Chapter 8 - The Mother Who Lied to Save Her Son
The gunman ordered Adrian and Amelia down the stairs.
He moved with practiced confidence, keeping the weapon trained on them while glancing repeatedly at the documents Amelia carried.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“Someone who remembers what your father did.”
“What did he do?”
The man laughed.
“He thought he could expose powerful people and walk away untouched. Your mother understood the danger. She tried to stop him.”
Amelia's heart hammered.
“You knew my mother?”
“I knew what she was willing to do.”
Adrian moved slightly between Amelia and the gunman.
The man's weapon followed him.
“Don't be a hero, Moretti. You're not as difficult to kill as people think.”
Adrian stopped.
“Vincent sent you?”
“Vincent sends a lot of people.”
“Then tell him the papers are gone.”
“They won't be gone for long.”
The man's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen, distracted for half a second.
Adrian moved.
He struck the gunman's wrist, driving the weapon against the wall. A shot exploded through the warehouse. Amelia ducked as the gun clattered across the floor.
The struggle lasted only seconds.
Adrian forced the man to the ground, but he didn't strike him again when the gunman stopped resisting.
“Who sent you?” Adrian demanded.
The man spat blood onto the concrete.
“Ask your mother.”
Then he smiled.
“Ask her what happened the night Daniel Brooks died.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
The man twisted free, ran through a side exit, and disappeared before the police arrived.
Adrian retrieved the documents and led Amelia outside.
Neither spoke until they were inside his car.
Then Amelia turned toward him.
“Your father was involved. Your mother was involved. My mother knew something. And you expect me to believe none of you knows what happened to my father?”
“I don't expect you to believe anything without proof.”
“Then help me find it.”
“I will.”
She looked down at the ledger.
“Why was your mother's name on that page?”
Adrian's expression changed.
“I don't know.”
“Would you tell me if you did?”
“Yes.”
“Even if it destroyed your family?”
He met her eyes.
“Especially then.”
For the first time, Amelia believed he might mean it.
They returned to the Moretti estate after midnight.
Isabella was waiting in the library.
She took one look at the ledger and sat down.
“I was hoping that record had been destroyed,” she whispered.
Amelia placed it on the table.
“Tell me everything.”
Isabella closed her eyes.
“Your father discovered that Anthony Moretti was using legitimate businesses to move money through a network of corrupt officials. Peter Lawson helped him collect the evidence. I found out what they were doing and tried to persuade them to go to the authorities.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because my husband threatened to have Peter killed. He told me that if I interfered, Adrian would inherit a family at war with itself.”
Adrian stood rigid beside the fireplace.
“You never told me that.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Father?”
“Of what he would do to you.”
Amelia's voice shook.
“What happened the night my father died?”
Isabella reached into a drawer and removed a sealed envelope.
“Daniel came to me the evening before his accident. He said he had made a second copy of the records and hidden it somewhere neither Anthony nor Vincent could find.”
“Where?”
“He wouldn't tell me. He said the less I knew, the safer I would be.”
Amelia opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter written in her father's handwriting.
If anything happens to me, please make sure Amelia never pays for the choices I made. She deserves a life that belongs to her.
The letter ended with a sentence that made Amelia's knees weaken.
If Isabella ever tells her the truth, make sure she understands that the person who betrayed me was someone I trusted more than my own family.
Amelia looked up.
“Who did he mean?”
Isabella's tears spilled over.
“I don't know.”
But Adrian had gone pale.
“What is it?” Amelia asked.
He stared at the ledger.
“There's only one person who had access to the original financial records and knew Daniel's movements that night.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked toward his mother.
“My father didn't arrange Daniel's death.”
Isabella shook her head.
“Adrian, please.”
He continued, his voice barely audible.
“Someone else did. Someone who needed Anthony to take the blame.”
Amelia felt the room tilt.
“Who?”
Before Adrian could answer, a gunshot shattered the library window.
He threw himself over Amelia as glass exploded across the floor.
Isabella screamed.
When Adrian lifted his head, a second bullet struck the wall behind him.
His security team rushed into the room.
Outside, an engine roared to life.
On the floor beside the shattered window lay a folded piece of paper.
Amelia picked it up with trembling fingers.
May you like
The message contained only seven words.
The second copy is inside your shop.
