Chapter 10 - THE SAFE THAT HELD MORE THAN MONEY
The blue folder was not the only thing Vivien had photographed.
My investigators discovered that she had also accessed a sealed envelope containing correspondence from my late father.
The letters described ownership disputes involving Lorenzo Rossi.
Years earlier, Lorenzo had attempted to acquire interests in our shipping operations through a series of questionable transactions.
My father had blocked him.
The dispute had never been fully resolved.
Now Lorenzo wanted another chance.
Through marriage.
Through paperwork.
Through deception.
I sat alone in my study that night.
The safe was open.
I looked at the documents.
Then at a photograph of my father.
He had been a hard man.
Sometimes cruel.
But he had taught me one thing I had never forgotten.
Never confuse loyalty with obedience.
For years, I had believed Vivien was loyal because she agreed with me.
Because she smiled when I spoke.
Because she never challenged my decisions.
Claire was different.
She had been frightened.
But she told me what I needed to hear.
Emma was different.
She was three.
Yet she had understood that something was wrong.
I closed the safe.
Changed the combination.
And arranged for the contents to be secured by independent counsel.
Then I made one final decision.
The wedding would not happen.
May you like
But I wasn't going to announce it quietly.
Not while Lorenzo and Vivien were still trying to destroy people who had done nothing wrong.
