Chương 7
“You really need a new response.”
A quiet sound came through the phone.
Not quite a laugh.
Something close.
“I’ll work on it.”
The address arrived five minutes later.
It was not a restaurant.
Not a hotel.
Not one of the places I expected.
A private office building downtown.
I almost ignored it.
Then I noticed the name.
The building belonged to Vitali Holdings.
Of course.
Liam read my expression.
“You’re going.”
It was not a question.
“Yes.”
“I don’t like that.”
“Neither do I.”
He grabbed his jacket.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
His face changed.
“Emma.”
“I need to do this.”
“You don’t need to do it alone.”
I looked at him.
“I need to know if I can trust him.”
Liam looked hurt.
“After everything, you’re testing him.”
“Yes.”
“And me?”
The question caught me.
“What?”
“You trust me enough to tell me the truth.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“Liam.”
“No.”
He looked away.
“I’m not angry.”
“You sound angry.”
“I’m tired.”
That was worse.
“I have spent years being the person you run to after something happens.”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
“I’m glad you trust me,” he continued.
“But sometimes I wonder if you only trust me because you know I won’t leave.”
The words hurt because they were unfair.
And because they were partly true.
“I’m sorry.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
The apology did not fix it.
Not immediately.
Nothing important ever fixed itself immediately.
I left twenty minutes later.
Alone.
The Vitali building was exactly what I expected and nothing like what I expected.
Glass walls.
Security desks.
Employees carrying coffee.
People laughing near elevators.
A normal business environment.
That was the strangest part.
Danger rarely announced itself.
Sometimes it wore an expensive suit and held an access badge.
A receptionist looked up when I entered.
“Can I help you?”
I gave my name.
Not Emma.
Elizabeth.
The woman’s expression changed slightly.
Only slightly.
But I noticed.
“Mr. Vitali is expecting you.”
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped inside.
As the numbers climbed, my reflection stared back at me.
For six weeks, I had been afraid Alessandro would discover I was pregnant.
Now I was afraid he would discover who I had been before.
And somehow, that felt even more dangerous.
The elevator opened.
A man was waiting outside.
He looked older than Alessandro.
Gray hair.
Calm eyes.
The kind of person who did not need to threaten anyone because everyone already understood.
“Elizabeth Bennett.”
Hearing my real name from a stranger felt like being touched by a ghost.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I don’t know you.”
The man studied me.
“No.”
His expression was unreadable.
“But your father knew me.”
My heartbeat changed.
Before I could answer, the office door behind him opened.
Alessandro stood there.
And for the first time since I met him, he looked afraid.
Alessandro stepped aside without speaking.
The older man watched me carefully, as if he was waiting to see whether I would run.
I wanted to.
Every instinct I had learned after my parents died told me to leave before someone could take something else from me.
But my feet stayed where they were.
“Come in,” Alessandro said.
His voice was quieter than usual.
That scared me more than anger would have.
I walked past him into the office.
It was not what I expected.
There were no dramatic signs of wealth.
No obvious symbols of power.
Just a large desk, shelves filled with books, a few chairs, and windows overlooking the city.
A place where someone made decisions.
A place where someone could ruin lives with a phone call.
The older man closed the door.
“This is Marcus Bell.”
I looked at him.
The name meant nothing to me.
But the way Alessandro said it meant everything.
“He worked with my father,” Alessandro continued.
Marcus gave a small nod.
“Your father was a careful man.”
I swallowed.
“You knew him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Marcus glanced at Alessandro before answering.
“That depends on what you were told.”
The answer irritated me.
“I’m tired of people talking like they know things I don’t.”
Alessandro looked down.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
My voice became sharper.
“You grew up in this world.”
His expression changed.
“You think that means I understand it.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
“My whole life, people have told me what I was supposed to be.”
He looked toward the window.
“Some people thought I was supposed to continue my family’s business.”
“Are you?”
The question hung between us.
Marcus looked away.
Alessandro did not answer.
That silence told me more than words could.
I crossed my arms.
“I need the truth.”
“You deserve it.”
“Then start.”
Alessandro walked to the desk and picked up a folder.
It was old.
Not old enough to fall apart.
Old enough that someone had tried to keep it hidden.
He placed it in front of me.
“I found this three years ago.”
I did not touch it.
“What is it?”
“Your father’s records.”
My heart started beating faster.
“Why do you have them?”
“Because my father kept them.”
The room became colder.
“My father?”
Alessandro nodded.
“Your father worked for Vitali Holdings for eight years.”
“I know.”
“No.”
His eyes met mine.
“You know the version people allowed you to know.”
I hated how true that sounded.
He opened the folder.
Inside were copies of financial documents.
Names.
Dates.
Transactions.
My father’s signature appeared on several pages.
My fingers hovered over the paper.
I did not want to touch it.
Touching it felt like admitting my father had left me a mystery instead of a goodbye.
“What did he find?”
Alessandro looked at Marcus.
Marcus answered.
“Your father discovered money was being moved through several companies that had no legitimate purpose.”
“Illegal money?”
Marcus did not respond immediately.
“Yes.”
The word was simple.
The impact was not.
I sat down.
My mother’s panic.
My father’s phone calls.
May you like
The night they died.
All of it shifted.
