Chapter 7 - The Brother Who Sold His Family
Dominic set the metal case on the table as if it might explode. Inside were original accounting records, a small hard drive, and the missing ledger from Antonio's basement. “I took it before Richard could,” he said. “I thought I could bargain my way out.” Marco stared at his brother. “You forged Mom's signature. You tried to sell everything Dad built. What exactly were you bargaining for?”
“My life,” Dominic whispered. He told us Richard had funded a series of bad investments through the restaurant group's accounts. Dominic had hidden the losses with false invoices, expecting to repay the money before anyone noticed. Serena discovered the fraud and offered him a solution: sell the company cheaply, transfer the land, and let Whitmore Hospitality absorb the books. Dominic would receive a secret payment and disappear. Then he learned that the property was tied to the old ledger, and Richard's plans became more urgent.
“Why didn't you come to me?” Marco asked. Dominic laughed without humor. “Because you're Marco DeLuca. You fix everything. You never let me be the brother who could fail.” Marco took a step forward, but Maria moved between them. “That is not an excuse,” she said. “Your brother's pride didn't make you forge my name.” Dominic lowered his head.
Reed arrived and advised Dominic that he needed his own lawyer. He agreed to turn over the case through counsel and make a formal statement. He wanted immunity. Reed promised nothing. Marco did not ask her to. That seemed to hurt Dominic more than shouting would have.
On the hard drive were emails showing Serena had planned the wedding as part of a public-relations strategy. She wanted to announce the acquisition at the reception, presenting it as a romantic merger of two family dynasties. One draft press release described Maria as “the beloved retired matriarch who enthusiastically supports the transition.” Maria read that line twice. “I wonder when I enthusiastically agreed,” she said dryly. Nobody laughed.
The messages also exposed a troubling detail: Serena and Richard had arranged a medical evaluation meant to portray Maria as incapable of managing her shares. A consultant had prepared a report without ever examining her. Elena called it a serious potential fraud and sent the records to investigators. Maria was furious, but not frightened. “They wanted me to look weak,” she said. “Then they should have chosen a woman who hadn't run a kitchen during a snowstorm.”
Later, while Reed's team copied the files, I found Marco on the sidewalk outside. He looked exhausted. “I used to think being feared meant being safe,” he said. “My father had that reputation. I wore it like armor.” “Did it help?” I asked. “It kept people from telling me the truth.” He looked toward the restaurant window, where Maria was talking to Dominic's lawyer. “You were brave enough to tell me I was wrong before you knew I'd listen.”
I wanted to tell him that bravery had felt a lot like nausea. Instead I said, “Your mother gave me a reason.” He smiled faintly. “She gives everyone a reason.” For a moment the city noise seemed far away. Then my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number: ASK MARCO WHAT HAPPENED TO REBECCA CARTER.
May you like
I showed him. His expression changed. “I don't know what they're talking about.” I believed he was telling me what he knew. But belief was no longer enough. “Then help me find out,” I said.
At midnight Reed called with a preliminary finding from the hard drive. A payment had been made to a private investigator shortly before my mother's fatal crash. The invoice carried a DeLuca corporate account number. Marco stared at the document on Elena's screen. His father's name was attached to the account. “No,” he whispered. “Dad wouldn't.” I looked at the man who had just broken his engagement to protect his mother and wondered whether the next truth would break us all.
