Chapter 7 - THE MANILA ENVELOPE
Isabella's screams echoed down the driveway as two agents shoved her into the second police cruiser.
The red and blue lights slowly faded as the squad cars departed.
Silence settled back over the Moretti estate.
Agent Vance walked back up the front steps, holding a thick Manila envelope.
“We found this in Gabriel's private wall safe behind the study painting,” Vance said, handing it to me.
“What is it?” I asked, my fingers brushing the heavy cardboard.
“We don't know yet,” Vance replied.
“It's marked with your name, Mrs. Moretti. Strictly confidential.”
Nonna Antonella frowned, leaning on her cane.
“Open it, Claire.”
I broke the red wax seal.
Inside lay a thick stack of legal documents and a handwritten letter.
I unfolded the letter first.
Gabriel's sharp, aggressive handwriting filled the page.
*“Claire, if you're reading this, something went wrong. But know this: everything I did, I did to protect you from my uncles. They never wanted an outsider in the family. The assets aren't stolen; they're hidden. And the house... the house was never mine to trade.”*
My breath caught.
“What does that mean?” Nonna asked, peering over my shoulder.
I turned the page to the legal document beneath.
It was a deed transfer.
Dated three days before our wedding.
Signed not by Gabriel.
Signed by his grandfather.
“Nonna,” I whispered, looking up at the elderly woman.
“Your husband didn't leave the estate to Gabriel.”
Antonella's eyes widened in sudden realization.
“He left it to you.”
A sharp knock at the front door startled us both.
Agent Vance stepped back into the foyer, his radio crackling.
“Mrs. Moretti,” Vance said grimly.
“You have visitors at the front gate. Gabriel's uncles just arrived.”
Before I could answer, the heavy iron gates at the end of the driveway were breached.
May you like
Three black Escalades roared up the gravel path.
[CLIFFHANGER: The doors of the Escalades fly open, and Gabriel's ruthless uncles step out, flanked by armed enforcers, demanding the return of the family empire.]
