Chapter 8 - THE COMPANY WITH MY HUSBAND'S NAME
Vincent stared at the offshore company record.
“VMC Holdings.”
His voice was barely audible.
Arthur stepped beside him.
“Vincent…”
“No.”
Vincent shook his head.
“I closed that company five years ago.”
The attorney looked toward him.
“It remained active.”
Vincent’s expression changed.
“Who controlled it?”
Arthur lowered his eyes.
Silence.
Then Teresa whispered:
“Your father.”
Vincent froze.
Salvatore Moretti had been dead for four years.
At least, officially.
My stomach tightened.
Vincent looked at his mother.
“Dad?”
Teresa began crying.
“He used your companies for things you didn’t know about.”
Vincent laughed bitterly.
“My whole life is apparently built on that sentence.”
Then he looked toward me.
“I did not authorize that embryo transfer.”
I believed he believed that.
But belief wasn’t proof.
I looked at my attorney.
“Verify everything.”
Vincent nodded.
“Please.”
The financial investigation revealed that VMC Holdings continued operating after Vincent thought it had been dissolved.
Signatures were forged.
Payments routed through old trusts.
And one person had administered the account.
Salvatore Moretti’s former accountant.
Daniel Rossi.
Arthur’s father.
Arthur went pale when he heard the name.
“My father died six years ago.”
Detective Bennett looked at him.
“Are you certain?”
Nobody laughed.
We had all learned that question mattered.
Records were pulled.
Death certificate.
Private funeral.
Closed casket.
Again.
Arthur sat down.
“This family is insane.”
Despite everything, Caroline let out a surprised laugh.
I did too.
Then stopped because my abdomen hurt.
But the investigation continued.
Daniel Rossi’s death certificate contained inconsistencies.
The physician’s license number belonged to someone else.
His social security number remained active.
And a recent banking transaction placed him in Wisconsin.
Vincent’s jaw hardened.
“He’s alive.”
Arthur stared.
“My father is alive.”
The pattern was becoming clear.
Older men.
False deaths.
Hidden companies.
Children manipulated as leverage.
Maybe Vincent inherited more than power.
Maybe he inherited a machine designed to keep everyone obedient through secrets.
Then Detective Bennett entered with another file.
“We found Daniel Rossi.”
Arthur stood.
“Where?”
“Private care facility outside Madison.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Arthur covered his face.
Then she looked toward Vincent.
“He wants to speak only to you.”
Vincent’s expression darkened.
“Why?”
The detective hesitated.
“Because he says Salvatore Moretti is alive too.”
Teresa stopped breathing.
Vincent stared.
Then Bennett continued.
“And Salvatore knows exactly why Sophia targeted Claire.”
My stomach tightened.
“What reason?”
Detective Bennett looked toward me.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Because the child Claire is carrying may inherit control of the entire Moretti trust.”
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