Chapter 10 - THE SECRET BEHIND THE TWO FATHERS
Isabella's heart pounded so hard she could barely hear the police radios.
Her father was alive.
Matteo's father was alive.
And Richard Vale was using both men as leverage.
But there was something else.
A secret Daniel Bennett had kept even from Lorenzo Rossi.
Matteo noticed Isabella's expression.
"Whatever he's hiding, we'll find it."
She looked at him.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because Vale is running out of people to frighten."
Police had secured most of the estate.
Several of Richard's private security employees were in custody.
But Richard himself had disappeared into a restricted section of the building.
Investigators ordered everyone to remain away from the main study while officers searched.
Sophia approached Isabella.
"There's something I haven't told you."
Isabella turned.
"What?"
Sophia looked ashamed.
"Your father contacted me two months ago."
Isabella's eyes widened.
"What did he say?"
"He asked me to protect you."
"From whom?"
Sophia hesitated.
"Richard Vale."
"Why?"
"Because he believed Richard would eventually discover you had the original evidence."
Isabella looked down at her necklace.
Sophia continued.
"Your father also said the conspiracy began long before the Rossi financial scandal."
"How long?"
"Almost thirty years."
Matteo listened carefully.
Sophia handed him a copy of a hospital record.
It contained information about a private medical research program.
Several wealthy investors had secretly funded it.
Patients had been enrolled under questionable circumstances.
Some had suffered serious harm.
Richard Vale had helped conceal the resulting lawsuits and financial losses.
Lorenzo Rossi discovered the scheme years later.
Daniel Bennett had been gathering financial evidence.
And Antonio Moretti, Sophia's father, had been preparing to testify.
All three men became targets.
Isabella stared at the report.
"My father wasn't just protecting money."
"No," Sophia answered.
"He was protecting people."
Matteo examined a list of patients.
Then suddenly stopped.
One name appeared near the bottom.
Elena Rossi.
His mother.
Matteo went completely still.
"My mother died when I was ten."
Sophia nodded.
"I know."
"Her doctors said she had a rare neurological illness."
Isabella touched his arm.
Matteo continued reading.
His mother's medical file had been included in the research program.
The records suggested her treatment had been changed without proper consent.
Matteo sat down heavily.
For twenty-six years, he had believed his mother died from an unavoidable illness.
Now there was evidence that negligence and concealment might have contributed to her death.
His voice was barely audible.
"My father wasn't just investigating stolen money."
Isabella knelt beside him.
"He was investigating what happened to your mother."
Matteo closed his eyes.
And suddenly, Lorenzo's disappearance made terrible sense.
He hadn't walked away from his son.
He had tried to uncover the truth.
Then Richard Vale had silenced him.
Matteo's phone rang.
A federal investigator spoke urgently.
"Mr. Rossi, we've located the medical facility."
Matteo stood.
"Where?"
"Outside Milwaukee."
A pause.
"And there's something else."
"What?"
"The facility isn't registered to Richard Vale."
Matteo frowned.
"Then who owns it?"
May you like
The investigator answered.
"According to the ownership records, it belongs to Isabella Bennett."
