Chapter 4 - The Maid Who Knew Too Much
"Your mother didn't have a heart attack by accident, Emily."
The elderly woman standing outside Margaret Carter's hospital room spoke with such certainty that Emily forgot to breathe.
Her name was Helen Price.
Sixty-six years old.
A retired accountant who had worked for Romano Holdings for almost three decades.
And according to the identification she showed Emily, she had once served as Antonio Romano's personal financial controller.
Emily stepped into the hallway.
"What did you say?"
Helen looked toward the security guard stationed near the elevators.
"Not here."
"My mother almost died. If you know something, tell me."
Helen opened her handbag and removed a small photograph.
It showed Margaret Carter twenty-five years earlier, standing beside Antonio Romano outside a modest brick building.
Emily recognized her mother immediately.
But she had never seen the photograph.
"Where did you get this?"
"Your mother worked for Antonio before you were born."
Emily stared at her.
"That's impossible. She was a school secretary."
"After she left Romano Holdings."
"Why would she lie to me?"
Helen's expression softened.
"Because she was protecting you."
Two hours earlier, Dominic had received a disturbing report from Isabella Moretti.
The financial investigation had uncovered more than missing money.
Romano Holdings owned a network of construction companies, shipping terminals, commercial properties, and investment partnerships.
Some were entirely legitimate.
Others had historically operated in the gray territory between political influence and organized crime.
Antonio had begun separating the lawful businesses from the family's criminal operations years before his stroke.
He wanted Dominic to inherit a legitimate corporation rather than a criminal empire.
But someone had been quietly reversing those reforms.
"Adrian moved assets into shell companies controlled through Sterling Capital," Isabella explained.
Dominic studied the documents.
"And Victoria?"
"She appears to have approved several transfers through her investment firm."
"How much is missing?"
"We can currently identify forty-six million. Additional transactions may push that figure much higher."
Dominic looked toward the Manhattan skyline.
"Why didn't my father tell me?"
"He tried."
Those two words hurt more than any accusation.
Isabella continued.
"There's another problem. Some of the transfers bear your electronic authorization."
"I never approved them."
"I believe you. But investigators won't simply take your word for it."
Dominic turned.
"Are you telling me Adrian forged my approval?"
"I'm telling you somebody built a paper trail that makes you responsible."
Dominic stared at the screen.
The trap was becoming clear.
Adrian and Victoria weren't simply stealing.
They were preparing to make Dominic answer for their crimes.
At the hospital, Helen Price led Emily into an empty family consultation room.
She placed an old leather folder on the table.
"Twenty-five years ago, your mother discovered financial misconduct involving one of Antonio's senior partners."
Emily shook her head.
"My mother never mentioned any of this."
"She signed a confidentiality agreement after helping Antonio expose the fraud. He arranged a new job for her, and she chose to leave that world behind."
"Then why would anyone hurt her now?"
"Because Margaret kept copies of certain records."
Emily looked down at the folder.
"Records of what?"
"An early property acquisition scheme involving a company that eventually became Sterling Capital."
Victoria's company.
Emily felt her stomach tighten.
"Are you saying Victoria knew my mother?"
"Not necessarily. But someone recently searched the old archives. Your mother's name appeared in the access logs."
Helen hesitated.
"Three months ago, Margaret called me. She said a man had visited her, asking questions about documents she hadn't seen in decades."
"Who was he?"
"She didn't recognize him. But he claimed to represent the Romano family."
Emily remembered her mother's illness.
The sudden complications.
The expensive rehabilitation.
"Do you think someone caused her medical emergency?"
"I don't know. There's no evidence of that yet. But the timing frightened Margaret, and it frightens me."
Emily lowered herself into a chair.
Her daughter kicked sharply.
She placed a hand over her stomach.
"I don't understand why my family keeps getting dragged into this."
Helen sat opposite her.
"Because your mother once helped Antonio stop a theft. And somebody may believe she can do it again."
That evening, Emily visited Margaret.
Her mother looked thinner than she remembered.
"Mom?"
Margaret smiled weakly.
"Sweetheart."
Emily pulled up a chair.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew Antonio Romano?"
Margaret's smile disappeared.
For several seconds, she stared at the blanket covering her legs.
"Who told you?"
"Helen Price."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"I hoped that part of my life would stay buried."
Emily leaned closer.
"People are threatening us. Someone sent me a picture of you in this hospital."
Margaret reached for her daughter's hand.
"Oh, Emily."
"Please tell me the truth."
Her mother began to cry.
"I worked for Antonio when I was twenty-two. I was good with numbers, and he trusted me."
"What happened?"
"I discovered payments being diverted through fake property contracts. Antonio was furious. He wanted to expose the men responsible."
"Did he?"
"Some of them. But one escaped."
"Who?"
Margaret looked toward the doorway.
"Charles Sterling."
Emily went cold.
"Victoria's father?"
Margaret nodded.
"He built his fortune using money that never belonged to him. Antonio knew. But Charles had connections and threatened witnesses. Eventually, the investigation collapsed."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I did. I gave statements. Then I received threats, and Antonio helped me start over."
Emily struggled to absorb the revelation.
"So Victoria's family has been connected to this for decades?"
"Yes."
Margaret squeezed her hand.
"Emily, listen carefully. There's something I never told Helen."
"What?"
"Antonio gave me a sealed document before I left. He said if anyone ever tried to take his companies by fraud, that document could help establish what really belonged to whom."
"Where is it?"
Margaret hesitated.
"At home. In the old sewing machine your grandmother left me. Beneath the wooden base."
Emily stared at her.
The sewing machine was in a storage unit outside Albany.
"Why didn't you destroy it?"
"Because Antonio asked me to keep it safe."
That night, Dominic drove Emily to the storage facility.
Two security vehicles followed at a discreet distance.
The building stood beside an abandoned furniture warehouse.
Emily unlocked the unit.
Inside were cardboard boxes, an old dresser, holiday decorations, and a faded blue sewing machine.
"That's it," she whispered.
Dominic carried it onto a workbench.
Emily removed the wooden base with a screwdriver from a nearby toolbox.
A narrow compartment appeared.
Inside lay a sealed envelope wrapped in plastic.
Emily opened it carefully.
There were copies of property agreements, a notarized declaration, and a handwritten letter from Antonio.
Dominic read the declaration first.
His expression changed.
"What is it?" Emily asked.
He turned a page.
"This establishes that several properties Charles Sterling claimed to purchase were acquired using misappropriated Romano funds."
"Does that prove Victoria's involvement?"
"Not by itself. But it gives investigators a starting point."
Emily lifted the handwritten letter.
The first line was addressed to Margaret.
If anything happens to me, protect the evidence and tell Dominic that greed has always been the greatest enemy of our family.
Dominic stared at his father's handwriting.
Then he read the final paragraph.
There is one person I trusted to keep these records beyond the reach of my own relatives. Margaret Carter has never betrayed me.
Emily felt tears gathering.
"My mother spent her whole life struggling."
Dominic folded the letter carefully.
"She deserved better."
A metallic noise sounded outside.
Dominic looked toward the door.
His phone vibrated.
A security guard's voice came through.
"Sir, we've got an unidentified vehicle approaching the rear entrance."
Dominic moved Emily behind him.
"Stay close."
The lights went out.
A crash echoed through the warehouse.
Someone shouted.
Then a man's voice came from the darkness.
"Romano! Leave the documents and walk away!"
Emily instinctively protected her stomach.
Dominic reached for his phone.
"Police are on their way," he said loudly.
A flashlight beam swept across the unit.
One of Dominic's guards rushed inside.
"Back exit. Now."
Dominic took Emily's hand.
They hurried through a narrow service corridor as glass shattered behind them.
Outside, cold rain struck Emily's face.
She stumbled.
Dominic caught her.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Can you walk?"
She nodded.
They reached a waiting SUV.
Only when the doors locked did Emily realize she was still clutching Antonio's letter.
Dominic looked at it.
Then at her.
"Whoever sent those men knew exactly where we were going."
Emily's face drained.
"Your security team?"
"Possibly."
His phone rang.
Marco Bellini.
"Sir, where are you? We lost your location."
Dominic stared at the screen.
Only four people had known about the trip.
Emily.
Dominic.
Isabella.
And Marco.
He declined the call.
Then he told the driver something that made Emily's blood run cold.
May you like
"Take us somewhere Marco doesn't know about."
End of Chapter 4.
