Chapter 7 - The Truth Alexander Couldn't Escape
Alexander Moretti arrived at Daniel's office with his lawyer at nine the next morning.
I was already waiting.
On the table lay a printed copy of the medical-information request.
Alexander saw it immediately.
His face hardened.
“Where did you get that?”
“From the investigation,” Daniel replied.
Alexander picked it up.
He read the first page.
Then the second.
His expression changed.
“I didn't authorize this.”
I watched him carefully.
“Your credentials were used.”
“I can see that.”
“Then explain.”
He sat down.
For several seconds, he stared at the document.
Finally, he said, “Victor had administrative access to my executive account.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why?”
“During a restructuring, he retained delegated authorization privileges.”
“You never revoked them?”
“I thought I had.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Alexander looked at me.
“Claire—”
“Every time something terrible happens, you have an explanation for why someone else was able to do it.”
He lowered his eyes.
“That's fair.”
“No, it isn't fair. None of this is fair.”
My voice rose.
“I was pregnant. I was your wife. And while I was begging you to stop treating Olivia like the center of your universe, someone was stealing from my family and investigating our unborn child.”
Alexander looked devastated.
“I know.”
“Stop saying that.”
He went silent.
I leaned forward.
“Did you ever consider telling me about Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Every day.”
“Then why didn't you?”
His answer came quietly.
“Because I was afraid.”
I stared at him.
“Of what?”
“That you'd see what my family really was.”
I almost laughed.
“Alexander, I married a Moretti. I knew your family had secrets.”
“Not these.”
He looked toward the window.
“My father spent his entire life controlling people. When he died, he left behind debts, enemies, and a son nobody knew existed. Victor helped me protect Ethan. I trusted him because I thought he was the only person who understood.”
“And Olivia?”
“She was desperate. Her mother died leaving her responsible for Ethan. I thought I was helping them both.”
“By giving her everything you promised me?”
His face tightened.
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
“I was cruel.”
“Yes.”
“I let her use my guilt to manipulate me.”
I looked at him.
“And you let me suffer because you thought I'd always stay.”
He couldn't answer.
That silence was the first completely honest thing he'd given me in months.
Daniel interrupted.
“Alexander, we need your cooperation to establish who used your credentials.”
“You have it.”
“And we need the complete records of Halcyon's transactions.”
“You'll get them.”
“Even if they implicate you?”
Alexander looked directly at me.
“Especially then.”
For a moment, I saw the man I had once loved.
Not the powerful executive.
Not the feared Moretti heir.
Just a flawed man finally realizing that power couldn't repair what he had broken.
But realization wasn't redemption.
And regret wasn't trust.
After the meeting, Alexander asked to speak with me alone.
I agreed only because Daniel remained nearby.
Alexander stood across from me.
“Have you decided on a name?”
I looked down at my belly.
“For the baby?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
I hesitated.
“Emma.”
His expression softened.
“Emma.”
He repeated it like a prayer.
“That's beautiful.”
I looked away.
He swallowed.
“Claire, I know you don't want me in your life right now. But I want to be there for her.”
“You can pursue your parental rights through the proper legal process,” I said. “But you won't use her to control me.”
“I won't.”
“And if you want to be a good father, start by becoming someone she can trust.”
He nodded slowly.
“I will.”
I turned to leave.
“Claire?”
I stopped.
“I never stopped loving you.”
I closed my eyes.
“That was never the only problem, Alexander.”
Outside, Daniel was waiting beside my car.
He looked grim.
“What happened?” I asked.
He handed me his phone.
A news alert filled the screen.
FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS RAID HALCYON MEDICAL RESEARCH OFFICES AMID FINANCIAL FRAUD PROBE.
Below it was a photograph.
Victor Moretti was being escorted from the building.
But the next headline made my blood run cold.
MORETTI GLOBAL CEO ALEXANDER MORETTI NAMED PERSON OF INTEREST IN FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION.
I looked back toward the office.
Alexander was standing at the window.
Watching me.
And suddenly, I understood.
May you like
Victor wasn't going down alone.
He intended to take Alexander with him.
