Luca leaned closer.
“What documents?”
Emma swallowed.
Then the officer said something that made the room fall silent.
“According to your brother, the paperwork was for a medical treatment program.”
Emma looked at Luca.
Her voice trembled.
“The same clinic?”
Luca nodded grimly.
The conspiracy wasn’t limited to Adrian.
Someone had begun targeting Emma’s family too.
The mafia boss came home early and found his fiancée doing something to his maid that ended their engagement that night. Luca Moretti knew something was wrong before he even opened the door. The hallway outside the west sitting room was silent.
Chapter 6 – THE BOY THEY TRIED TO BUY
Noah Carter had always been the clever one in the family.
At seventeen, he could repair computers, build small robots, and solve mathematics problems that made Emma’s head hurt.
But he was also trusting.
Especially when someone offered to help him afford college.
That was why Sophia Bell’s visit frightened Emma so much.
The woman had arrived with a beautiful brochure.
A scholarship.
Medical support.
Private tutoring.
Everything Noah needed.
In return, he was supposed to sign a consent form allowing the program to review his health records and financial information.
Emma stared at the copied documents.
“Why would Sophia be interested in my brother?”
Luca looked toward Rebecca.
“Can you trace the program?”
Rebecca nodded.
“The scholarship organization was created four months ago.”
“Who funds it?”
“Bennett Medical Holdings.”
Luca felt his jaw tighten.
Another Bennett connection.
Every road led back to the same company.
Emma rubbed her forehead.
“This makes no sense.”
Luca looked at her.
“Why?”
“We’re nobody.”
He studied her.
“What do you mean?”
“My grandmother lives on Social Security. Noah goes to public school. I clean houses.”
Her voice cracked.
“Why would wealthy people go to so much trouble to hurt us?”
Luca didn’t have an answer.
Not yet.
Then Rebecca opened another file.
“Emma, what was your mother’s maiden name?”
Emma looked surprised.
“Whitmore.”
Rebecca went still.
“Whitmore?”
Emma nodded.
“Yes.”
Luca looked toward her.
“Why?”
Rebecca turned her laptop.
A photograph appeared.
A distinguished older man stood outside a Manhattan office tower.
His name was printed beneath the image.
EDWARD WHITMORE.
Luca recognized him.
“He’s the founder of Whitmore Capital.”
Rebecca nodded.
“He died twelve years ago.”
Emma frowned.
“What’s that got to do with me?”
Rebecca took a breath.
“Edward Whitmore had a daughter named Margaret.”
Emma stared.
“My mother’s name was Margaret.”
The room became silent.
Rebecca continued.
“Margaret disappeared from public records after marrying a man named Thomas Carter.”
Emma’s hands trembled.
“That’s my father.”
Luca leaned forward.
Rebecca looked at Emma.
“Your mother was Edward Whitmore’s daughter.”
Emma shook her head.
“No. My mom worked as a nurse.”
“She may have chosen to live privately.”
Emma stared at the photograph.
Her mother had died when Noah was six.
She had never spoken about wealthy relatives.
Never mentioned a trust fund.
Never acted as though she came from money.
Rebecca opened another document.
“Edward Whitmore established trusts for his grandchildren.”
Emma felt sick.
“What grandchildren?”
Rebecca looked directly at her.
“You and Noah.”
Luca’s expression changed.
“How much?”
Rebecca took a breath.
“The original trust was valued at twenty-six million dollars.”
Emma stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“There’s more.”
She turned another page.
“The trust administrator was Martin Bell.”
Sophia’s father.
The same man connected to Adrian’s disappearance.
And now Emma understood why Sophia wanted her brother’s signature.
Someone had been trying to steal their inheritance.
The mafia boss came home early and found his fiancée doing something to his maid that ended their engagement that night. Luca Moretti knew something was wrong before he even opened the door. The hallway outside the west sitting room was silent.
Chapter 7 – THE INHERITANCE THAT NEVER REACHED THEM
Twenty-six million dollars.
Emma repeated the number silently until it lost all meaning.
She thought about the winter Noah’s medication cost more than their grocery budget.
The time their grandmother sold her wedding ring to repair the furnace.
The nights Emma worked until midnight because the electricity bill was overdue.
Twenty-six million dollars.
And they’d never received a penny.
“Are you sure?” Emma whispered.
Rebecca nodded.
“The records appear genuine, but the trust’s current value and administration require independent verification.”
Emma laughed bitterly.
“I have eighty-three dollars in my checking account.”
Luca looked at her.
He had spent years believing his employees were paid fairly.
Now he was discovering one had been living in poverty while someone concealed an inheritance worth millions.
“Who controlled the trust?” he asked.
“Martin Bell.”
“Who had access?”
“His law firm and several appointed administrators.”
Emma stared at the documents.
“Why didn’t anyone tell us?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Your mother’s will may have included restrictions intended to protect you until adulthood.”
Emma frowned.
“I’m thirty-two.”
“Exactly.”
The word landed heavily.
Any age-based restrictions should have expired years earlier.
Someone had deliberately kept Emma uninformed.
Luca looked toward Rebecca.
“What happened to the distributions?”
She opened a financial report.
Several payments had been issued.
Tuition assistance.
Housing support.
Medical grants.
But the recipient accounts didn’t belong to Emma or Noah.
They belonged to shell companies.
Luca felt sick.
“The same companies connected to Bennett Medical Holdings?”
Rebecca nodded.
“Yes.”
Emma’s expression hardened.
“So Bianca wasn’t simply trying to get me fired.”
“No,” Luca replied.
“She wanted me to confess to stealing the memorandum.”
Rebecca nodded.
“A theft allegation could have been used to damage your credibility during a financial or legal dispute.”
Emma looked down.
For years, she’d believed her life was difficult because she hadn’t worked hard enough.
Now she understood that powerful people had been stealing opportunities from her family.
“Can we get it back?” she whispered.
Rebecca answered carefully.
“We can pursue an accounting, challenge unauthorized transactions, and seek recovery through the courts.”
Emma nodded.
Then Luca asked something unexpected.
“Emma, how did you come to work at my estate?”
She frowned.
“An agency.”
“Which agency?”
“Bell Domestic Staffing.”
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