Chapter 7 - The Betrayal at Moretti Manor
Moretti Manor stood behind iron gates on seventeen acres outside Chicago.
It was a house designed to intimidate.
White marble columns.
Imported chandeliers.
A dining room large enough for thirty guests.
And walls filled with portraits of men who had mistaken cruelty for strength.
Adrien had inherited it from his father.
He rarely stayed there.
But tonight, he intended to end something that had begun long before he was born.
Matteo Moretti had summoned the family's senior associates to dinner.
Adrien arrived at eight.
Leo walked beside him.
Elena remained at a secure hotel under the protection of two guards Adrien trusted.
She had argued.
Loudly.
Adrien had eventually persuaded her that confronting Matteo was too dangerous.
Now he regretted leaving her.
Because the moment he entered the dining room, he saw Vivienne DeLuca standing beside his uncle.
Matteo smiled.
“Nephew.”
Adrien didn't return the greeting.
“We need to talk.”
“Of course. Sit.”
“I'll stand.”
The men around the table exchanged uneasy glances.
Matteo lifted his wineglass.
“You've been making unfortunate decisions.”
Adrien looked at Vivienne.
“Such as?”
“Associating with people beneath your station.”
Adrien's jaw tightened.
“Choose your next words carefully.”
Vivienne laughed.
“Oh, Adrien. You can't seriously be considering that woman.”
“Her name is Elena.”
“Yes. The cook.”
Adrien stepped closer.
“She owns a business. She employs twelve people. She works harder than anyone in this room.”
Matteo set down his glass.
“Enough.”
Adrien turned toward him.
“No. You wanted this meeting. Let's have it.”
He placed a folder on the table.
“Your security company supplied the men who attacked Rosie’s Kitchen.”
Matteo remained calm.
“Ridiculous.”
“The van used in the arson belongs to your holding company.”
“A coincidence.”
“You forged my signature to acquire Elena's property.”
Matteo's expression changed slightly.
Adrien noticed.
“And you've been using my father's credentials to move money through shell corporations.”
Silence spread across the room.
Matteo leaned back.
“You've been busy.”
“Not nearly as busy as you.”
Adrien opened the folder.
“Twenty-four years ago, you ordered the disappearance of Daniel Vescari.”
Vivienne's smile vanished.
Matteo stared.
Adrien continued.
“Daniel was investigating the money my father paid to police officers and city officials. Rosa Bellini helped him escape.”
Matteo said nothing.
“Then you spent decades searching for the evidence.”
A man at the far end of the table stood.
Adrien looked at him.
“Sit down.”
The man obeyed.
Matteo sighed.
“You're making a mistake.”
“No. My mistake was trusting you.”
Matteo smiled sadly.
“Your father trusted me.”
“My father trusted anyone willing to help him hurt people.”
The smile disappeared.
Matteo rose.
“You ungrateful little bastard.”
Adrien didn't move.
“I raised you.”
“You trained me.”
“I protected you.”
“You taught me to fear everyone.”
Matteo slammed his hand against the table.
“Because everyone wanted what belonged to you!”
Adrien's voice remained quiet.
“And you were first in line.”
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Then Matteo nodded toward the doorway.
Two armed men entered.
Leo immediately stepped beside Adrien.
Matteo smiled.
“You should have brought more guards.”
Adrien looked around the room.
He recognized three men who had worked for Matteo for years.
Two others had recently joined the family.
He had expected a confrontation.
He had not expected how many would choose his uncle.
Matteo raised his hand.
“Put your weapons down, gentlemen. Nobody needs to die tonight.”
Adrien glanced toward Leo.
Leo's expression was grim.
Then Adrien's phone vibrated.
A message from Elena.
The guards are gone.
His blood turned cold.
Another message appeared.
Someone is outside my room.
Adrien looked at Matteo.
His uncle smiled.
“Now,” Matteo said, “perhaps we can negotiate.”
Adrien slowly lowered his phone.
“What have you done?”
“Nothing irreversible.”
“Where is she?”
Matteo shrugged.
“Somewhere safe. For the moment.”
Adrien felt the room narrow.
Vivienne stepped forward.
“This doesn't have to become unpleasant.”
He looked at her.
“You're involved.”
She sighed.
“Your uncle offered me something you never would.”
“What?”
“A future.”
Adrien stared.
Vivienne smiled.
“Control of DeLuca Holdings' debt. A seat on the Moretti board. And eventually, a marriage that would unite our families.”
“You think I'd marry you after this?”
“You won't have much choice.”
Adrien looked at Matteo.
“You kidnapped an innocent woman to force me into a business arrangement?”
Matteo's expression hardened.
“Elena Caruso is not innocent.”
Adrien went still.
“What does that mean?”
Matteo reached into his jacket and removed a photograph.
He tossed it across the table.
Adrien picked it up.
It showed Elena standing outside a church beside an older woman.
Lucia Bellini.
The photograph was dated three months earlier.
Adrien stared.
Elena had claimed she'd never met Lucia.
Yet there they were.
Together.
Smiling.
Matteo leaned forward.
“Your little cook has been lying to you.”
Adrien's chest tightened.
Then Matteo delivered the final blow.
“She's not Rosa Bellini's granddaughter.”
Adrien looked up.
May you like
Matteo smiled.
“She's Daniel Vescari's daughter.”
