Chapter 2 - THE HEIR ELENA CHOSE
Dominic Moretti had faced armed men without blinking.
He had negotiated with rival crime families while bullets remained lodged in his car doors. He had watched men twice his size beg for their lives and had learned that fear was most dangerous when it wore a familiar face.
But nothing prepared him for the possibility that his brother had lied about the last moments of Elena's life.
He stood alone in the bedroom, the metal box open on the desk.
The will amendment rested between his hands.
The document bore the signature of Eleanor Price, Elena's attorney, along with two witnesses and an official seal. Dominic recognized the handwriting immediately. His wife had always formed the letter E with a small loop at the bottom.
The amendment was short.
I leave my personal estate, my independent investments, and all evidence concerning the Moretti charitable foundation to Hannah Collins, daughter of Margaret Vale, should anything happen to me before these matters are resolved.
Dominic read it twice.
Then a third time.
Hannah.
The young woman who cleaned his house, polished his floors, and apologized whenever someone treated her badly.
Elena had chosen her to inherit a fortune.
Why?
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Hannah stood in the doorway, her injured palm wrapped in white gauze.
“Your hand,” Dominic said.
“The doctor says I'll be fine.”
“Come in.”
She hesitated before entering.
Dominic held up the amendment.
“Did you know Elena changed her will?”
“No, sir.”
“She left you her personal estate.”
Hannah stared at the document as if it were written in another language.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because I barely knew her.”
“That isn't what this says.”
Hannah shook her head. “I was a housekeeper here for only six months before she died. My mother knew her much longer, but I never asked about their work together. Mom said it was private.”
“Did Elena ever give you anything?”
Hannah considered the question.
“Once, she gave me a book.”
“What kind of book?”
“A collection of poems. I was reading during my lunch break, and she asked what I liked. The next day, she left it in my locker.”
Dominic remembered the book.
He had seen it on Elena's nightstand years ago.
“Did you keep it?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it now?”
“At my apartment.”
He leaned forward.
“Hannah, I need you to tell me everything you remember about Elena. Every conversation. Every unusual request. Even if you think it's insignificant.”
Her expression tightened.
“Sir, if you're investigating your wife's death, I don't want you to think I'm trying to get money from you.”
Dominic studied her.
“You're bleeding because someone ordered you to move a mirror that weighed more than you did. You could have lied about finding the appointment book. Instead, you told me the truth when it would have been safer to stay silent.”
He placed the amendment on the desk.
“I don't know why Elena chose you. But I intend to find out.”
Before Hannah could respond, the bedroom door swung open.
Adrian Moretti entered without knocking.
At thirty-one, Dominic's younger brother possessed the same dark hair and gray eyes, but none of Dominic's stillness. Adrian filled rooms with charm, expensive cologne, and a restless energy that made people underestimate him.
His gaze went immediately to the metal box.
“So it's true,” Adrian said.
Dominic stepped between him and the desk.
“You received my messages?”
“I received Vanessa's messages. Apparently, she's terrified you're about to cancel the wedding.”
“Is she?”
Adrian glanced at Hannah.
“Shouldn't the staff be working?”
“She is working.”
“Investigating family secrets isn't part of her job description.”
“Neither is helping yourself to foundation money.”
The humor vanished from Adrian's face.
“Careful.”
Dominic smiled without warmth.
“That's what I should be telling you.”
Adrian looked at the will amendment. For one brief moment, genuine alarm crossed his face.
Then he laughed.
“Elena's signature could be forged.”
“By whom?”
“How would I know?”
“That's an interesting answer from the man who was supposedly in the garage when she fell down the stairs.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“I've answered that question for four years.”
“You told the police you never entered the house.”
“I didn't.”
“Then explain why Elena's private security log places your keycard at the west staircase at 4:41 p.m.”
The silence that followed was absolute.
Dominic hadn't found a security log.
He was bluffing.
Adrian stared at him, calculating.
Finally, he said, “You always were too emotional about her.”
“Answer me.”
“I was looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena had been making accusations. She thought someone was stealing from the foundation. She was paranoid, Dominic. You know how she became when she was stressed.”
Hannah's fingers curled around the bandage on her palm.
“She wasn't paranoid,” she said quietly.
Adrian turned toward her.
“Excuse me?”
“Mrs. Moretti was frightened. That's different.”
His expression hardened.
“You've been here six months. You didn't know her.”
“I knew enough to know she was afraid of someone.”
Dominic saw Adrian register the mistake.
Not anger. Not confusion.
Fear.
Adrian stepped closer to his brother.
“Whatever Elena wrote, don't let a dead woman's suspicions destroy what's left of this family.”
He left without another word.
Dominic waited until his footsteps disappeared.
Then he called Eleanor Price.
The attorney answered on the second ring.
“Dominic,” she said, sounding breathless. “I've been expecting your call.”
“Did Elena change her will on the morning she died?”
A long pause.
“Yes.”
“Why wasn't I informed?”
“Because the amendment was conditional, and Elena instructed me not to disclose it unless specific evidence surfaced.”
“What evidence?”
“The foundation's original financial ledgers. A recording. And proof that the police investigation into her death had been compromised.”
Dominic's blood turned cold.
“Compromised by whom?”
“I don't know. But Elena left something else in my office. She told me that if you ever found the mirror, I was to give it to you personally.”
“What is it?”
“A photograph.”
“Of what?”
Eleanor lowered her voice.
“Your brother standing beside Elena at the top of the staircase.”
May you like
Then she added one final sentence.
“Dominic, the photograph was taken eleven minutes before your wife fell.”
