Chapter 7 - THE EIGHT-MILLION-DOLLAR BETRAYAL
The federal agents arrived at the Castellano estate at nine the next morning.
They carried a warrant.
And my name was on it.
Luca stood beside me as the lead investigator explained that an account registered under my identity had received millions in suspicious transfers.
"I didn't open that account," I said.
"We understand that's your position, Mrs. Castellano."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"She's cooperating voluntarily."
The agent nodded.
"Then we'd like to ask her some questions."
For three hours, I sat in a conference room answering questions about my marriage to Sebastian.
The investigators showed me signatures.
Bank statements.
Corporate documents.
Every signature looked like mine.
But I had never signed them.
Then I remembered something.
During our marriage, Sebastian had frequently asked me to sign paperwork.
Insurance renewals.
Household authorizations.
Business documents he claimed were routine.
Sometimes he had brought the papers to me while I was cooking dinner.
I had trusted him.
Now I understood what that trust had cost me.
"He used my signature," I whispered.
The investigator leaned forward.
"Can you prove it?"
I thought about my old laptop.
Sebastian had told me it was worthless.
I'd left it in the house.
But before our divorce, I'd backed up several files to an old cloud account.
That evening, with my attorney present, I recovered the account.
Inside were scanned documents.
Emails.
And a recording.
Sebastian's voice filled the room.
"Put it under Nora's name. She doesn't understand the business."
Another man answered.
"What if investigators find the account?"
Sebastian laughed.
"Then they can question my wife. She'll do whatever I tell her."
I felt physically sick.
Luca reached for my hand.
I let him hold it.
The recording continued.
Then a third voice spoke.
A woman's voice.
"Make sure Isabella doesn't leave the warehouse alive."
I stopped breathing.
Luca stood so abruptly his chair struck the wall.
He recognized the voice.
"Vanessa."
The next morning, federal agents arrested several Shaw Medical executives.
But Vanessa was still missing.
And Sebastian's attorney announced that he intended to accuse me of participating in the scheme.
The pressure became unbearable.
Reporters gathered outside the estate.
My phone filled with threats.
One evening, I found Leo sitting alone in the library.
He was holding his little notebook of shields.
"Mom?"
I knelt beside him.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Are bad people going to take you away?"
My throat tightened.
"No."
"Promise?"
I looked at his frightened face.
For the first time, I understood how dangerous promises could be.
I took his hand.
"I promise I will do everything I can to stay safe and come home to you."
He nodded slowly.
Then he opened his notebook.
On the last page, he had drawn three people holding hands.
Underneath, in uneven letters, he'd written:
MY FAMILY.
I hugged him.
And that's when he whispered:
"I remember the lady who took me."
I went still.
"Leo?"
He looked up.
"She smelled like flowers."
"What kind of flowers?"
He thought for a moment.
May you like
Then he said:
"The same ones Aunt Vanessa wears."
