Chapter 10 - THE GHOST IN ZURICH
“Julian is dead,” Luca said, his voice entirely hollow as he stared at the boarding pass in my hand. “I identified the body myself. Ten years ago. The boat exploded off the coast of Sicily.”
I looked at the ticket. “Luca, this ticket was bought three days ago using Vanessa’s private credit card. If Julian is dead, why would she buy him a first-class ticket to Switzerland?”
Margaret Ellis stepped closer, her expression grave. “Because perhaps the body you identified wasn’t Julian’s.”
Luca ran a hand through his dark hair, pacing away from us toward the massive fireplace in the foyer. His chest heaved as the implications hit him.
“If Julian is alive,” Luca muttered, putting the pieces together, “and he’s in contact with Vanessa… he was the silent partner.”
My mother walked out of the living room, leaning heavily on her cane. “Marcus always worried about Julian,” she said softly. “Even when he was a boy, Julian was cruel. He hated that Marcus groomed you to take over the family, Luca. He thought the legitimate businesses were weak. He wanted the street power.”
“Vanessa couldn’t have pulled off the housing fraud alone,” I realized aloud. “Arthur said the Bellinis forced him to forge the will, but moving millions through shadow accounts requires internal access. Board approval.”
Luca stopped pacing. He turned to me, his eyes lethal.
“Julian faked his death so he could operate from the shadows. He allied with the Bellinis to bankrupt me, let Vanessa take the fall for the fraud, and then he would sweep in and buy the legitimate properties for pennies on the dollar.”
I felt sick. His own brother.
“The 28 women,” I said suddenly, panic rising. “Luca, the leases for Helen Brooks and the others—were they finalized this morning?”
Luca pulled his phone out, dialing his finance director. “They should be. The funds were restored.”
He held the phone to his ear. I watched the color slowly drain from his face.
“What do you mean the accounts are frozen?” Luca barked into the phone. “By whose authority?… A board member? Which one?”
Luca hung up the phone. He looked at me, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek.
“The board of Bellini Residential Holdings just voted to freeze the restored funds,” Luca said. “They’re claiming the money we moved back this morning was illegally seized. They’re starting the eviction process for the 28 women all over again.”
“But Vanessa is in jail!” I protested. “Who ordered the freeze?”
“The acting chairman of the board,” Luca said grimly. “A man named Richard Vance. He’s the one who signed the freeze order.”
“Richard Vance?” Margaret gasped. “He was one of the original investors in your father’s housing initiative. He’s been a Moretti loyalist for twenty years.”
“He’s not a loyalist,” Luca growled. “He’s a traitor. He must be Julian’s inside man.”
“So what do we do?” I asked, stepping up to him. “We can’t let those women lose their homes again.”
“I’m going to pay Mr. Vance a visit,” Luca said, pulling his suit jacket off the coat rack. “If he’s working for Julian, I’ll beat the location out of him.”
“No,” I said, grabbing his arm.
Luca stopped, looking down at me in surprise.
“If you go in there throwing punches, he’ll call the police. You’ll be arrested for assault, the funds will stay frozen, and Julian wins,” I said, my mind racing.
“I am a Moretti, Emily. I don’t ask politely.”
“I know,” I said, looking him dead in the eye. “But I am a Carter. And I know how to handle arrogant men who think they’re untouchable.”
Luca stared at me. The anger in his eyes slowly shifted into deep intrigue. “What are you proposing?”
“Vance doesn’t know me,” I said. “He knows Vanessa’s maid caused a scene, but he’s never met me. There is a charity gala tonight at the downtown hotel. Vance will be there. Let me go in. Let me get his phone. If he’s communicating with Julian, the proof is on his device.”
“Absolutely not,” Luca said instantly. “It’s too dangerous. I’m not putting you back in the line of fire.”
“I won’t be alone. Dante will be right outside,” I argued, stepping into Luca’s space. “You said you wanted me by your side as an equal. Prove it, Luca. Let me help you save your family.”
Luca looked at my stubborn expression. He sighed, a reluctant, proud smile touching his lips.
“Fine,” he conceded quietly. “But we do it together.”
Later that evening, I stood in front of the floor-to-length mirror in the master bedroom. I was no longer wearing a cheap uniform. Luca had ordered a custom emerald-green silk gown. My hair was styled elegantly, and around my neck rested the silver Moretti locket.
Luca walked up behind me in the mirror, looking devastating in a black tuxedo.
He reached out and gently fastened a stunning diamond bracelet around my wrist.
May you like
“For the gala?” I asked, breathless.
“No,” Luca said softly, his lips brushing my ear. “For you. A reminder that you are never going back to being invisible.”
