Chapter 10 - What Happened on the Road
Luca didn't open the door.
Instead, he stood beside the kitchen window and watched Dante's reflection in the glass.
His brother waited on the porch with two men.
One was Victor Sloane.
Luca recognized him from Elena's photograph.
The other was a large security contractor wearing a dark coat.
Dante knocked again.
“Come on, Luca.”
Silence.
“We both know you won't shoot your own brother.”
Luca looked at Marco.
The bodyguard shook his head.
“Police are eight minutes out.”
Rebecca whispered:
“Keep him talking.”
Luca stepped toward the door.
“What did you do to Elena?”
Dante laughed softly.
“Still asking the wrong question.”
“Then tell me the right one.”
“Why did she keep digging after I asked her to stop?”
Luca closed his eyes.
His wife had been threatened.
His brother was admitting it.
He forced himself to stay calm.
“Because she found something.”
“Because she couldn't mind her own business.”
“She was trying to protect children.”
“She was risking everything our family built.”
Luca stared at the door.
“You mean everything you stole.”
Dante went silent.
Then his voice hardened.
“You don't understand what it takes to keep an organization alive.”
“I understand theft.”
“You understand signing checks.”
Luca almost laughed.
“Those checks built your foundation.”
“Exactly.”
Dante stepped closer.
“And then you started asking questions about the expenses.”
Luca frowned.
“I never questioned the foundation.”
“No. Elena did.”
The truth began to fit together.
Elena had discovered inflated research payments.
She'd learned that children weren't receiving the care their parents believed they were getting.
She'd found evidence that Dante and Whitmore were using the foundation to funnel money to private companies.
And she had been determined to tell Luca.
“What happened on the road?” he asked.
Dante didn't answer.
Instead, Victor Sloane spoke.
“Mr. Moretti, we need to resolve this peacefully.”
Luca recognized the calm, practiced voice of a man accustomed to threatening people politely.
“Were you following my wife?”
Sloane hesitated.
Dante snapped:
“Don't answer him.”
Luca pressed closer to the door.
“Were you there the night she died?”
Silence.
Then Sloane said:
“I was told to recover documents.”
Dante cursed.
Luca felt his blood turn cold.
“From her car?”
“Yes.”
“Before or after the crash?”
Sloane didn't answer.
Luca slammed his palm against the door.
“Before or after?”
Dante shouted:
“Enough!”
Rebecca stepped beside Luca.
Her phone was recording.
So was Marco's body camera.
Outside, Dante began pacing.
“You think you're some kind of hero?”
Luca stared through the peephole.
“No.”
“You were never there.”
The accusation struck hard.
Dante continued.
“When Sophia cried, who stayed with her?”
Luca swallowed.
“When Elena was struggling, who handled the doctors?”
He felt his chest tighten.
“When the company needed you, who cleaned up the mess at home?”
Luca looked toward the family photograph.
Dante's voice became almost tender.
“I did everything for you.”
Luca closed his eyes.
“You helped me.”
“Yes.”
“And then you used that help to take control.”
Dante's silence was answer enough.
Luca continued.
“You convinced me I was protecting Sophia by staying out of her medical care.”
“I was protecting her!”
“From walking?”
Dante shouted something unintelligible.
Luca kept speaking.
“You let Whitmore frighten her.”
“Charles was following a treatment plan.”
“You watched him sedate her.”
Dante went silent.
“I saw the recordings.”
Another silence.
Then Dante spoke softly.
“You shouldn't have opened that room.”
Luca felt sick.
“No.”
He gripped the door handle.
“You shouldn't have built it.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
Dante looked toward the road.
Sloane stepped backward.
“Police.”
Dante swore.
Luca moved toward the window.
His brother was reaching for his phone.
Then, unexpectedly, Sloane turned and ran toward the SUV.
Dante shouted:
“Victor!”
Sloane ignored him.
The vehicle accelerated down the driveway.
Dante followed in the second car.
By the time police arrived, both were gone.
Rebecca handed the officers the recordings.
They secured the property.
The technician completed the backup.
Luca stood outside in the cold.
He looked toward the road where Elena had died.
He remembered the police report.
Wet pavement.
Loss of control.
No mechanical defects reported.
But now he knew someone had followed her.
Someone had wanted documents from her car.
And someone had benefited from her death.
His phone rang.
It was Hannah.
He answered immediately.
“Is Sophia okay?”
“She's fine.”
Hannah sounded frightened.
“Luca, something happened.”
“What?”
“A woman came to St. Agnes.”
“Who?”
“She said she was from social services.”
Luca stiffened.
“Did she have identification?”
“Yes.”
“Did she see Sophia?”
“No. Dr. Patel wouldn't let her in without verifying the order.”
“Good.”
Hannah paused.
“Luca, she had paperwork.”
“What kind?”
“A court order requesting Sophia be brought to Whitmore's hospital for emergency evaluation.”
His stomach tightened.
“Rebecca's fighting that.”
“I know.”
“Then what's wrong?”
Hannah swallowed.
“The order wasn't the frightening part.”
“What was?”
“It included a photograph.”
Luca frowned.
“Of Sophia?”
“No.”
Hannah's voice shook.
“Of me.”
He stopped breathing.
“The photograph was taken yesterday.”
“Where?”
“At the playground behind St. Agnes.”
Luca stared at the road.
“That means someone followed you.”
“Yes.”
“What else?”
Hannah began crying.
“Luca, the photograph shows Sophia walking with me.”
Silence.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Someone has known about her recovery all along.”
