Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO BETRAYED HIS OWN FAMILY
Anthony Moretti had practically raised Vincent after his parents died.
He'd attended every graduation.
Every business milestone.
Every important celebration.
Vincent had trusted him more than anyone.
Now the recording suggested Anthony knew about the crash before anyone reported it.
Vincent listened again.
Then he called his attorney.
"Preserve everything. Give the original recording to the investigators."
He didn't call Anthony.
He didn't threaten Vanessa.
For the first time in his life, he understood that anger wasn't the same thing as justice.
Meanwhile, I was beginning physical therapy.
The first session lasted twenty minutes.
I cried afterward.
Not because the exercises were unbearable.
Because my body no longer felt familiar.
The bruises were fading.
The incision was healing.
But every movement reminded me of what I'd lost.
Olivia drove me home.
"How was it?"
"Terrible."
She smiled gently.
"Want ice cream?"
I almost laughed.
"Chocolate?"
"Obviously."
We stopped at a small grocery store near the lake.
I chose ice cream, fresh flowers, and a book I'd been meaning to read for months.
Ordinary things.
Things Vincent would never have noticed.
At home, Rachel was waiting.
She had news.
"Claire, the investigators confirmed that Anthony Moretti approved payments to the transportation company involved in your accident."
My hands went cold.
"Then he arranged it?"
"The evidence points toward his involvement. They're still determining exactly who authorized the collision."
I sat down.
For years, Anthony had treated me like an outsider.
He called me Vincent's little wife.
He criticized my father's investment.
He repeatedly suggested I should sign away my shares because business was too complicated for me.
I remembered one dinner in particular.
Anthony had leaned toward me and smiled.
"Claire, you don't need to understand the company. Just enjoy the lifestyle it provides."
I'd laughed politely.
Now I understood that he hadn't been joking.
He genuinely believed I had no right to participate in decisions affecting my own property.
Rachel continued.
"There's another issue."
I looked up.
"What?"
"Anthony's lawyer claims your father signed an agreement allowing the trust to be dissolved under certain conditions."
My chest tightened.
"What conditions?"
Rachel hesitated.
"If you became legally incapacitated or unable to manage your affairs."
I stared.
"That's ridiculous."
"It is. But they've prepared documents alleging you were emotionally unstable before the accident."
My stomach turned.
"Who provided those documents?"
Rachel opened a report.
Several notes described me as anxious, irrational, and unable to make independent financial decisions.
They were supposedly observations made by someone close to me.
I read the signature.
Vanessa Reed.
But beneath her name was another signature.
Vincent Moretti.
May you like
My husband had signed a statement questioning my mental stability.
Six months before the accident.
