Chapter 4 - THE KEY TO BOX 317
The brass key opened Safe-Deposit Box 317 at Hudson Commonwealth Bank.
Dominic could not leave the hospital.
Grace wished she could.
Neither got what they wanted.
A bank attorney brought the sealed contents to St. Catherine’s after confirming Leo was Elena Russo’s legal heir and Dominic’s paternity had been established.
Inside were three envelopes.
A flash drive.
A photograph.
And twenty-six letters.
Every letter came from Salvatore Moretti.
The earliest was written weeks after Elena disappeared.
You will remain away from my son.
The Bellinis have been compensated.
Your child will never be recognized as a Moretti heir.
Dominic read it without expression.
Grace knew enough now to understand that was worse than anger.
Another letter:
If Dominic discovers the pregnancy, you will lose custody before sunset.
Lucia started crying.
“My father was a monster.”
Dominic said nothing.
Grace reached instinctively toward him, then stopped.
He noticed.
His hand moved across the blanket.
Not grabbing.
Offering.
After a second, Grace placed her hand in his.
He squeezed once.
Then read the next letter.
The final correspondence came from Carlo Bellini.
Elena—
Salvatore is dead.
Our agreement ended with him.
If you return to New York, I cannot guarantee your safety.
Dominic’s eyes hardened.
“Carlo knew someone still wanted her gone.”
Marco inserted the flash drive into an isolated laptop.
One video file.
Elena appeared.
Thin.
Tired.
Alive.
Leo gasped.
“Mommy.”
Dominic stopped breathing.
Elena looked into the camera.
“If Dominic is seeing this, then I waited too long.”
She explained everything.
Salvatore’s threats.
Carlo’s involvement.
Her fear.
Her pregnancy.
How she moved repeatedly.
Then:
“Six months ago, Vanessa found me.”
Vanessa had lied again.
Not three days before Elena’s death.
Six months.
“She said she wanted to help.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“She offered to arrange a meeting with you.”
Elena laughed sadly on the recording.
“I wanted to believe her.”
Grace felt dread settle in her stomach.
Elena continued.
“She asked me for proof Leo was yours.”
Dominic looked toward the black cross.
“I gave her a copy of the DNA report.”
Vanessa had known.
For months.
Not days.
Then Elena’s face became serious.
“After I gave it to her, someone started following us.”
The video shook slightly.
“I don’t know whether Vanessa is responsible. I only know that every time she appears, danger follows.”
Leo pressed himself against Lucia.
Then Elena lifted something toward the camera.
A shipping document.
“At first I thought Salvatore hid us because he hated me.”
She shook her head.
“I was wrong.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“He hid me because I accidentally saw something in Carlo Bellini’s office.”
Grace’s heartbeat accelerated.
Elena displayed the document.
Container numbers.
Dates.
Payments.
“Carlo has been stealing from Moretti-controlled shipping companies for years.”
Marco swore.
Elena continued.
“Salvatore discovered it. He couldn’t expose Bellini without destroying the alliance, so he used my disappearance to pressure Carlo into repayment.”
Dominic looked disgusted.
Even Elena had been turned into leverage.
Then she said:
“There is someone inside Dominic’s organization helping Bellini.”
Marco stared at the screen.
“I never learned his name.”
A pause.
“But I know his initials.”
She lifted one last paper.
A handwritten payment approval.
A.R.
Lucia whispered:
“Anthony Rizzo.”
Dominic’s head snapped toward Marco.
Anthony Rizzo had supervised Moretti household security for eighteen years.
He had approved the hospital guards.
Including the man who tried to drag Grace from Dominic’s room.
May you like
And twenty minutes later, when Marco called the mansion to find him—
Anthony Rizzo was already gone.
