Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Ivory Dress Strikes Back
Victoria's first lawsuit arrived on a Monday. She accused the Santoro family of defamation and claimed Nico had promised her an ownership interest in Bellwether after their marriage. Her lawyers attached a document supposedly signed during their engagement trip to Lake Como. Nico had been in New Jersey that day; I knew because Rosa had made him chicken soup while he recovered from the flu. But a memory was not evidence, and Victoria understood the difference.
Margaret hired a forensic document examiner. Gabriel collected travel records and security logs. I was asked to give a statement about the dinner, Rosa's condition, and the threats Victoria had made. The interviewer spoke gently, but every question forced me back into that kitchen. Had I disliked Victoria before the engagement party? Had I wanted Nico's attention? I kept my hands folded and answered carefully. “I wanted Mrs. Alvarez to eat.”
A tabloid printed a photograph of me beside Nico and called me his secret girlfriend. I was furious, not flattered. Rosa found me tearing the page in half. “You can't stop people from telling stories,” she said. “But you can refuse to live inside theirs.” I laughed despite myself. She had a way of making wisdom sound like a recipe.
That afternoon, Daniel Ashford came to the front gate and asked to speak with me alone. Gabriel refused, but Daniel left a sealed letter. Inside was a copy of my father's old employment application and a handwritten warning: Ask him what happened at the Port Mercer warehouse. My father had worked there before losing his job. Suddenly his dismissal no longer felt like bad luck.
When I confronted Dad, he looked older than his sixty years. He admitted that he'd reported irregular cargo invoices to his supervisor. Days later he was fired for alleged misconduct. “I thought it was a bookkeeping scam,” he said. “I never knew the Ashfords were involved.” He had kept copies of the invoices because he feared being blamed. We spread them across his kitchen table. The same shell companies appeared again and again, each linked to Bellwether's proposed merger.
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I took the papers to Nico, but I didn't let him turn my father into a pawn. “If you use these,” I said, “you protect him first. You tell him exactly what you're doing.” Nico met my eyes. “Agreed.” His respect mattered more than the expensive car waiting outside.
That night, Margaret called with news. The disputed Lake Como agreement was printed on paper manufactured months after the supposed signing. Victoria's claim was unraveling. But before we could celebrate, Gabriel received a message from an unknown number. It contained a photograph of Antonio asleep in his bedroom, taken from inside the room. Someone on the estate was still working for the Ashfords.
