Chapter 7 - THE NIGHT THE FAMILY BROKE
Dominic read his father's letter in his study until the words blurred.
The handwriting was unmistakable. Anthony Moretti had written the same sharp, slanted script on birthday cards, business contracts, and notes left beside Dominic's breakfast when he was a boy.
The letter was dated two days before the crash.
It described a meeting Anthony intended to have with a lawyer. He planned to revise his will, acknowledge Daniel, and transfer control of several family assets into a trust that Margaret could not access.
The last paragraph was unfinished.
If anything happens to me, ask Margaret about the brakes.
Dominic sat motionless.
He had spent half his life believing his father died because of a rain-slick road and a driver who lost control.
Now he wondered whether the tragedy had been engineered.
He called Gabriel.
"I need you to find everything about my father's accident."
"Everything?"
"Police reports, insurance files, repair records. Start with the car."
Gabriel was silent for a moment.
"Dominic, if this is what I think it is, you need to be careful."
"I've been careful for thirty-five years. Look where it got me."
Meanwhile, Emma was preparing for a meeting with Rebecca when her phone rang.
It was Margaret.
Emma almost ignored the call.
Then she remembered Claire's fear and Daniel's letter.
She answered.
"You've caused enough trouble," Margaret said.
Emma's back straightened.
"I haven't done anything to you."
"You have been encouraging Dominic to dig into matters that should remain private."
"Dominic is an adult. He can investigate his own family."
"You're his wife."
"Not for much longer."
Margaret's voice sharpened.
"You think you can walk away from this family and take everything with you?"
"I'm taking my own belongings, Margaret. Nothing else."
"Don't be naive. Dominic will never allow a divorce to damage his reputation."
"Then he should have thought about that before he betrayed me."
Margaret fell silent.
Then she said something that made Emma's stomach turn.
"If you're pregnant, you need to understand that a child belongs to the family as much as to the mother."
Emma froze.
"How do you know?"
"I know more than you think."
The call ended.
Emma stared at her phone.
She had not told Dominic. She had not told Margaret. Rebecca had promised confidentiality.
Someone had discovered her secret.
She called her attorney immediately.
"I think someone has accessed my medical information."
"We'll investigate," Rebecca said. "But you need to tell me whether Dominic has any way of knowing."
"He knows I left. He doesn't know why."
"Then we need to assume the information could reach him."
Emma closed her eyes.
She had hoped to keep the pregnancy private until she felt secure enough to make a decision.
Now she was afraid that the baby would become another bargaining chip.
That evening, Dominic confronted Margaret at her mansion.
He placed the letter on the dining table.
"Tell me what happened to my father."
Margaret looked at the paper without touching it.
"Where did you get this?"
"From Daniel."
Her face changed.
For one fleeting second, Dominic saw fear.
Then it vanished beneath anger.
"That woman has been manipulating you."
"Claire?"
"She was a mistake your father made. I protected this family from the consequences."
"You hid my brother."
"I protected you from a scandal."
"You paid Vanessa to stay near me."
Margaret's eyes flashed.
"Vanessa was a practical solution. You needed an heir."
Dominic stared at her.
"An heir?"
"You were wasting your life on a marriage that produced nothing."
"Emma was pregnant."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
He had learned it from the private investigator that afternoon. The investigator had traced a clinic appointment through an improperly accessed insurance record.
Dominic had not wanted to believe the report.
Now Margaret's expression told him she already knew.
"How long?" he demanded.
"I don't know."
"Did you know before I did?"
Margaret looked away.
Dominic felt something inside him collapse.
"You knew Emma was pregnant, and you still let me believe Vanessa was carrying my child."
"I thought it was better for everyone."
"Better for whom?"
"For this family!"
He slammed his hand against the table.
"No. For you."
Margaret rose.
"Do not speak to me that way."
"Why? Because I'm finally hearing what you say?"
The words stopped her.
For the first time, Dominic saw his own behavior reflected in someone else's face.
He had pretended not to hear Emma because silence protected him from responsibility.
Margaret had hidden Daniel because secrecy protected her power.
They were different acts, but they came from the same belief: that the truth could be ignored if the consequences were inconvenient.
Dominic took the letter.
"I'm going to find out what happened to my father. And if you had anything to do with it, I will make sure the truth comes out."
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"Your father was not the man you remember."
"Maybe not. But I intend to find out for myself."
He walked toward the door.
Behind him, Margaret whispered, "If you expose the past, you'll lose everything."
Dominic stopped.
He thought of Emma standing in an apartment hallway, asking him to leave.
He thought of Daniel growing up without a father who was still alive long enough to know him.
He thought of all the years he had spent believing silence was strength.
Then he turned back.
"Perhaps," he said. "But at least this time, I'll know what I'm losing."
That night, Gabriel discovered the original repair report from Anthony's car.
The brakes had been inspected two days before the accident.
Someone had signed off on the vehicle.
May you like
The signature belonged to a mechanic who had died six months later under circumstances officially ruled accidental.
And the repair shop had been paid by a company owned by Margaret Moretti.
