Chapter 4 - THE MEN WHO CAME FOR ELENA’S BOX
Daniel reached for his phone.
No signal.
“That’s impossible.”
Luca looked at his screen.
Nothing.
Mine too.
Teresa whispered, “They’re blocking it.”
Footsteps crossed the room below us.
At least two men.
Maybe three.
Luca closed Elena’s box.
“Back stairs.”
Teresa pointed toward the second bedroom.
“There used to be servant stairs.”
We moved.
The old wooden steps groaned under our weight.
Halfway down, voices became clearer.
“Kitchen.”
“Check the wall.”
They knew exactly where to look.
Luca stopped.
So did I.
A man entered the kitchen beneath us.
We could see his shoulders through the railing.
Black coat.
Gloves.
Another man followed.
“Box isn’t here.”
“Then they have it.”
My heart hammered.
Luca gestured toward the rear door.
Daniel got Teresa outside first.
I followed.
Snow hit my face.
Then somebody grabbed my coat from behind.
I screamed.
A third man had been waiting beside the alley.
He pulled me backward.
I swung without thinking.
My elbow hit something.
He cursed.
Then Luca hit him.
Hard.
The man stumbled into the brick wall.
Luca moved toward him again.
“Luca!”
Daniel shouted.
One of the men inside appeared at the back door.
Something metallic flashed in his hand.
Security vehicles turned into the alley.
The men ran.
One climbed a fence.
Another disappeared between garages.
The man Luca had hit shoved past me and escaped toward the street.
Security chased.
None were caught.
Five minutes later, Luca stood in the kitchen with blood on his lower lip.
I handed him a towel.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I noticed.”
“You should sit.”
“No.”
“Of course not.”
He looked at me.
“You hit him.”
“He grabbed me.”
“I saw.”
“I panicked.”
“You broke his nose.”
“Did I?”
“Probably.”
“That makes me feel better.”
For the first time that morning, he laughed.
Only for a second.
Then Daniel entered.
“They knew the box existed.”
Luca’s expression hardened again.
“They knew where.”
“And they knew we were here.”
Teresa whispered, “Richard.”
“Maybe.”
Luca looked at me.
“Maybe Vanessa.”
I remembered the phone call.
The threat.
The photo of Dad.
“She knew about the spoon.”
“Yes.”
“Did she know what was inside?”
“Apparently somebody did.”
Police arrived.
Statements.
Photographs.
Questions.
Luca handed over the box except for the cassette.
Daniel insisted on making a digital copy immediately before police took it as evidence.
Back at Caruso’s, Teresa brought an old cassette player from the office.
Of course she owned one.
“I keep Sinatra tapes.”
Daniel connected a recorder.
Luca held the cassette.
April 14, 1995.
Six days before Elena died.
He inserted it.
Pressed PLAY.
Static.
Then a woman spoke.
“Elena Moretti. April fourteenth.”
Luca closed his eyes.
I watched his hand tighten around the edge of the table.
Her voice was warm.
Educated.
Controlled.
But afraid.
“If I’m recording this, then I have finally admitted I may not be able to solve this quietly.”
Static crackled.
“Richard has been moving money.”
Daniel immediately began taking notes.
“He uses property transfers and false consulting payments. Antonio refuses to believe me.”
A pause.
“My husband loves Richard like a brother.”
Luca looked away.
“That makes him easy to lie to.”
Teresa wiped her eyes.
Elena continued.
“I found seven transfers requiring my authorization.”
Seven.
The same number of properties Vanessa had purchased.
Luca looked at Daniel.
Neither spoke.
“My signature appears on every document.”
Static.
“I signed none of them.”
My skin prickled.
History repeating itself.
Vanessa had done to Luca exactly what Richard had done to Elena.
Forged authority.
Property transfers.
Seven transactions.
Luca understood it too.
His face became stone.
The tape continued.
“Richard says the assets belong to the family company anyway.”
Elena laughed without humor.
“He told me signatures are paperwork.”
Teresa whispered, “Dear God.”
“I told Antonio.”
A long pause.
“He asked me to let him handle it.”
Her voice broke slightly.
“I asked how long.”
Another pause.
“He had no answer.”
Luca lowered his head.
Then Elena said:
“I copied everything.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Some copies are with Rosa.”
Luca looked up.
“Some are hidden where Richard will never look.”
Caruso’s.
The spoon.
Taylor Street.
Maybe the other properties.
Then Elena’s breathing changed.
“I think he knows.”
Silence.
“He came to the house yesterday.”
Luca stopped moving.
“Richard?”
Elena continued.
“He asked me to sign a release.”
Paper rustled on the recording.
“I refused.”
She inhaled.
“Then he told me accidents happen in old houses.”
No one breathed.
A small noise came through the tape.
Door.
Footsteps.
Elena whispered:
“Antonio?”
Silence.
Then another man’s voice.
Faint.
Too distant to recognize.
The tape abruptly ended.
Luca reached forward and pressed STOP.
Nobody spoke.
Teresa was crying.
Daniel looked pale.
I stared at Luca.
His mother had recorded someone entering her home six days before she died there.
Finally he asked:
“Can the last voice be enhanced?”
Daniel nodded.
“I’ll get someone.”
Luca stood.
He walked toward the front window.
Snow fell beyond the glass.
His reflection looked older than it had yesterday.
Teresa approached.
“Luca.”
“My father knew she was scared.”
“Yes.”
“And he told her to let him handle it.”
“He thought he could.”
“She died.”
Teresa said nothing.
He looked at her.
“Did my father ever tell you he suspected Richard?”
“No.”
“What did he say after she died?”
Teresa hesitated.
“For weeks, almost nothing.”
“And then?”
“He came here one night.”
“When?”
“About three months later.”
“Why?”
“He asked if Elena had given me anything.”
Luca looked at the spoon.
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
“You lied to my father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena told me not to obey the wrong person.”
That hit him.
I saw it.
Then Daniel’s phone finally regained signal.
Dozens of notifications arrived.
He opened one.
His face changed.
“Luca.”
“What?”
“Security checked last night’s logs.”
“And?”
“Richard Hale entered the mansion at 3:11 a.m.”
The room froze.
“When?”
“Four hours after the engagement dinner.”
Luca stared.
“Why wasn’t I told?”
“Because he entered using staff credentials.”
“Whose?”
Daniel looked at me.
My stomach dropped.
“Emma’s.”
“No.”
I stood.
“I was home.”
“We know.”
Daniel turned the screen.
Security video showed Richard Hale walking through the mansion’s service entrance.
The electronic access record beside him read:
EMMA REED.
He had cloned my badge.
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
“Where did he go?”
Daniel switched cameras.
Richard walked directly toward Luca’s private office.
He remained inside eleven minutes.
Then left carrying something under his coat.
Luca looked at Daniel.
“What’s missing?”
“We don’t know yet.”
His phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
“What?” Luca asked.
Daniel looked at all of us.
“The backup drive from your office server.”
Luca’s face drained.
“What was on it?” I asked.
He answered without looking at me.
“My family trust.”
A pause.
“Every historical acquisition.”
Another.
“And the complete security archive.”
May you like
Daniel whispered:
“Including whatever Vanessa did inside this house before you found out.”
