Chapter 7 - THE TWO MEN WHO ALMOST DIED FOR A SECRET
Marco Bellini and Elias Romano had survived because the doctors treated their injuries quickly.
But the truth about why they were attacked remained hidden.
Until now.
Marco sat across from me in the penthouse study.
His left shoulder was still healing.
He moved carefully.
But his voice was steady.
"Vincent Romano told us to inspect Warehouse Twelve."
I nodded.
"And?"
"When we arrived, the security cameras were already disabled."
My stomach tightened.
"Did you see anyone?"
"Two men leaving in a black SUV."
"Did you recognize them?"
Marco shook his head.
"But one wore a Northstar jacket."
I looked toward Dante.
He was standing beside the window, listening without interrupting.
Marco continued.
"We found shipping records inside a locked office."
"What kind?"
"Medical equipment invoices. Patient billing files. Foundation transfer summaries."
My chest tightened.
The same records Luca had been investigating.
Then Marco said something unexpected.
"Elias photographed the documents before the shooting."
Dante turned.
"What?"
Marco nodded.
"His phone was damaged, but the images backed up automatically."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Dante's attorney arranged for the files to be preserved and examined.
The photographs showed Northstar shipping containers.
Invoices.
Internal emails.
And a payment schedule.
One transaction stood out.
Seven million dollars had been transferred from the Moretti charitable foundation into a company controlled by Vincent Romano.
Dante stared.
"My father trusted him."
Marco lowered his eyes.
"So did I."
Then another photograph appeared.
A meeting schedule.
Celeste Bowmont.
Arthur Bowmont.
Vincent Romano.
The date was three days before the docks shooting.
Its title was:
PROJECT SUCCESSION.
I frowned.
"Succession?"
Dante's expression hardened.
"Someone was planning to replace me."
The attorney nodded cautiously.
"That appears to be one possibility."
I looked toward the financial records.
The stolen funds.
The unauthorized credentials.
The hospital contracts.
The missing payments.
Everything pointed toward a group of people preparing to control the Moretti businesses without Dante.
Then Elias entered.
He was pale but recovering.
He carried a small envelope.
"Boss, I found something else."
Dante looked up.
"What?"
Elias placed a photograph on the desk.
It showed Celeste standing beside Vincent Romano outside a private clinic.
Between them was an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
Valentina Moretti.
My heart stopped.
"That was six months ago," Elias said.
I stared.
Valentina hadn't mentioned visiting that clinic.
Then Elias revealed the final detail.
The clinic belonged to Northstar Health Management.
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And its records showed Valentina had been enrolled in a treatment program without her informed consent.
The same program connected to the medication that nearly put her in the hospital.
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