Chapter 12 - Evelyn’s Father
Evelyn’s father was Senator Charles Whitmore.
Publicly, he was polished, moderate, and endlessly photographed with veterans and schoolchildren.
Privately, according to Evelyn, he treated people like assets.
“My father introduced Victor to Luca,” she said.
Luca’s head snapped toward her. “No. Victor and I met at Kellogg.”
“You met him there. My father funded the fellowship that put him there.”
Silence.
Evelyn opened another file on her laptop. “I found this last night.”
It was a chain of emails from fifteen years earlier.
Whitmore to Victor.
KEEP MORETTI CLOSE. HE WILL BE IMPORTANT.
Another message, years later:
CARTER IS A LIABILITY. LUCA IS TOO ATTACHED.
My skin crawled.
Luca looked at Evelyn. “You knew?”
“No. I found out after I married you.”
“And you stayed quiet.”
“My father had my brother under federal investigation and threatened to destroy him if I spoke.”
There it was: another family held together by fear.
I should have hated her.
Instead, I understood too much.
Lena leaned forward. “Why would Senator Whitmore care who Luca married?”
Evelyn gave a bitter laugh. “Because Moretti Global owns infrastructure, energy, data centers, construction. My father didn’t want a son-in-law. He wanted a private empire attached to his political machine.”
“And me?” I asked.
“You couldn’t be controlled.”
I almost smiled. “That sounds like a compliment.”
“It was why they hated you.”
Then Luca’s security chief entered.
“We located Aaron Pike.”
“Where?”
“Midway Airport. Private hangar.”
My pulse jumped.
“Is he leaving?”
“Not alone.”
He placed a still image on the table.
Victor Dane stood beside Pike near a small jet.
And between them was Dr. Samuel Hargrove, our old fertility specialist.
Luca stared at the photograph.
“They’re running.”
“No,” the security chief said. “The flight plan was filed two hours ago.”
“To where?”
He looked at me.
“Zurich.”
Evelyn went still.
May you like
“What?” I asked.
She whispered, “That’s where Victor keeps the trust documents.”
