Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Signed Away Her Daughter
Richard Bellamy arrived at the Moretti mansion at eleven forty-three.
He entered smiling.
He left the library in handcuffs.
The change happened in less than twelve minutes.
Luca was waiting beside the fireplace when Bellamy entered.
The attorney wore a navy overcoat and carried the same leather briefcase he had used for years.
"Luca," he said warmly. "Marcus mentioned an urgent legal matter."
Luca gestured toward a chair.
"Sit."
Bellamy noticed the documents on the table.
His smile disappeared.
"Where did you find those?"
"Behind my father's portrait."
Bellamy looked at the adoption record.
Then the photographs.
Then Vanessa's engagement ring.
"Oh, dear God."
Luca watched him carefully.
"You recognize them."
Bellamy removed his glasses.
"Your father instructed me never to discuss this matter."
"He's dead."
"That doesn't erase attorney-client privilege."
"Someone shot at us last night."
Bellamy went pale.
"What?"
"Someone compromised my security system and fired into my office. Now tell me why you met Daniel Mercer yesterday."
Bellamy's fingers tightened around his briefcase.
"I don't know anyone by that name."
Luca turned the tablet toward him.
The photograph filled the screen.
Bellamy stared.
"That man isn't Daniel Mercer."
Luca leaned forward.
"Then who is he?"
Bellamy swallowed.
"His name is Nathaniel Voss."
The room went still.
"Samuel Voss's son?"
Bellamy nodded.
Luca felt a cold sensation move through his chest.
"Why is he using another name?"
"Because the Voss family has spent decades trying to recover what Antonio took from them."
"What did he take?"
Bellamy looked at the adoption papers.
"Not what."
He raised his eyes.
"Who."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Vanessa?"
Bellamy nodded.
"Her mother."
"You're saying Catherine Vale was a Voss?"
"No."
Bellamy took a shaky breath.
"She was Samuel Voss's wife."
Luca stared at him.
"Margaret said she was his accountant."
"She was both."
Bellamy explained that Catherine had married Samuel in secret while working for his organization. She later discovered that his businesses were laundering money through shipping companies and charitable foundations.
When she tried to leave, Samuel threatened her.
Catherine secretly copied financial records.
Then she went to Elena Moretti for help.
"Elena was her closest friend," Bellamy said. "Antonio agreed to protect her and the children."
"Both twins?"
"Yes."
"Then why did he separate them?"
"Because Catherine was terrified Samuel would find them together."
Luca studied him.
"Did Samuel know they were his daughters?"
Bellamy hesitated.
"That's complicated."
"Make it simple."
"He believed one daughter had died."
"And the other?"
"He believed Antonio had stolen her."
Luca stood.
"Which one?"
Bellamy looked at Vanessa's photograph.
"Vanessa."
Luca felt sick.
"So Voss spent twenty-eight years searching for his daughter."
"Not exactly."
Bellamy's voice became quieter.
"Samuel died twelve years ago. Nathaniel inherited his father's obsession."
"Why?"
"Because the Voss estate contains a trust established for Catherine's surviving child. Nathaniel cannot access the remaining assets while her legal heir is alive."
Luca stared.
"How much money?"
Bellamy hesitated.
"Approximately four hundred and eighty million dollars."
The room went silent.
Luca understood the motive.
Someone wanted Vanessa identified.
Someone wanted her close enough to manipulate.
And someone might eventually want her dead.
"Why did Nathaniel send her to me?"
Bellamy shook his head.
"I don't know."
Luca moved toward him.
"Try again."
Bellamy's composure broke.
"He wanted you to marry her."
Luca stopped.
"Why?"
"Because your marriage would trigger a provision in the trust."
"What provision?"
Bellamy looked at the floor.
"If Catherine's daughter married a direct heir of Antonio Moretti, ownership of certain protected assets would transfer into a joint marital estate."
Luca stared at him.
"Who wrote that provision?"
"Antonio."
"Why would my father do that?"
Bellamy swallowed.
"To keep the money out of Nathaniel's hands."
Luca looked at the ring on the table.
His engagement had not been a coincidence.
Someone had arranged it.
But why would Nathaniel encourage a marriage that prevented him from controlling the money?
Luca asked the question aloud.
Bellamy's expression changed.
"Because he intended to challenge the marriage after the transfer."
"On what grounds?"
Bellamy said nothing.
Luca understood.
"On the grounds that Vanessa and I might be siblings."
Bellamy closed his eyes.
"Yes."
The cruelty of the plan was almost elegant.
Make them fall in love.
Encourage the marriage.
Transfer the assets.
Then reveal documents suggesting the marriage was legally prohibited.
The scandal would destroy Luca's reputation.
The legal battle would freeze the trust.
And Nathaniel would move to seize control.
Luca stepped away.
"Did you help him?"
Bellamy whispered, "I helped arrange the introduction."
Luca remembered the charity gala where he had first met Vanessa.
Bellamy had introduced them.
He had called her a brilliant young woman with an interest in historic preservation.
He had smiled when Luca asked for her number.
Luca turned toward Marcus.
"Call the police. Give them the evidence of Bellamy's involvement and the threats. I want him questioned formally."
Bellamy stood abruptly.
"Luca, wait."
"Sit down."
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
Bellamy's voice cracked.
"Nathaniel isn't the one giving orders."
Luca stopped.
"Who is?"
Bellamy looked toward the hallway.
"The person who controls the original trust."
"Who?"
Bellamy whispered, "Catherine Vale."
Luca stared at him.
"Catherine is dead."
Bellamy shook his head.
"No."
He reached into his briefcase.
Marcus immediately stepped forward.
"Hands where I can see them."
Bellamy froze.
"There's a document inside."
Marcus opened the case and removed a sealed envelope.
Luca broke the seal.
Inside was a recent photograph of a silver-haired woman standing outside a hospital.
On the back was a date from six months earlier.
And a handwritten message.
Tell my daughters I never stopped looking.
Luca looked up.
Bellamy's face was wet with tears.
"Catherine Vale is alive."
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Then Bellamy added:
"And she was the woman who ordered Antonio Moretti killed."
