Chapter 13 - THE TRUTH ABOUT MY FATHER
My father died five years earlier.
Officially, Salvatore Moretti suffered a heart attack while staying at our family's lake house.
I believed that explanation.
The doctors confirmed it.
The funeral was private.
And Vincent Cole handled most of the arrangements.
Now investigators were questioning whether the circumstances surrounding his death deserved another look.
I stared at the photograph.
"What does Vincent want us to believe?"
Luca stood beside me.
"He wants to make you doubt everything."
I nodded.
"But that doesn't mean the photograph is meaningless."
Rebecca Shaw, the independent forensic accountant assisting investigators, examined the financial records recovered from the gallery.
She found something troubling.
Large payments had been transferred from Salvatore's private accounts shortly before his death.
The recipient was a company connected to Vincent.
I felt sick.
"How much?"
"Nearly eight million dollars."
I looked up.
"Why?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"We're still investigating."
Then Luca spoke.
"Father was trying to buy evidence from Vincent."
I turned.
"What?"
Luca nodded.
"He believed Vincent had kept copies of the original Silver Harbor records."
"Why pay him?"
"Because Vincent threatened to destroy the evidence and expose the family to criminal liability."
I stared at my brother.
"And Father agreed?"
"He wanted the records back."
I looked toward the window.
My father had spent his life making terrible compromises in the name of protecting us.
Perhaps this had been another.
Rebecca continued.
"We also found correspondence suggesting Salvatore planned to cooperate with federal investigators."
I turned sharply.
"What?"
She nodded.
"An appointment was scheduled for the week after his death."
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
My father had intended to tell the truth.
Then he died.
Luca looked at me.
"That's why I never believed it was an ordinary heart attack."
I swallowed.
"Do investigators have evidence of foul play?"
"Not yet."
For several hours, we reviewed what had been recovered.
Medical records.
Financial documents.
Security logs.
Then Rebecca found a message Salvatore had sent to an attorney two days before his death.
If anything happens to me, my sons must receive the archive.
Beneath it was a final sentence.
The greatest danger to the Moretti family is not an enemy outside the gates.
I closed my eyes.
Vincent.
My father had known.
The next morning, investigators located Vincent in a vacant property outside Chicago.
He was arrested without incident.
His attorneys immediately denied the allegations.
But as officers searched the property, they discovered additional documents and electronic devices connected to the Silver Harbor scheme.
One device contained a recording dated the night Salvatore died.
The investigators informed us that it might shed light on his final hours.
I listened to the recovered audio with Luca and our attorney.
My father's voice was weak.
"Vincent, I'm ending this."
Vincent answered angrily.
"You can't."
Salvatore continued.
"I've already contacted my lawyer."
A long silence followed.
Then Vincent said, "You're making a mistake."
My father replied.
"No. My mistake was trusting you."
The recording ended.
I stared at the table.
For years, I'd believed my father's final days were peaceful.
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Now I knew he'd spent them trying to correct the worst decisions of his life.
And the man he trusted had been standing in his way.
