Chapter 8 - The Traitor Who Guarded the Gates
The death of Margaret Vale changed everything.
Elena had hoped Margaret would lead her to Lucia.
Now the woman who knew the truth was gone.
Detective Mitchell immediately opened an investigation.
Witnesses reported seeing a man enter Margaret's apartment building the previous evening.
Security footage showed his vehicle.
A black sedan.
Registered to a company affiliated with the Moretti family's security operations.
Aleandro stared at the photograph.
His expression darkened.
"That's Tomas's car."
Elena felt cold.
"Tomas?"
Aleandro's trusted security chief.
The man who had opened doors for him.
Protected his grandmother.
Managed security at the estate.
And stood silently beside him during the restaurant confrontation.
Detective Mitchell looked serious.
"We need to question him."
Aleandro nodded.
"Then question him."
Elena studied him.
For a man who commanded such power, he seemed strangely willing to surrender control to investigators.
Maybe he understood that the truth mattered more than family loyalty.
That afternoon, Tomas was brought in for questioning.
He denied harming Margaret.
But he admitted visiting her.
"Why?" Detective Mitchell asked.
Tomas looked exhausted.
"Because she contacted me."
"What did she want?"
"Money."
Elena's stomach tightened.
"Money?"
Tomas nodded.
"She said she'd spent twenty-two years protecting a secret and wanted compensation."
Aleandro stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Tomas looked away.
"Because I knew you'd go looking for Lucia."
Elena felt furious.
"That's exactly what we wanted!"
Tomas lowered his eyes.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it."
He looked toward Aleandro.
"Your father didn't act alone."
The room went silent.
Aleandro's jaw tightened.
"Who helped him?"
Tomas hesitated.
"Your uncle."
Aleandro froze.
"Which uncle?"
"Carlo Moretti."
Elena looked between them.
She had never heard that name.
Aleandro slowly sat down.
"Carlo died fifteen years ago."
Tomas shook his head.
"No."
Aleandro stared.
"What?"
"Carlo disappeared. Antonio told everyone he died overseas."
Elena's stomach twisted.
Another false death.
Another family member erased.
Tomas continued.
"Carlo was involved in the charitable financial scheme. When Lucia discovered the records, Antonio and Carlo argued about what to do."
"What happened?" Elena whispered.
Tomas looked ashamed.
"They arranged for Lucia to be taken away."
Aleandro's expression became frighteningly still.
"Taken where?"
"To the private medical facility."
Elena covered her mouth.
"She was injured?"
Tomas nodded.
"I don't know exactly how. But they told the family she was dead."
A terrible silence followed.
Then Detective Mitchell asked the question Elena had been afraid to ask.
"Who ordered the false death certificates?"
Tomas lowered his head.
"Antonio."
Aleandro closed his eyes.
The man who had raised him.
The father he'd loved.
Had apparently helped destroy his sister's life.
Elena wanted to scream.
Instead, she whispered, "Why was my mother kept there for seventeen years?"
Tomas looked toward her.
"Because Carlo believed Lucia had hidden the original financial records."
Elena frowned.
"Where?"
Tomas shook his head.
"He never found them."
Detective Mitchell leaned forward.
"And Margaret Vale?"
Tomas swallowed.
"She contacted Carlo recently. She said she'd found the child."
Elena's blood ran cold.
"Me?"
He nodded.
"She was afraid Carlo would come for you."
Aleandro stood.
"Where is Carlo?"
Tomas looked devastated.
"I don't know."
Detective Mitchell continued questioning him.
But before the interview ended, Tomas revealed something that changed the direction of the investigation.
"Carlo has been using another name."
Aleandro stared.
"What name?"
Tomas looked directly at Elena.
"Richard Sloan."
Elena's heart stopped.
Richard.
The restaurant manager.
The man who had watched Isabella recognize her necklace without intervening.
The man who had known exactly which waitress was serving the Moretti family.
And suddenly, Elena understood.
May you like
Richard hadn't assigned her to Table One by accident.
He had placed her there deliberately.
