Chapter 13 - ELENA
Eighteen months earlier, another driver had crossed the center line on a rain-slick highway and killed Elena. Until now, there had been no mystery.
Luciano stopped Bernadette before the officers could move her.
“What did Marcus say?”
“Let go.”
“What did he say about Elena?”
Bernadette was crying openly now. “He said she had found something in the company books.”
Elena had been an accountant before Theo was born. She occasionally helped Rachel review internal budgets.
“What did she find?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I swear to you.”
The officer stepped between them.
“Mr. Moretti.”
Luciano released her.
Bernadette’s voice dropped. “Two days before the crash, Elena came to the house looking for Antonio. She was furious. She said Marcus had moved money through a construction company that didn’t exist.”
Rachel stared at her.
“What company?”
“Bellweather Renovation.”
Rachel’s face went white.
That was one of the shell companies that had received money from Theo’s trust.
Luciano felt sick.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because after Elena died, Marcus told me she had copied company records. He said if the police found out, the investigation would destroy all of us.”
Daniel stepped forward. “That makes no sense.”
“I know that now.”
Luciano looked at Bernadette like he no longer recognized her.
“You let me bury my wife while you protected him.”
“I didn’t know he caused the crash.”
“Did he?”
“I don’t know.”
Detective Cole reopened Elena’s file that evening.
By midnight, she found one detail the original investigation had barely noted.
The driver who hit Elena had received a $25,000 wire transfer three days before the crash.
The transfer came from Bellweather Renovation.
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And the authorization code belonged to Marcus Moretti.
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