Chapter 4 - THE DEAD BROTHER IN THE SECURITY FOOTAGE
Luca did not shout.
That made the moment worse.
He ordered every security recording from the second floor pulled immediately.
Vanessa sat perfectly still, her hands folded in her lap.
Marco looked like he wanted to disappear into the wallpaper.
I felt like I had accidentally stepped into someone else’s grave.
The footage appeared on Luca’s tablet.
7:28 a.m.
Vanessa entered the hall outside Luca’s study.
Thirty seconds later, a man appeared beside her.
Dark coat.
Gray gloves.
His face turned toward the camera.
Luca stopped breathing.
The resemblance was unmistakable.
Same jaw.
Same dark hair.
Same stillness.
Older than the photographs I had seen once in the staff hallway, but alive.
Matteo Moretti.
Luca’s dead brother.
Luca touched the screen once.
Then withdrew his hand as though burned.
“He died in Sicily.”
Father Bellini lowered his eyes.
“No.”
“I buried him.”
“You buried what your father told you to bury.”
The air changed.
Luca’s father, Carlo Moretti, had ruled before Luca.
He had died six years ago, and the mansion still carried his shadow in locked rooms, old portraits, and men who lowered their voices when saying his name.
“What did my father do?” Luca asked.
Father Bellini said:
“He exiled Matteo.”
“Why?”
“Because Matteo discovered the Bellini contracts.”
Vanessa flinched.
That connected everything.
Marco leaned forward.
“What Bellini contracts?”
Father Bellini did not answer him.
He spoke to Luca.
“Your father used Bellini Private Events and several related vendor companies to move money through restaurants, catering halls, and supply accounts.”
“Laundering.”
“Yes.”
Luca looked at Vanessa.
“You knew?”
“No.”
But she had known enough to weaponize the company.
Father Bellini continued.
“Matteo found the files. Carlo staged his death before Matteo could go to federal agents.”
My skin went cold.
Then why was Matteo back now?
The answer sat on Luca’s screen.
Matteo had entered the study.
Used Luca’s terminal.
Approved the deposit.
Then left.
Vanessa followed him downstairs.
At 8:03 a.m., she entered the service corridor where Marco worked.
The dinner trap began hours later.
Luca looked at Vanessa.
“What did he tell you?”
Her confidence finally cracked.
“He said he was helping me.”
“With what?”
She glanced at Marco.
“Replacing people who were loyal to your father.”
Marco stared.
“You thought I was loyal to Carlo?”
“You worked for him!”
“So did half this city.”
Luca’s voice was quiet.
“Vanessa.”
She looked back.
“What did Matteo want?”
“To delay the wedding.”
Everything stopped.
“Why?”
“Because he said if I married you tomorrow, I would inherit liability I didn’t understand.”
“What liability?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Father Bellini whispered:
“Yes, you do.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled with panic.
The priest looked at Luca.
“The Bellini company isn’t just a laundering vehicle.”
He hesitated.
“It owns part of your first restaurant.”
Marco’s face went white.
Luca’s first restaurant was the foundation of everything.
The place he built with Marco twelve years ago.
May you like
Father Bellini finished:
“And if Vanessa marries you, that ownership transfers to her family.”
