Chapter 9 - The Guard at the Door
I had trusted Marco because Luca trusted him. That was not evidence of innocence, Rebecca reminded me. Nor was access to the archive evidence of guilt. We agreed to keep our suspicions private until investigators could review the logs. I hated looking at Marco across the breakfast table while wondering whether he had betrayed us.
The answer came from an unexpected source. Michael had borrowed a small camera to document the crib assembly for Emily. In the background of one video, Marco received a call, stepped into the hall, and said, "Tell Rebecca the archive was opened under my badge, but I was at the hospital." He was not hiding a secret from us. He had already reported the suspicious access.
Marco explained that his credentials had been copied during a security system upgrade arranged by Victor Hale. He had been working with investigators quietly because he feared the leak would endanger Emily. Luca was furious he had not been told. Marco replied, "I was ordered to preserve the investigation. You taught me that loyalty meant protecting the family. I'm learning that sometimes it means telling the truth to someone else first." Luca looked at him, then said, "You did the right thing."
That afternoon, Vanessa called me. Her number appeared without warning, and my heart began racing. Rebecca had advised us not to engage, so I let it ring. A voicemail followed. "Claire, you don't understand what you're involved in. Adrian isn't going to stop. I can still keep you safe if you help me." I forwarded the recording to Rebecca. The message sounded like a threat wrapped in a favor.
A second voicemail arrived an hour later. This time Vanessa was crying. "I didn't know about Sofia," she said. "I swear I didn't." I listened twice. It was possible she was telling the truth about that one thing. It was also possible she wanted us to believe she was less responsible than her brother. I decided I did not need to solve her conscience. The investigators could establish her actions.
Emily asked to visit her mother's grave before the baby's birth. Luca agreed, and we went on a cold Sunday morning. The cemetery was quiet except for the rustle of dry leaves. Emily placed the little silver locket from the cabinet beside the headstone, then changed her mind and put it around her neck. "I want my daughter to know her grandmother," she said. Luca looked at her. "A daughter?" Emily laughed. "I was going to tell you at dinner, but we got distracted." He laughed too, a sound so relieved it nearly made me cry.
On the drive back, Luca asked whether I wanted to continue working for him after the investigation. I told him I wasn't sure. "I want to finish my community college classes," I said. "I stopped when Dad died and the bills got hard." He asked what I had studied. "Accounting." His eyebrows lifted. "You may be the only person in this story who knows what the numbers mean." I smiled despite myself.
He offered to connect me with a scholarship program, then stopped. "Only if you want the information. No obligation." That mattered. I told him I would consider it.
May you like
When we reached the apartment, a federal agent was waiting. Adrian Bellini had disappeared from his registered address. A warrant had been issued for financial crimes, but investigators believed he was still in the region. The agent looked at Emily's belly, then at Luca. "He may try to force an exchange for the original documents," she warned. "No one travels alone."
That night, I found Luca awake in the kitchen. "I spent my life making people afraid," he said. "Now I'm afraid of what someone might do to my daughter." I sat across from him. "Fear doesn't mean you have to become the man you were." He looked up, and for a moment neither of us spoke. Outside, the first snow began to fall.
