Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Knew Too Much
By sunrise, Evelyn Bellini was sitting in a protected guest suite at the Moretti mansion.
She had refused breakfast. She had refused coffee. She had barely spoken since Luca brought her home.
Joe, however, refused to leave her alone.
“You can't spend the rest of your life hiding,” he told her.
Evelyn sat by the window, watching the city wake beneath a gray sky.
“I've already spent most of it hiding.”
“Then it's time to stop.”
She looked at him.
“You think it's that simple?”
“No. I think it's difficult. That's different.”
I brought her a tray with toast, tea, and fresh fruit. She thanked me quietly, then glanced at the doorway.
“Are you Emma?”
“Yes.”
“Vanessa mentioned you once.”
I stiffened.
“What did she say?”
“That Luca's housekeeper had become too comfortable asking questions.”
I nearly dropped the tray.
Evelyn looked ashamed.
“I should have warned you. My daughter has always been afraid of losing control. When she feels threatened, she looks for someone weaker to blame.”
I set the tray down.
“She threatened to have me fired because I helped Joe.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Then she's worse than I thought.”
Before I could respond, Luca entered the room with Marcus and his attorney, Daniel Reeves.
The cassette had been examined by a specialist. Its contents were still recoverable, but the recording was damaged and needed professional restoration.
The documents from the firehouse were more useful.
They showed that money had been transferred from a Moretti account into a company controlled by Salvatore Bellini three days before the fire. Another payment had been made to a contractor who later received a large sum to demolish the damaged property.
But the most disturbing document was a handwritten note from Catherine.
It named a man called Peter Bellini.
“Who is Peter?” Luca asked.
Evelyn went pale.
“Salvatore's younger brother.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“He runs the Bellini Foundation. He has spent years presenting himself as a philanthropist. He funds hospitals, scholarships, and public safety programs.”
Luca gave a humorless laugh.
“So he buys respectability.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Peter was the one who handled the money. Salvatore threatened people, but Peter made the paperwork disappear. If there was a payment that needed explaining, Peter found a way to make it look legitimate.”
Marcus placed another document on the table.
“Peter Bellini's foundation has received several anonymous donations from companies linked to the old accounts.”
Luca looked at the figures.
“Someone has been moving money through these companies for years.”
“Possibly,” Daniel Reeves said. “But we need to establish whether those transfers are connected to the original crime. We can't make accusations based on suspicion alone.”
Luca looked irritated, but he nodded.
“Then establish it.”
His attorney continued.
“We should provide the documents and the restored recording to independent investigators. If the evidence is authentic, they can pursue the financial crimes and reopen the fire investigation.”
“Do it.”
I watched Luca sign the authorization papers.
He could have ordered his men to drag Peter Bellini into a basement and demand answers. I knew enough about his reputation to understand that such an outcome would not have surprised anyone.
Instead, he was choosing to preserve evidence.
Joe noticed my surprise.
“Your mother would have liked that,” he told Luca.
Luca looked up.
“I hope so.”
Later that morning, I went downstairs to collect fresh towels from the laundry room.
Vanessa was waiting beside the service elevator.
I stopped.
She wore a black coat and oversized sunglasses. Her hair was pulled beneath a scarf, and she looked nothing like the elegant woman who had presided over the engagement party.
“Emma,” she said.
I took a step backward.
“I need to speak to Luca.”
“Then call him.”
“He won't answer.”
“Perhaps he has a reason.”
Her lips tightened.
“You've become very brave for someone who cleans floors.”
The old fear returned automatically, but I forced myself to remain still.
“I'm just doing my job.”
“No. You're trying to become important.”
She stepped closer.
“Listen carefully. Whatever Joe told Luca, he has no proof that I did anything wrong. I was a child when that photograph was taken.”
“Then why did you run?”
Her expression changed.
“Because Luca was going to believe anything that old man said.”
“Is that why you stole the investigation records?”
For the first time, Vanessa looked genuinely alarmed.
“Who told you that?”
I said nothing.
She grabbed my wrist.
“You need to understand something. People like Luca don't love people like you. They use you until they find something more interesting.”
I pulled my hand free.
“Maybe. But I don't think Luca has ever asked me to lie for him.”
Vanessa stared at me.
“You have no idea what you're dealing with.”
“Then tell me.”
For one brief moment, I thought she might.
Instead, she reached into her coat and handed me a folded piece of paper.
“Give this to Luca. Tell him it's the only chance he has to understand why his mother died.”
I didn't take it.
“Why don't you give it to him yourself?”
“Because if I enter that house, I won't leave.”
She turned toward the service elevator.
“Vanessa,” I called.
She stopped.
“Did your mother start the fire?”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“No.”
“Did Peter Bellini?”
She turned slowly.
Then she looked at me with an expression so cold that I forgot how to breathe.
“Peter didn't start the fire, Emma.”
She paused.
“He made sure it couldn't be stopped.”
Before I could ask what that meant, the elevator doors opened.
Vanessa stepped inside.
As the doors began to close, she spoke one final sentence.
“And if Luca learns what his own father did that night, he may wish he had never found Joe.”
The elevator shut.
I stood alone in the corridor, holding the folded paper she had slipped into my hand.
May you like
Inside was a single line written in blue ink.
Ask Luca why his father was at the house when the fire began.
