Chapter 1 - THE SECRET SHE TOOK WITH HER
The final sentence of Isabella's video destroyed the last illusion I had about my marriage.
She looked directly into the camera.
"Dante, I didn't leave only because you betrayed me."
I stopped breathing.
"Three weeks ago, I found something inside your father's old financial records. Something that proves the people closest to you have been lying for years."
Her expression changed.
For the first time, I saw fear.
Not the fear of a woman running from her husband.
The fear of someone who had discovered something powerful people wanted buried.
"I tried to tell you. Three times."
My stomach tightened.
I remembered those conversations.
Isabella standing outside my office.
Isabella asking whether we could have dinner without phones.
Isabella telling me she needed to discuss something important.
And me brushing her aside because Valentina was waiting.
The video continued.
"The first time, you told me you were busy. The second time, you said I worried too much. The third time, you told me not to ask questions."
I closed my eyes.
God help me.
Every word was true.
"Then someone broke into my private study while you were with Valentina."
My eyes opened.
"What?"
I leaned toward the screen.
"They weren't looking for jewelry. They weren't looking for money. They wanted the documents I found."
She held up a small photograph.
Three men stood outside a warehouse near the New York waterfront.
I recognized two immediately.
My father, Antonio Moretti.
And his closest friend, Richard Salvatore.
The third man's face was partially hidden.
But his watch was unmistakable.
A platinum Patek Philippe with a black leather strap.
I'd seen that watch yesterday.
On my most trusted adviser.
Marco Bellini.
Isabella continued.
"Your father didn't die because of a rival family, Dante."
My chest tightened.
For twenty years, I'd believed Antonio Moretti was murdered during a territorial dispute.
That death had turned me into the man I was.
It had justified every ruthless decision I'd made afterward.
Then Isabella whispered something that made the room spin.
"Your father was murdered because he discovered someone was stealing from the families he promised to protect."
I stared at her.
"And the person who arranged his death still sits at your table."
The screen went black.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
Then I called Marco.
He answered immediately.
"Boss?"
"Come to the mansion."
"Is something wrong?"
I looked toward the photograph frozen on my screen.
"Bring the financial records from my father's final year."
A pause.
"Those records were destroyed, Dante."
I felt something cold settle inside my chest.
"How do you know?"
Silence.
Then Marco whispered:
"Because your wife asked me the same question yesterday."
I slowly stood.
"Yesterday?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Marco hesitated.
"She came to my office."
My pulse accelerated.
"Why?"
Another silence.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
May you like
"Because Isabella told me she knew who really killed your father."
And before I could speak again, Marco ended the call.
