Who Made This Pecan Pie?” the Mafia Boss Demanded. When the Forgotten Maid Answered, He Ordered Her to Sit Beside Him, Unaware She Was Hiding a Secret. "Who made this pie?

Nell refused to believe it.

Victor had brought her the key. He had risked exposing himself to find her. He had stood beside her in the care facility and helped recover the ledger.

Why would he betray her now?

Carmine took the photograph from Dominic and examined it closely.

"How old is this?"

"Taken the year before the fire," Dominic replied.

"And you're certain that's Victor?"

"Positive. He wasn't using the Moreau name back then."

Dominic explained that Victor had been a financial adviser to Emmett Fontaine and had helped structure the original trust. He had also invested in the bakery's expansion.

When the business began generating substantial profits, disagreements emerged over ownership and control.

Victor wanted to sell the company.

Emmett refused.

Nell's mother discovered that money had been diverted from the expansion fund and threatened to expose the fraud.

Then the bakery burned.

Carmine studied Dominic's face.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because Silas threatened my family. Then Anthony helped me disappear. He said he'd handle the investigation himself."

"And you believed him?"

"I believed he was trying to save his son from the same world that swallowed him."

Carmine felt the accusation like a blow.

Nell stepped between them.

"Where is Victor now?"

Benny checked his phone.

"At the estate."

Carmine's expression hardened.

They returned to the mansion, but Victor was gone.

His guest room had been emptied. His suitcase had disappeared, and the security cameras showed him leaving through the front entrance less than twenty minutes earlier.

On the desk, he'd left a handwritten note.

I am sorry. I thought the truth would destroy you both.

Beneath it was an address.

A private bank in the French Quarter.

Carmine immediately recognized the building. His father had kept a confidential account there for years.

Nell opened the letter again.

A second sheet slipped out.

It was a copy of an old trust agreement, signed by Emmett Fontaine, Nell's mother, and Victor.

The agreement contained a clause neither Nell nor Carmine had seen before.

If the original ledger were recovered and authenticated, the trustee would be required to disclose the identities of every beneficiary.

There were three.

Emmett Fontaine.