[COMPLETED] Her Family Arranged Her Sister's Marriage to Chicago's Most Feared Mafia Boss—But He Asked for the Daughter They Ignored

Aleksander did not pretend that Tessa had misunderstood.

"My investment office reviewed the estate," he said. "Your father asked us to consider purchasing part of the property or providing financing against it."

Tessa stood among buckets of fresh flowers with her phone pressed to her ear.

"And you didn't think I needed to know that when you asked me to trust you?"

"You had reason not to trust anyone in that house. I should have explained my business interest more clearly."

"Did you intend to buy it cheaply?"

"I authorized a valuation, not an offer. The figures I received didn't support the promises your father made at dinner."

"Can you prove that?"

"Yes. And you should have it reviewed by your lawyer, not just take my word for it."

He sent the correspondence through his office to Alina. It showed that his investment team had requested financial statements, asked for an independent appraisal, and declined to promise financing tied to a marriage. No signed commitment existed.

Tessa read each message with Alina the next morning.

The documents didn't make Aleksander a saint. They did show that Charles had described a speculative business discussion as a nearly completed agreement.

"This matters for the bank," Alina said. "It may have extended credit based on information that wasn't true. That doesn't erase the debt, but it gives us a clearer picture of what happened."

Tessa felt anger settle into something more useful.

"Can you write to them?"

"I already have a draft. You decide whether we send it."

"Send it."

Meanwhile, the household at the Ellsworth estate was beginning to unravel.

A florist's delivery had been rejected because an earlier invoice was unpaid. Two kitchen suppliers wanted payment before providing anything else. The house looked as beautiful as ever from the road, but maintaining that appearance now required constant excuses.

Tessa visited Mr. Harris at the servants' entrance. He was sitting with his leg extended, his knee stiff beneath a folded cloth.

"Has my father paid you?" she asked.

Mr. Harris tried to dismiss the question.

"You shouldn't trouble yourself with that, Miss Tessa."

"Please."

He looked down at his hands.

"We're behind six weeks. Mr. Ellsworth says the money is coming once the family's arrangements are settled."

Tessa felt ashamed that she had noticed her mother's insults more readily than the silence surrounding the wages.

"How many people?"

"Most of the household staff."

She made a list from the records Mr. Harris was willing to share, taking care not to promise payment she couldn't provide. His answer was quiet but firm.

"We don't need a favor. We need what we've earned."

The words stayed with her.

By evening, Margaret had issued a statement to several society acquaintances. It described Vivienne as the victim of an unexpected family betrayal. It did not name Tessa outright, but it hardly needed to.

Guests who had seen Tessa carry glasses now spoke about her as if she had plotted the evening.

Vivienne called in tears of anger.

"Mother told everyone you encouraged him. She said you had been meeting him behind my back."

"We'd never spoken before that dinner."

"I know."

"Then will you say so?"

Vivienne's breathing caught. "She'll be furious."

Tessa waited.

"All right," her sister said finally. "I will."

That night, Vivienne issued a brief correction through the same acquaintances. There had been no secret meetings. No proposal to Tessa. No stolen engagement. Aleksander had declined the arrangement on his own.

The correction didn't stop the gossip immediately, but it was the first time Vivienne had publicly contradicted their mother.

Aleksander's office confirmed only that no marriage had been agreed and that no proposal had been made to either daughter. He did not mention Tessa by name. He did not humiliate Vivienne further.

Tessa noticed the restraint.

She also noticed that it did not repair the six weeks of unpaid wages.

On Thursday, she and Vivienne met Alina at her office with a folder of household invoices. Tessa had obtained copies with Mr. Harris's permission; Vivienne brought a payroll summary Charles had once asked her to file. They weren't searching for another scandal. They were trying to calculate what the staff was owed.

The numbers didn't balance.

Gross wages were listed correctly. Deductions for an employee retirement savings plan appeared on each pay statement. But the separate deposit confirmations stopped weeks before the paychecks did.

Alina leaned over the sheets.

"Some of these amounts should have been forwarded to the employees' accounts. We need the plan administrator to confirm whether that happened."

Vivienne shook her head. "Dad wouldn't take money from the staff."

"We don't know what happened yet," Tessa said.

Alina requested statements through the plan's administrator after Mr. Harris and two colleagues authorized her to inquire on their behalf.

The response arrived the following afternoon.

Several contributions had been withheld from wages but never deposited. On dates when those transfers were due, the estate's operating account had made large payments toward overdue mortgage interest.

Alina traced the amounts carefully. She would not call it theft before examining the full bank records, but the resemblance was too close to ignore.

"This isn't just an unpaid invoice," she said. "Employee money may have been used to keep the mortgage current."

Vivienne sat back, suddenly pale.

"If that's true, he didn't just mortgage a house," she said.

Tessa thought of Mr. Harris lifting a heavy tray on a painful knee. She thought of her father raising his glass to new beginnings while the people making the evening possible waited for their pay.

"I want the complete account statements," she told Alina.

Her attorney opened a second folder.

"There's something else. The bank has now given us notice of a default hearing. Your father's extension is being questioned, and the property may be put up for sale sooner than he admits."

Tessa stared at the notification date.