Chapter 12 - THE FATHER BEHIND THE THRONE
The name was Vittorio Belandi.
Adrien's father had been dead for eighteen months. He had built the family's wealth through shipping, real estate, and deals that were never fully explained. Adrien had inherited both the businesses and the fear attached to their name.
Marco's statement claimed Vittorio ordered Lily's abduction after she witnessed a meeting in the Grand Aurelia cellar. Celeste had managed the cover-up. When Isabelle discovered the truth, she threatened to expose them both.
“Why would a child matter to Vittorio?” Evelyn asked.
Ruiz opened a folder. “Because Lily saw a ledger exchange. The ledger documented payments to officials and the use of the restaurant for illegal transfers.”
Adrien leaned forward. “My father told me those accounts were closed.”
“Apparently they weren't.”
The detective made one point clear: Marco's statement was not proof by itself. Investigators would need documents, corroboration, and testimony tested in court.
Adrien agreed to provide access to his father's archived business records. His attorney protested that the material could expose him to legal and financial risk.
“Then it exposes me,” Adrien replied. “I won't hide another crime behind my surname.”
The next day, Evelyn accompanied Ruiz to the Grand Aurelia while officers searched the sealed basement. Adrien stayed upstairs with his legal team. He wanted to be present, but the detective insisted on preserving the integrity of the search.
The cellar smelled of dust, stone, and old wine. A staircase descended toward a bricked-up wall. Evelyn remembered the service corridor, Lily's yellow sweater, and the terrible hours after her sister vanished.
Ruiz found the square mark Lily used in her drawings scratched into a wooden shelf. Beneath it were three tiny circles.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
A technician removed the shelf and discovered a narrow compartment. Inside lay a child's silver bracelet and a sealed metal box. The bracelet was engraved L.H.
“Lily hid it,” Evelyn whispered. “She wanted me to find it.”
The box contained a ledger, an old storage drive, and copies of payments made through shell companies. Several signatures belonged to Vittorio. Others belonged to Celeste and Marco.
But one entry was different. It described a payment to a physician for “behavioral stabilization” of three minors after the country-house fire.
Evelyn stared at the words. “The triplets?”
Ruiz nodded grimly. “We need medical experts to review this.”
The investigation widened. Records suggested that the children had been given medication without Adrien's informed consent during the weeks following Isabelle's death. Specialists would later determine whether the treatment had contributed to their withdrawal; trauma alone could not be reduced to a simple explanation.
Adrien was devastated. He had believed he was providing the best care money could buy. Instead, Celeste had controlled who saw his children and what information reached him.
That night he sat on the nursery floor while the triplets played nearby.
“I thought protecting them meant making every decision,” he told Evelyn. “I never asked what they needed.”
“You can start asking now.”
He looked at Sofia. “Would you like me to read tonight?”
She considered the question, then handed him a book.
May you like
For Adrien, it was a greater victory than any business deal.
But while the family was beginning to heal, Celeste was planning one last move.
