Chapter 9 - THE SECRET BENEATH THE BRICK OVEN
The brick oven had stood inside Rosie's Kitchen for more than fifty years.
My grandmother refused to replace it.
Even when the ventilation system needed repairs.
Even when contractors suggested installing something modern.
"That oven knows more stories than any of us," she'd say.
I always thought she was being sentimental.
Now I knew she might have been protecting evidence.
I returned to Chicago with Rebecca and investigators.
Adrien met us at the restaurant.
For once, he wore a plain dark sweater instead of an expensive suit.
He looked toward the oven.
"Rosa never let anyone work on that thing."
I smiled sadly.
"She said it had character."
He laughed softly.
"She said the same thing to me."
For a moment, the past felt close enough to touch.
Then investigators examined the brickwork.
Behind a loose section near the base, they found a sealed metal container.
Inside was a small ledger wrapped in oilcloth.
Its cover was brown.
Not blue.
And across the first page were two names.
Daniel Caruso.
Isabella Moretti.
My heart pounded.
The ledger contained records of financial transfers, falsified invoices, and illegal shipping arrangements.
Some transactions implicated businesses connected to Angelo Moretti.
Others linked Victor Bellini to fraudulent security payments and the concealment of witnesses.
Then investigators found a handwritten letter from my mother.
I covered my mouth.
To whoever finds this,
Daniel did not abandon our daughter.
Tears streamed down my face.
He was injured while trying to expose people who used fear to control others.
Victor told me Daniel would be killed if I revealed his location.
My throat tightened.
I believed him for years.
Then I discovered he was using the threat to keep collecting money.
I began shaking.
Mom had known.
She'd tried to protect us.
And she'd spent years trapped between fear and the truth.
The letter continued.
I am hiding these records because I no longer trust Victor.
If I cannot bring Daniel home, I hope Emma someday learns that she was loved from the beginning.
I covered my face.
For the first time in my life, I didn't feel abandoned.
I felt heartbroken for two parents who'd spent years trying to reach each other.
Then Rebecca turned another page.
Her expression changed.
"What is it?" I asked.
She looked toward Adrien.
"This ledger includes payments associated with your father's estate."
His jaw tightened.
"And?"
"Several transactions occurred after Angelo Moretti entered prison."
Adrien frowned.
"That's impossible."
Rebecca continued.
"Someone was using his business entities to move money."
I stared.
"Victor?"
She nodded cautiously.
"The records suggest his involvement."
Then came the biggest surprise.
One account was registered under a charitable trust created by Isabella Moretti.
The stated purpose was to assist workers harmed by the shipping operations.
But the money had been diverted.
I looked toward Adrien.
His expression had become devastated.
"My mother was trying to help those families."
Rebecca nodded.
"That's what the documents indicate."
Then she found the final page.
A handwritten note.
Signed by Isabella Moretti.
If I die, Adrien must never be allowed to believe his father was innocent.
I stared.
Adrien closed his eyes.
Then whispered something that made the room go silent.
May you like
"My mother knew I would inherit the empire."
"And she was afraid of what it would turn me into."
