Chapter 3 - The Document That Could Destroy Them
Sebastian didn't touch the paper immediately.
He studied his brother instead.
Marcus had spent his entire life hiding insecurity behind confidence. As children, he'd competed with Sebastian over everything: school grades, their father's attention, even who could make their mother laugh first.
But this was different.
Marcus wasn't trying to win.
He was afraid.
“Where did you get this?” Sebastian asked.
“Dad gave it to me.”
“When?”
“Eight months ago. Before Vanessa started managing his appointments.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Because Dad asked me not to.”
Sebastian stared at him.
“Our father was being isolated in his own home, and you kept secrets from me because he asked you to?”
“I didn't know what Vanessa was planning!”
“Then tell me what you did know.”
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“The document concerns the original Romano family trust. Dad created it after Mom died. It contains provisions about who controls the company if either of us tries to exploit the other or uses the business to endanger the family.”
Sebastian frowned.
“Our current trust already covers that.”
“Not this one.”
Marcus opened his folder.
“The original trust was never fully replaced. Dad kept certain assets and voting rights under a separate agreement. If the conditions are triggered, control transfers to an independent trustee.”
Sebastian read the first page.
His father's signature was genuine.
The language was precise, the provisions unusually restrictive.
Then he reached the section describing the conditions under which the document could be opened.
His stomach tightened.
“If either son attempts to have Antonio Romano declared incapable of managing his affairs without independent medical evidence, the trustee must investigate the circumstances.”
Marcus nodded.
“Keep reading.”
Sebastian did.
The agreement also required a review of any financial transfers made during the period surrounding such an application.
It could freeze disputed transactions until the trustee determined whether the family assets had been manipulated.
Sebastian looked up.
“So Vanessa wanted Dad declared incompetent to control his money.”
“Not just his money,” Marcus replied. “She wanted access to the trust. She believed Dad had another set of financial records that could expose everything.”
“Why would she care about records?”
Marcus's face tightened.
“Because she wasn't working alone.”
Sebastian stood.
“Who else?”
Marcus looked directly at him.
“Someone who knows our business better than either of us.”
Before Sebastian could answer, the office door opened.
Clara stood in the doorway holding a sealed envelope.
“I'm sorry, sir. Your father's attorney just delivered this.”
Sebastian took it.
The envelope bore Antonio's initials.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Sebastian,
If Marcus has finally told you about the original trust, ask him who introduced Vanessa to Dr. Whitmore.
Sebastian slowly lifted his eyes.
Marcus went pale.
Their father had known something.
Perhaps not everything, but enough to leave a warning.
“Who introduced her?” Sebastian demanded.
Marcus looked toward the window.
“I did.”
Sebastian's voice dropped.
“Why?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Because she said she could help us protect Dad's assets.”
“From whom?”
Marcus hesitated.
“From a man who had been moving money out of the company.”
“Who?”
Marcus's lips parted.
Then his phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen and immediately stood.
“I have to go.”
Sebastian stepped between him and the door.
“No. You're going to finish this conversation.”
Marcus looked genuinely terrified.
“Sebastian, listen to me. There are things about the company you don't know. Things Dad deliberately kept from you.”
“Then tell me.”
Marcus glanced toward Clara.
“Not here.”
Sebastian shook his head.
“You don't get to dictate the terms anymore.”
Marcus reached into his jacket and pulled out a small key.
He placed it on the desk.
“There's a storage room beneath the old family office on Wabash. Dad kept the original ledgers there. The documents Vanessa wanted aren't the only ones inside.”
Sebastian picked up the key.
“What else?”
Marcus's voice broke.
“Evidence that someone has been stealing from the Romano family for years.”
“Who?”
Marcus stared at him.
Then whispered:
“Your father suspected Uncle Richard.”
Sebastian froze.
Richard Romano had died eleven years earlier.
He had been Antonio's younger brother, the man who'd helped build the original business before a bitter disagreement split the family.
“He's dead,” Sebastian said.
“His son isn't.”
Marcus walked toward the door.
“Ask yourself why Vanessa came into our lives just before the first trust review.”
He stopped.
“And ask yourself why Dad was so afraid of having the document opened.”
Then he left.
Sebastian stared at the key in his hand.
Clara stood silently beside the desk.
Finally, she asked, “Do you trust him?”
Sebastian looked toward the door.
“No.”
He closed his fingers around the key.
“But I think he's afraid of someone even more dangerous than me.”
That afternoon, Sebastian drove to the old family office with two trusted security men.
The building had been closed for years.
Dust covered the furniture. Old photographs hung crookedly along the corridor.
The storage room was hidden behind a steel door beneath the basement stairs.
The key turned.
Inside, they found filing cabinets, sealed boxes, and a safe.
Sebastian opened the first cabinet.
Financial ledgers.
Transfer records.
Copies of old contracts.
Then he found a photograph.
His father stood beside Richard Romano.
Between them was a younger man Sebastian recognized immediately.
Dr. Whitmore.
On the back, someone had written a date.
Eleven years earlier.
Sebastian turned the photograph over again.
Then he saw a second name in the ledger beneath it.
May you like
Vanessa Sterling's father.
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