Chapter 7 - The Secret Inside My Mother's Silver Pin
The memory card contained twelve folders.
Eleven were financial records.
The twelfth was labeled:
FOR MY CHILDREN.
Evelyn sat beside Adrien while an independent forensic specialist examined the files and created verified copies.
The first documents showed unauthorized transfers from the Bellandi family trust into offshore companies.
The amounts were staggering.
Forty-six million dollars.
Then seventy-three million.
Then a proposed transfer of another hundred and twenty million.
All connected to companies Victor secretly controlled.
Adrien stared at the screen.
"My brother has been stealing from my children."
Evelyn folded her arms.
"From their trust, yes. But we need to know whether the original records support every transaction."
He looked at her.
"You're remarkably calm."
"No," she answered. "I'm trying not to become as frightened as everyone else."
Something changed in his expression.
He'd known generals, judges, and businessmen who couldn't speak to him without trembling.
Yet Evelyn Hart, a waitress earning barely enough to pay rent, told him the truth without raising her voice.
The specialist opened the twelfth folder.
A video appeared.
Celeste Bellandi sat inside a nursery.
She looked exhausted.
Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders.
Behind her, three bassinets stood beside a window.
Adrien leaned forward.
"Celeste."
On the recording, she took a deep breath.
If you're watching this, I wasn't able to protect the evidence myself.
Adrien's fingers tightened.
Victor has been transferring assets from the children's trust. When I confronted him, he told me Adrien would never believe me.
Evelyn watched Adrien's face.
He looked devastated.
I tried to tell my husband, but Victor controls the messages that reach him.
Celeste began crying.
Adrien, if you ever see this, please know I didn't leave because I stopped loving you.
Adrien covered his face.
For two years, he'd tried to hate his wife for abandoning them.
Now she was looking directly into the camera, begging him to understand.
The video continued.
Victor believes money gives him the right to decide who belongs in this family.
But Luca, Matteo, and Sophia deserve better.
Celeste wiped her tears.
If anything happens, find Rose Hart's daughter.
Evelyn's heart raced.
Then Celeste added:
Rose told me Evelyn had been studying nursing and knew how to reach children who felt frightened or overwhelmed.
A pause.
Please don't force my babies to speak before they're ready.
Adrien began crying openly.
Evelyn looked away to give him privacy.
Then the video ended.
But the specialist noticed another file.
It had been created several days after the others.
An audio recording.
A man's voice came through the speakers.
Celeste, sign the transfer.
She answered:
Never.
The man spoke again.
Then your children will grow up believing you abandoned them.
Evelyn looked at Adrien.
He was staring at the screen.
Because the man's voice wasn't Victor's.
It belonged to Marco DeLuca.
May you like
Adrien's most trusted security chief.
The man who had been standing beside him since the restaurant.
