Chapter 7 - Their Mother's Last Secret
The revelation shattered the fragile peace between the brothers.
Sebastian stared at Antonio.
“Mom signed the transfer?”
His father nodded.
“Her name appeared on the authorization. I never understood why.”
Marcus stood abruptly.
“Then she was involved?”
“No,” Antonio said firmly.
Both sons turned toward him.
Antonio took a slow breath.
“Your mother was the most honest person I ever knew. If her signature appeared on those documents, someone used it without her knowledge.”
Sebastian sat beside him.
“Why didn't you investigate?”
“I did. The original records disappeared. Thomas Sterling told me the transfer was a legitimate settlement between Richard and the company.”
“Then why did you suspect something was wrong?”
Antonio looked toward the window.
“Because your mother came to me the night before she died and asked me to protect you boys from someone inside the family.”
Sebastian froze.
“What did she say?”
“She wouldn't give me a name. She said she had discovered something dangerous and needed time to verify it.”
Antonio's eyes filled.
“The next morning, she was gone.”
Their mother had died in a car accident.
At least, that was what the family had always believed.
Sebastian felt the old grief rise with an unfamiliar edge of anger.
“Are you saying her death might have been connected?”
“I don't know,” Antonio replied. “And I won't pretend otherwise.”
Clara quietly approached with a glass of water.
Antonio accepted it with trembling hands.
“Thank you, dear.”
She smiled.
“Of course.”
Then she noticed something sticking out from beneath the folder on the bedside table.
A photograph.
She gently lifted it.
“Mr. Romano, is this your wife?”
Antonio looked at the image.
“Yes.”
Clara studied the background.
The photograph showed Antonio and his wife standing outside a lakeside house. A third figure stood partially hidden behind them.
Clara frowned.
“Who's that?”
Antonio leaned forward.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he whispered:
“Thomas Sterling.”
Sebastian took the photograph.
On the back was a handwritten date.
The same date as the disputed transfer.
Beneath it, in Antonio's wife's handwriting, were the words:
If anything happens to me, find the original account.
Sebastian immediately contacted his attorney.
Within hours, the team had traced the old account to a dormant financial institution. Its records were incomplete, but one document had survived: a signed instruction to transfer funds into a private holding company.
The authorization carried their mother's name.
But the signature was not hers.
A forensic examiner confirmed that the signature had been copied from an unrelated document.
The transfer had been fraudulent.
And someone had deliberately made it appear that their mother had approved it.
The next question was who had benefited.
The holding company had eventually transferred the money to a second entity.
That entity was still active.
Its registered director was listed as an anonymous corporate nominee.
But the beneficial ownership records contained one name.
Vanessa Sterling.
Sebastian stared at the report.
“She inherited her father's operation.”
His attorney nodded.
“Possibly. We need more evidence to establish her role in the earlier transactions.”
“And Richard?”
“He may be the only person who can explain the full chain of transfers.”
Marcus leaned against the desk.
“Then we find him.”
Sebastian shook his head.
“No. We let the investigators locate him and secure the evidence. If he's been hiding for eleven years, he may be dangerous.”
Marcus stared at him.
“Since when do you wait for someone else to protect your family?”
Sebastian's expression hardened.
“Since I nearly destroyed my father by assuming I could handle everything myself.”
The words silenced the room.
Later that evening, Sebastian visited Antonio.
His father was sitting in a chair beside the window, looking stronger than he had in months.
“Dad?”
Antonio smiled.
“Come sit.”
Sebastian did.
For a while, they watched the lights outside.
Then Sebastian said, “I'm sorry I didn't listen when you warned me about Vanessa.”
Antonio looked at him.
“You were lonely.”
Sebastian frowned.
“What?”
“You wanted someone beside you who understood the life you live. You thought Vanessa did.”
Sebastian looked away.
“I should have known better.”
“No. You should have asked more questions. There's a difference.”
Sebastian swallowed.
“Do you think Mom knew what was going to happen?”
Antonio's eyes filled.
“I think she knew someone was lying. And I think she wanted to protect us.”
He took Sebastian's hand.
“Don't let the search for answers turn you into a man who can no longer recognize love.”
Sebastian held his father's hand tightly.
For the first time since discovering the garage, he felt the possibility of peace.
Then his phone rang.
The investigators had located Richard Romano.
He had agreed to speak.
But he had made one condition.
He would only give his statement in the presence of Antonio's sons.
May you like
And he would bring the original records.
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