Chapter 4 - The Woman Catherine Trusted

Belini stared at the signature for a long time.

“That isn’t mine.”

Emma’s laugh was quiet and disbelieving.

“Your name is on it.”

“My name is on it. The signature is not mine.”

Luca looked at Dante.

“Can we verify?”

“We already requested comparison samples.”

Belini turned toward Emma.

“I never authorized that payment.”

“Then somebody wanted it to look like you did.”

“Yes.”

“Who had access to your signature?”

Belini’s answer came immediately.

“My father.”

By morning, a handwriting specialist had compared the authorization with eight years of Belini’s legal records.

The conclusion was simple.

The signature had been traced from an older document.

Someone had forged it.

That did not make Belini innocent.

It made the story worse.

The bank would not open Catherine’s deposit box without legal authorization.

But the key number gave Dante something else.

A name.

The box had originally been rented jointly.

Catherine Carter.

And Helen Ward.

Emma recognized the second name.

“My mother mentioned her.”

“When?” Sofia asked.

“She used to say Mrs. Ward was the only person at work who still believed numbers could tell the truth.”

Helen Ward was seventy-one and living outside Albany.

Luca wanted to send men.

Emma refused.

“We call first.”

He looked at her.

“She may be in danger.”

“She may also be an old woman who hasn’t heard my mother’s name in eight years. I’m not sending armed strangers to her door.”

Dante looked away to hide something suspiciously close to approval.

Luca handed Emma the phone.

Helen answered on the sixth ring.

“Hello?”

Emma suddenly could not speak.

Sofia touched her shoulder.

“Mrs. Ward?” Emma managed. “My name is Emma Carter.”

Silence.

Then a chair scraped somewhere on the other end.

“Catherine’s Emma?”

Emma closed her eyes.

“Yes.”

Helen began crying.

Not loudly.

That somehow made it harder.

“I wondered when you would find the key.”

Luca’s gaze sharpened.

Emma sat down.

“You knew?”

“Your mother made me promise not to contact you unless you contacted me first.”

“Why?”

“Because she believed anyone watching her would eventually watch you.”

Emma looked toward Belini.

Belini lowered her eyes.

Helen asked, “Is Alessandro Valenti still alive?”

“Yes.”

“Then do not trust anyone who tells you your mother was confused.”

Emma’s throat tightened.

“What did she find?”

Helen took a breath.

“The Valenti Foundation was moving charitable money into private companies. Catherine discovered it during an audit. At first she thought it was tax fraud.”

“It wasn’t?”

“No. Some of the money was paying people.”

“What people?” Luca asked.

Helen went silent.

Emma said, “That’s Luca Moretti. Sofia’s brother.”

Another pause.

“The Morettis.”

Sofia frowned.

“You know us?”

“Only by name. Catherine once told me that if anything happened, the Morettis might be the only family powerful enough to stop Alessandro from burying everything.”

Luca exchanged a look with Dante.

Emma asked the question she had been avoiding.

“Did my mother think Alessandro would kill her?”

Helen did not answer immediately.

“Yes.”

The room went still.

Belini covered her mouth.

Emma looked at her.

Helen continued.

“Two days before Catherine died, a young woman came to our office after hours.”

Belini’s hand slowly dropped.

“How young?” Luca asked.

“Early twenties. Dark hair. Expensive coat. Terrified.”

Emma already knew.

“What did she want?”

“She begged Catherine to stop.”

Belini whispered, “I remember.”

Every face turned toward her.

Helen heard.

“That voice.”

Belini closed her eyes.

Helen’s tone changed.

“You were there.”

“Yes.”

“You told Catherine your father had started asking who else had copies.”

“Yes.”

Emma stared at Belini.

“You warned her?”

Belini looked at her.

“I tried.”

Helen spoke again.

“Catherine refused to stop. She said if she disappeared, the box would remain.”

Emma looked at the brass key on the table.

“What is inside it?”

“I don’t know everything.”

“What do you know?”

“A ledger. A recording. And a letter Catherine wrote to you.”

Emma stopped breathing.

“A letter?”

“Yes.”

Helen’s voice softened.

“She said one day you would be old enough to learn why she chose the truth even when it cost her everything.”

Dante’s phone vibrated.

He read the message.

“Boss.”

Luca looked over.

“The court authorization came through.”

Emma stared at the key.

Helen heard him.

“Emma?”

“Yes?”

“When you open that box, do not start with the ledger.”

“Why?”

“Start with the recording.”

May you like

[COMPLETED] “GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY DRESS! YOU’RE NOTHING BUT AN OLD SEAM...

[COMPLETED] At the Mafia Boss's Engagement Party, I Served His Hungry So...

[COMPLETED] The Mafia Boss’s Fiancée Tried to Dismiss His Father’s Loyal...

Helen paused.

“Because your mother recorded the man who threatened her.”