Chapter 2 - The Brother Buried in an Empty Coffin
Adrian Vescari had never spoken about his older brother.
Not once during the eight months I'd worked at the estate.
But the moment Lucien mentioned Matteo Vescari, something inside him seemed to break.
"Who murdered my brother?"
Lucien looked toward Vincent.
"Ask the man sitting beside you."
Vincent stood so quickly his chair struck the wall.
"This is a setup!"
Adrian didn't move.
"Sit down."
"Boss, you can't believe a French broker and a cleaning woman over me."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"I haven't decided what I believe."
Then he looked at me.
"Mara, stay here."
I straightened.
"Mr. Vescari, I have thirty-seven dollars in my bank account and no interest in becoming part of your family war."
A strange expression crossed his face.
"Understood."
He turned toward Gabriel.
"Make sure everyone can leave safely after providing whatever information the authorities need."
Vincent looked furious.
But Adrian ignored him.
Then Lucien spoke again.
"Matteo's coffin was empty."
The words struck Adrian like a physical blow.
"What?"
Lucien nodded.
"Your brother disappeared near Marseille fifteen years ago. Vincent told everyone his boat exploded."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"I saw the wreckage."
"You saw what Vincent wanted you to see."
My heart pounded.
"Where's Matteo now?"
Lucien looked at me.
"That's what Daniel Vale has been trying to discover."
Adrian stared at the photograph of my father.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then he asked Lucien a question in Italian.
The Frenchman answered.
I understood enough to know the conversation concerned a shipping trust.
A trust connected to my father.
Adrian turned toward me.
"Did Daniel ever mention a black ledger?"
My stomach tightened.
I remembered Dad sitting at the kitchen table above the Marseille bar.
He kept a small leather notebook hidden beneath the floorboards.
Whenever someone knocked after midnight, he closed it immediately.
"Yes."
Adrian leaned forward.
"Where is it?"
I hesitated.
Then told him the truth.
"I don't know."
Vincent laughed.
"Convenient."
I ignored him.
"But Dad taught me something."
Adrian waited.
"He said important secrets should never be hidden where greedy men would look first."
Lucien smiled faintly.
"That sounds like Daniel."
Then Gabriel approached.
"Boss, we found something in Paolo Ricci's hotel records."
Adrian turned.
"What?"
"Before he died, Paolo arranged a private meeting."
"With whom?"
Gabriel placed a photograph on the table.
My father stood beside Paolo in a hotel lobby.
The image was dated three weeks earlier.
I covered my mouth.
Dad was alive.
He'd been alive while I scrubbed floors, skipped meals, and wondered whether he ever thought about me.
Then Gabriel opened a second photograph.
A man stood behind them.
Vincent Moretti.
Adrian slowly turned toward his lieutenant.
May you like
And asked the question that silenced the entire room.
"Why were you with Paolo six hours before he died?"
