Chapter 8 - Blood on the Marble
Isabella refused to travel to the estate until Lorenzo agreed to meet her without armed guards.
Lorenzo hated the condition.
He hated the uncertainty even more.
But Giovanni asked him to go.
"Listen... first," his father said.
So Lorenzo drove to Boston with Marcus and left the security detail several blocks away.
Isabella was waiting inside the flower shop.
She looked to be in her late thirties, with dark hair threaded by silver and eyes that resembled Giovanni's.
When Lorenzo entered, she didn't embrace him.
She didn't even smile.
"You look like Maria."
The words unsettled him.
"You knew my mother?"
"I knew the woman who tried to protect me."
Isabella explained that Vincent had used her as leverage against Giovanni for years. When she discovered his financial crimes, he threatened to destroy her life unless she helped him gain access to the family accounts.
She refused.
Three days later, Giovanni suffered the stroke.
She believed Vincent had poisoned him, but she had no proof.
"What about the person who ordered it?" Lorenzo asked.
Isabella looked away.
"I don't know the name."
"Then why did you say my father knows?"
"Because he heard the conversation."
She reached beneath the counter and produced a small black notebook.
"Your father kept records of everyone who visited the estate. He wrote down names, dates, payments, and things he couldn't safely say aloud."
Lorenzo opened it.
Most pages contained initials and coded numbers.
Near the back, one entry had been underlined repeatedly.
M.R. — FAMILY AUTHORIZATION — FINAL APPROVAL.
Lorenzo's face hardened.
"Who is M.R.?"
Isabella shook her head.
"I hoped you would know."
He didn't.
But someone in the Moretti organization did.
And that person had just been paying kidnappers to target Nora.
Back at the estate, Nora was helping Giovanni with his evening meal when the lights went out.
The room plunged into darkness.
A crash sounded from the hallway.
Then someone shouted.
Nora reached for Giovanni's wheelchair.
"Stay with me."
She heard footsteps approaching.
The door opened.
A man entered holding a flashlight.
"Miss Bennett?"
Nora backed toward the wall.
"Who are you?"
"I'm here to take you somewhere safe."
"Where's Lorenzo?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he reached for her arm.
Nora slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me!"
He grabbed her wrist.
Giovanni's fingers began moving against the armrest.
His breathing grew harsh.
Then, with an effort that seemed to tear through his entire body, he spoke.
"Get... away... from her."
The man froze.
Nora stared at Giovanni.
The old man's voice was weak, but unmistakably furious.
"Now."
The man released Nora and reached beneath his coat.
Before he could draw his weapon, the emergency lights came on.
Marcus stood in the doorway with two guards.
"Hands where I can see them."
The intruder dropped his weapon.
He was a member of Lorenzo's senior security team.
A man who had worked for the family for nine years.
Marcus restrained him and searched his pockets.
He found a phone containing a single message.
IF THE OLD MAN SPEAKS, END IT.
The message had been sent from a number registered to Lorenzo's personal office.
Lorenzo returned to the estate just after midnight.
He listened to the report without interrupting.
Then he called his chief financial officer, Michael Rourke, and ordered him to the study.
Michael arrived wearing a gray suit and an expression of offended confusion.
"What is this about?"
Lorenzo placed the phone on the desk.
"Someone used my office to order an attack on my father."
Michael looked at the screen.
For one brief moment, his eyes betrayed him.
Then he recovered.
"This could be fabricated."
"Perhaps."
Lorenzo opened a drawer and removed the old audio recorder.
"But I have a recording of Vincent admitting he planned to destroy my family."
Michael's face went pale.
Lorenzo leaned forward.
"Tell me who M.R. is."
Michael swallowed.
May you like
Then he said something that made Lorenzo's blood run cold.
"You should ask your father why he gave me permission."
