Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO FINALLY LEARNED WHAT HE'D LOST
Vincent Moretti had always believed he could fix any problem with enough money.
But money couldn't erase the empty closet.
It couldn't remove the white envelope from his dresser.
And it couldn't make Claire answer her phone.
For the first time in years, he sat alone in his office without checking his calendar.
At 8:00 p.m., his phone reminded him:
Personal time with Claire.
Fifteen minutes.
He stared at the notification.
Then deleted the appointment.
Not because Claire no longer mattered.
Because he finally understood how humiliating it had been to schedule his wife like a business meeting.
His phone rang.
Vanessa.
He almost answered automatically.
Then stopped.
Something about her behavior had begun to trouble him.
The forged acquisition documents.
The attempted transfer of Claire's shares.
The way Vanessa always knew more about Claire's whereabouts than he did.
He answered.
"Where are you?"
"At the office, sir."
"Good. Stay there."
"Why?"
"I need to discuss several financial transactions."
A pause.
Then Vanessa laughed lightly.
"Vincent, are you questioning my loyalty?"
He looked at Claire's photograph.
"No."
His voice turned cold.
"I'm questioning your authority."
Vanessa went silent.
Thirty minutes later, Vincent met privately with his corporate attorney and the company's compliance director.
He ordered an independent forensic audit.
Then he contacted law enforcement regarding the suspected fraud.
But none of that prepared him for the phone call he received the following morning.
Dr. Samuel Harris.
Claire's attending physician.
The doctor had obtained permission from Claire's attorney to speak with Vincent about a limited portion of the medical information.
"Mr. Moretti, your wife has suffered a significant loss."
Vincent gripped the phone.
"What kind of loss?"
The doctor paused.
"Claire experienced a pregnancy loss following the accident."
Vincent stopped breathing.
"Pregnancy?"
"She was approximately eight weeks pregnant."
The room went silent.
For several seconds, Vincent couldn't speak.
Then he whispered:
"Was it mine?"
The doctor sounded startled.
"Mr. Moretti, I'm discussing your wife's pregnancy, not establishing paternity."
Vincent closed his eyes.
Of course.
The question was ugly.
Suspicious.
Another reflection of the man he'd become.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
The doctor continued.
"Claire was seriously injured. She needed support."
Vincent sank into his chair.
He remembered the hospital hallway.
Claire's pale face.
Her trembling hands.
The bruises on her arms.
And the way he'd checked his watch.
I'll come back at eight.
He covered his mouth.
"My God."
For years, he'd postponed becoming a father.
There would be time later.
After the merger.
After the expansion.
After the next business quarter.
Now there would never be time for that child.
He began crying.
Not quietly.
Not privately.
He sobbed until his chest hurt.
Then his phone rang.
Thomas Grant.
"Vincent, the forensic audit found something."
Vincent wiped his face.
"What?"
"The delivery van's onboard computer recorded an unusual route override before the collision."
His stomach tightened.
"An override?"
"The vehicle had been assigned a delivery route that brought it directly through Claire's intersection."
Vincent went cold.
"Who changed the route?"
Thomas hesitated.
"The request came from a corporate logistics account."
"Whose?"
A long silence.
Then Thomas answered.
"Anthony Moretti."
Vincent stared at the wall.
His own uncle.
The man who'd helped raise him after his parents died.
Then Thomas added:
"And Vincent, there's something else."
"What?"
"Anthony has been transferring company funds into a private trust."
Vincent swallowed.
"Whose trust?"
Thomas sounded terrified.
"Your unborn child's."
Vincent stopped breathing.
May you like
But the child was gone.
And the trust had been created six months before Claire became pregnant.
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