Chapter 9 - THE HIDDEN AUDIO FILE
The grandfather clock in the hallway struck midnight.
The house was dead silent.
Nonna Antonella had finally retired to her bedroom upstairs, exhausted by the night's trauma.
I sat alone at the mahogany desk in the study.
The green-shaded desk lamp cast long, eerie shadows across the bookshelves.
I plugged the USB drive Antonella had given me into my laptop.
A single folder popped up on the screen.
*Name: TRUTH.mp3*
My finger hovered over the trackpad.
My heart pounded in my ears.
I double-clicked the file.
A wave form appeared, followed by clear, crisp audio.
It was a recorded conversation.
Isabella's voice rang out first.
*“Are you sure the feds will bite, Gabriel? What if they investigate me too?”*
Then Gabriel's voice replied.
*“They won't investigate you if you feed them the right lies, Isabella. We need to frame Uncle Salvatore for the embezzlement. Once he's locked away, the entire syndicate falls into my hands—and this house becomes ours.”*
I stopped breathing.
Gabriel hadn't just been cheating on me.
He had been orchestrating a massive coup against his own uncles.
And Isabella wasn't just his mistress.
She was his co-conspirator.
I scrolled down to the digital banking files on the drive.
Millions of dollars weren't just hidden offshore.
They were transferred into a joint account.
An account registered under two names:
Gabriel Moretti... and Isabella Romano.
And beneath that account, a recent transaction log showed a massive wire transfer made just two hours before Sunday dinner.
The recipient?
Uncle Salvatore.
My blood ran ice cold.
Gabriel hadn't just framed Salvatore.
Salvatore had bought Gabriel out from underneath him.
The entire family was rotten to the core.
Suddenly, a floorboard creaked outside the study door.
I snapped the laptop shut.
“Who's there?” I whispered.
No answer.
Just the soft rustle of fabric in the hallway.
I slowly stood up, my hand closing around the heavy brass paperweight.
The study door handle began to turn.
Slowly.
May you like
Silently.
[CLIFFHANGER: The door flies open to reveal an unexpected intruder standing in the shadows with a knife.]
