He intended to report suspicious transactions connected to the Bennett companies.
Someone interfered with his vehicle.
The crash was staged to look accidental.
Adrian survived but suffered a serious brain injury.
Martin Bell arranged for him to be transferred to a private clinic under a false name.
The letters described confusion, isolation, and repeated attempts to contact Luca.
None succeeded.
Luca felt grief rise like a wave.
His brother had been alive.
Waiting.
Calling for help.
And Luca had never known.
Rebecca’s voice softened.
“There’s more.”
Luca took a breath.
“Go on.”
“The final letter is dated last month.”
She read.
Luca,
I remember everything now.
Martin Bell took money from the Whitmore trusts.
Bianca knows.
Sophia knows.
And someone inside your company helped them.
Luca stood.
“Who?”
Rebecca hesitated.
Then continued reading.
The person you trust most is not who he seems.
Luca felt cold.
His right-hand man was Daniel Russo.
Daniel had been with him for nineteen years.
He knew every business account, every security code, and every private meeting.
He had helped arrange Luca’s engagement celebration.
He had also been the person who first recommended the Bennett acquisition.
Luca stared at the wall.
Then Rebecca read the final sentence.
Daniel Russo is working for Martin Bell.
The man Luca trusted more than anyone was helping the people who had stolen his brother’s life.
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 10 – THE RIGHT-HAND MAN WHO BETRAYED HIM
Daniel Russo had been Luca Moretti’s closest associate for nineteen years.
He knew how Luca thought.
He knew when to speak and when silence was safer.
He knew the details of every major business decision.
And now the recovered letters suggested he’d been secretly working for Martin Bell.
Luca didn’t confront him immediately.
He called independent counsel.
He secured financial records.
He cooperated with investigators examining the Bennett transaction.
And he made sure Emma, Noah, and their grandmother had access to appropriate protection and legal assistance.
Then he requested a meeting with Daniel.
They sat across from each other in Luca’s private office.
Daniel smiled.
“Boss, what’s going on?”
Luca studied him.
“Have you spoken to Martin Bell recently?”
Daniel’s smile disappeared.
“Why?”
“Answer me.”
He hesitated.
“Business matters.”
“What business?”
“The acquisition.”
Luca nodded slowly.
“Did you know Adrian was alive?”
Daniel went still.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then he whispered, “Who told you?”
Luca felt the last piece of trust break.
“You knew.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Luca, I can explain.”
“Then explain.”
Daniel took a shaky breath.
“Martin had leverage over me.”
“What leverage?”
“My daughter.”
Luca frowned.
“Your daughter?”
Daniel nodded.
“She was receiving treatment at the Greenwich clinic.”
Luca’s expression changed.
“Medical treatment?”
“Yes.”
Daniel continued.
“Martin controlled the funding. He threatened to stop paying if I refused to cooperate.”
Luca stared at him.
Daniel’s daughter was seventeen.
She had been seriously ill for years.
Luca had paid for several treatments himself.
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
Daniel looked devastated.
“Because Martin said he’d hurt her.”
Luca closed his eyes.
Another person trapped through fear.
Another betrayal disguised as protection.
“Did you help hide Adrian?”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did you know what was happening to Emma?”
“No.”
Luca studied him.
“Did you know Bianca planned to frame her?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Not until last week.”
“And you said nothing?”
He lowered his head.
“I was afraid.”
Luca stood.
“Fear doesn’t erase responsibility.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
The conversation ended when investigators arrived to interview Daniel.
He agreed to cooperate through his attorney.
Within days, he provided financial records connecting Martin Bell, Sophia, and Bianca to the fraudulent transactions.
But his testimony also revealed something unexpected.
Bianca hadn’t been the original mastermind.
She had been recruited after her father suffered a financial collapse.
Martin promised to erase the family’s debts if she married Luca and helped secure the Bennett acquisition.
Luca felt sick.
The woman he’d planned to marry had treated their relationship like a business arrangement.
Then Daniel revealed one final detail.
“Bianca wasn’t supposed to marry you for love.”
Luca stared.
“I understand that.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No. You don’t.”
He took a breath.
“Martin planned to have your marriage annulled after the acquisition.”
Luca frowned.
“Why?”
“Because once the assets were transferred, Bianca was supposed to marry someone else.”
“Who?”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Adrian.”
Luca went completely still.
His brother had been hidden for five years.
And now the conspirators planned to use him again.
Dr. Rossi arrived exactly twelve minutes later. He was a discreet, silver-haired man who had spent three decades patching up bullet holes and knife wounds for the Moretti syndicate without ever asking a single question.
When he entered the private study, his professional mask slipped for a fraction of a second. He was accustomed to treating hardened soldiers in underground clinics, not a bruised maid sitting on the boss’s private leather chesterfield, with Luca Moretti himself hovering over her like a territorial panther.
Luca didn’t move away when the doctor approached. He stood close enough that Emma could feel the heat radiating from his large frame.
“Superficial lacerations to the left forearm, minor contusion on the lower lip, and mild bruising around the wrists,” Dr. Rossi murmured, applying a cooling antiseptic salve to the welt the riding crop had left behind. Emma hissed in pain, her muscles tensing.
Instantly, Luca’s hand clamped down on the doctor’s shoulder with enough force to make the older man wince. “Gently, Rossi.”
“Of course, Capo,” the doctor replied quickly, softening his touch. He wrapped her forearm in clean white gauze and left a small bottle of painkillers on the mahogany desk. “Keep the arm rested. The bruising on the wrists will fade in a few days. She is in minor shock, so rest is imperative.”
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