my number.”
“Please don’t hang up.”
“Convincing opening.”
“I need to tell you something.”
“Does it involve your hand on your stomach?”
Silence.
Then:
“I’m not pregnant.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
“That was staged?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Camille.”
There it was again.
“She told me the photographers needed to believe Adrian left you because there was a baby.”
My stomach turned.
“You agreed?”
“Yes.”
At least she did not lie.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian told me after yesterday we could finally be together.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Romantic.”
“I deserve that.”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“Can we meet?”
“No.”
“Public place.”
“No.”
“I have messages.”
That changed things.
An hour later, Vanessa entered a private room at one of Lucian’s restaurants.
Rachel attended.
So did I.
Lucian stayed outside.
My request.
Vanessa wore jeans.
No red dress.
No theatrical tears.
She looked exhausted.
“I knew about you,” she said.
“I gathered that.”
“Adrian told me your relationship was mostly business.”
I almost smiled.
“Did the wedding confuse you?”
“He said he had to go through with preparations until he could expose you.”
“What?”
“He told me you were stealing from the foundation.”
The lie worked both directions.
To me, Vanessa was unstable.
To Vanessa, I was criminal.
To the public, I would soon become vindictive.
Adrian had built different versions of reality for everyone.
“What did he promise you?”
Vanessa showed me messages.
After Saturday, it’s over.
Another.
Mom has everything prepared.
Another.
Once Elena reacts publicly, nobody will trust whatever she says about the audit.
My pulse changed.
There.
Proof.
Rachel leaned forward.
“Can we copy these?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa continued.
“There's more.”
She showed us an email attachment Adrian accidentally forwarded.
Talking points.
For the wedding.
I stared.
ADRIAN: I won’t ruin my life out of pity.
Exact words.
CAMILLE: Be graceful, dear. Leave quietly.
My stomach turned.
They had scripted Camille too.
Even the humiliation had rehearsal notes.
Then:
If Elena becomes aggressive: security intervention.
Lucian would have killed someone if security dragged me from the church.
Maybe that was part of the plan after he appeared.
Vanessa whispered:
“I didn’t know how far it went.”
“You knew enough.”
“Yes.”
I appreciated the answer.
She did not ask forgiveness.
Not yet.
“Why help me?”
Her eyes filled.
“Because last night I asked Adrian when we were getting married.”
I knew the answer before she said it.
“He laughed.”
Vanessa wiped her face.
“He said I misunderstood.”
Of course.
“You were useful too.”
She looked at me.
“Exactly.”
That sentence connected us in a way I did not want.
But understood.
Rachel copied everything.
Before Vanessa left, she stopped.
“Adrian said Lucian Moretti is using you.”
“Maybe.”
She looked surprised.
“You admit that?”
“I’m auditing that too.”
For the first time, Vanessa smiled.
Small.
Sad.
“Good luck.”
“I don’t use luck.”
“Accountant?”
“Exactly.”
That afternoon, I walked into Moretti Maritime headquarters.
Lucian was in a board meeting.
I entered anyway.
Twelve executives looked at me.
Lucian leaned back.
“Elena.”
“I need your ledgers.”
The room went silent.
“Excuse me?”
“All of them.”
An older executive nearly laughed.
Lucian did not.
“Why?”
“You expect me to help expose Vale finances.”
“Yes.”
“I need to know whether your hands are clean enough to stand beside my evidence.”
Silence.
Lucian looked around the room.
“Leave.”
Nobody moved slowly.
Once the door closed, he said:
“My hands aren’t clean.”
“I know.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because there is a difference between knowing a man has secrets and discovering whether those secrets contaminate my case.”
He stared.
“You want to audit me.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
I picked up my bag.
“Then find another accountant.”
“Elena.”
I stopped.
“You do realize nobody says that to me.”
I turned.
“Perhaps that's why nobody noticed when Paul—”
Wrong name, wrong story in memory. Need in story maybe Lucian's systems? We don't have betrayal. Better say "why people around you keep telling you only what you want to hear." Need correct.
“You do realize nobody says that to me.”
“Maybe that’s one of your problems.”
His eyes narrowed.
I continued.
“Camille built a criminal structure beneath a charity because everyone around her learned not to question her.”
I stepped closer.
“Do you really want to prove you’re different by refusing the same questions?”
Lucian stared at me for a long time.
Then pressed the intercom.
“Rachel.”
His attorney answered.
“Yes?”
“Bring Ms. Mercer access to legal-company ledgers.”
I smiled.
He added:
“And historical compliance records.”
My smile disappeared.
That was more than I expected.
Then he said:
“If you find something you don’t like, you tell me first.”
“No.”
His face hardened.
“I tell the appropriate person first.”
He stared.
Then almost smiled.
“Fine.”
I spent seventy-two hours auditing Lucian Moretti.
What I found scared me more than the Vales.
Because Lucian did not hide behind charity.
His empire was brutally honest about what it had once been.
Cash payments.
Unofficial security fees.
Political favors.
Shell companies used years earlier.
Nothing directly tied to the Vale fraud.
But enough to ruin him if exposed.
I placed the report on his desk.
“You have a choice.”
He looked at the pages.
“Everyone keeps telling me that lately.”
“Good.”
“What choice?”
“Use my evidence against Vale while keeping this hidden…”
I tapped his report.
“…and eventually somebody does to you what Camille did to everyone else.”
He looked at me.
“Or?”
“Clean it.”
“That could cost me half my network.”
“Probably.”
“Millions.”
“Yes.”
“Power.”
“Yes.”
He leaned back.
“And if I don’t?”
“I walk.”
His expression changed.
That was the first moment I knew this had become more than strategy.
May you like
Because Lucian Moretti looked genuinely afraid of losing me.
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