Chapter 7 - BLOOD ISN’T LOYALTY
Matteo arrived at 2:07 a.m.
He entered the library furious.
“You drag me out of bed because Lucinda lost her mind?”
Salvatore tossed the document across the desk.
Matteo read it.
His expression didn’t change.
That worried Salvatore.
“You tried to take control of Ruby’s shares.”
“No.”
“The request came from your office.”
“Then someone used my office.”
Salvatore almost laughed.
“Interesting. Everybody’s identity is getting stolen tonight.”
Matteo looked at Lucinda.
“You did this?”
She stared back.
“Don’t.”
One word.
But it carried history.
Salvatore caught it.
“You two know each other better than you’ve admitted.”
Matteo scoffed.
“She’s your fiancée.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Lucinda looked away.
Salvatore stepped closer.
“When did you meet Matteo?”
“At your house.”
“Lie.”
Silence.
“Try again.”
Matteo said, “This is ridiculous.”
Salvatore slammed his hand against the desk.
Ruby was asleep two floors above.
He lowered his voice.
“My six-year-old daughter has been deliberately hurt in my home. Do not tell me what is ridiculous.”
Matteo’s mouth closed.
Marco entered carrying a tablet.
“We searched archived company email.”
He handed it to Salvatore.
Sixteen months earlier.
Before Salvatore had met Lucinda at a charity dinner.
Matteo had emailed her.
Good seeing you again.
Again.
Salvatore looked up.
“How long?”
Lucinda said nothing.
Matteo sighed.
“We dated briefly.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“How many?”
“Eight.”
Salvatore turned to Lucinda.
“You told me you’d never met him.”
“It didn’t matter.”
“It matters now.”
Marco swiped to another record.
A transfer.
Matteo’s private investment company had paid Lucinda $75,000 six months before she met Salvatore.
Another payment came three months later.
Then another.
Salvatore stared at the numbers.
“What did he pay you for?”
Lucinda’s voice was barely audible.
“Consulting.”
Matteo laughed once.
Wrong move.
Salvatore turned.
“What’s funny?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying badly.”
Marco spoke.
“We also recovered a deleted draft from Lucinda’s cloud storage.”
He opened it.
A single sentence appeared.
WHEN SAL SIGNS AFTER THE WEDDING, RUBY’S VOTING BLOCK BECOMES ACCESSIBLE.
Salvatore looked at Matteo.
Matteo’s confidence finally cracked.
Ruby’s late mother, Sofia, had placed company shares into a trust for their daughter.
Until Ruby turned twenty-five, Salvatore controlled the voting rights.
If Salvatore died or became legally incapacitated, control passed to an independent trustee.
Unless certain amended family agreements existed.
Agreements someone had apparently been forging.
Salvatore whispered:
“You didn’t want my money.”
Matteo said nothing.
“You wanted my company.”
Lucinda suddenly laughed.
Everyone looked at her.
“You still don’t understand.”
Salvatore stepped toward her.
“Then explain it.”
She looked straight at him.
“This didn’t start with me.”
Matteo shouted, “Shut up.”
Lucinda smiled.
“Oh, now you’re scared?”
“Lucinda.”
“You think he loves you?” she asked Salvatore. “You think this is the first time Matteo tried to get around Sofia’s trust?”
Salvatore froze at his late wife’s name.
“What did Sofia know?”
Matteo went pale.
Lucinda opened her mouth.
Then the mansion shook.
A violent explosion thundered from the east wing.
Windows rattled.
Alarms erupted.
Marco looked toward the hallway.
“The archive room.”
Smoke began pouring under the door.
May you like
And all the evidence was inside.
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