Chapter 15 - The First Payment
I asked Vanessa to share the numbers with Nora and the authorities. She refused, describing debts Carlo had covered and the security she thought marriage would bring.
"So you agreed to humiliate Michael?" I asked.
"I thought it would be one night."
"A night that could have ruined his recovery."
She looked away. "I know."
I wanted to be cruel. For a second I thought of the sting in my cheek and the reporters outside Dad's apartment. Instead I said, "Being scared doesn't make you innocent."
Vanessa left the note on the table and walked out. Mrs. Alvarez helped me put it in a clean envelope and recorded when we'd received it. Nora later compared the numbers to the accountants' records. Two matched already-questioned payments. The third traced to an account Luca had once authorized.
He stared at the paperwork for a long time. "Three years ago Carlo said Harbor Steps needed a startup advance. I signed one payment without confirming the recipient."
"Did you know it was going to Crescent Pier?" Nora asked.
"No. But I knew Carlo had interests I didn't want to examine. I let him handle it."
Michael stood by the window. "You always tell me accountability means naming what I did. Don't stop now because it's your turn."
Luca nodded. He gave the authorization and his own related emails to the external reviewer. He understood they might expose negligence and complicity, not just an uncle's fraud.
The estate felt strangely smaller that evening. For the first time, I saw Luca sitting at the dining table with no bodyguard at his shoulder and no answer ready.
A call came from the outside accountant. Northline had submitted another invoice that morning, this one for a building inspection dated on a Sunday when the city office was closed.
May you like
The inspector's name was real.
His signature was not.
