Chapter 5 - The Family Dinner That Became a War
The Moretti estate had never seen a night like that.
Dante stood in the center of the dining room surrounded by family members.
Sophia.
Carlo.
Catherine.
Marcus.
Two elderly uncles.
Three cousins.
Everyone had been summoned.
Nobody understood why.
Dante placed the sapphire necklace on the table.
“You're all going to listen.”
Sophia folded her arms.
“About what?”
“About the necklace.”
Carlo watched silently.
Dante looked toward him.
“You knew.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Dante turned to Marco.
“Play it.”
A recording filled the room.
Sophia's voice.
Carlo's.
The conversation about Isabella.
The room erupted.
Sophia stood.
“This is fabricated.”
Dante looked at her.
“Is it?”
She glanced toward Carlo.
He looked away.
Catherine started crying.
Marcus whispered,
“My God.”
Dante continued.
“The insurance policy was changed three days before the dinner.”
Carlo said nothing.
“The payout was structured through the Heritage Fund.”
Still nothing.
“And twelve million dollars was transferred to an offshore trust.”
Carlo finally spoke.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“No.”
Carlo looked at Dante.
“You understand what I wanted you to understand.”
Dante stared.
“What does that mean?”
Carlo smiled.
“The necklace wasn't my idea.”
Silence.
Dante's jaw tightened.
“Whose?”
Carlo looked toward the doorway.
Sophia turned.
And there stood Vittorio.
Alive.
Everyone froze.
Catherine screamed.
Dante stared as if the dead had walked into the room.
“Uncle.”
Vittorio smiled.
“Hello, nephew.”
Dante reached for his weapon.
Marco stepped forward.
Vittorio raised both hands.
“Relax.”
“You're dead.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Vittorio laughed.
“I was supposed to be.”
Dante stared.
“You faked your death.”
“I had no choice.”
“You murdered my father.”
Vittorio's face changed.
“No.”
Catherine stepped forward.
“Don't lie.”
“I didn't kill him.”
“Then who did?”
Vittorio looked at Sophia.
Sophia started crying.
“I didn't know.”
Dante's eyes moved between them.
“Someone tell me the truth.”
Vittorio answered.
“Your father was killed by the man who wanted the family divided.”
“Who?”
“Your grandmother.”
Silence.
Dante stepped back.
“No.”
“She arranged it.”
“Why?”
“To prevent the ledger from being found.”
Catherine shook her head.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
Dante's entire understanding of his family collapsed.
“My grandmother was dead before I took over.”
“I know.”
“So why are you blaming her?”
“Because she left instructions.”
Vittorio placed an envelope on the table.
Dante opened it.
A letter.
The handwriting matched his grandmother's.
Destroy the ledger.
Protect the family name.
Never trust anyone outside the Moretti bloodline.
Dante looked up.
“She ordered my father killed?”
“No.”
Vittorio's voice was low.
“She ordered the ledger destroyed.”
“And my father?”
“Your father refused.”
“What happened?”
“He disappeared.”
Dante stared.
“You're saying my father wasn't killed?”
Vittorio shook his head.
“We never found his body.”
The room went silent.
Dante's breathing stopped.
“What?”
“Your father's death was staged.”
Catherine covered her mouth.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Dante turned toward his mother.
“You knew?”
“I didn't.”
Her tears fell.
“I believed he was dead.”
Vittorio nodded.
“So did I.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don't know.”
A noise came from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
Isabella stood there.
Dante's heart slammed.
She wore a black coat.
Her blond hair was tied back.
And her face had changed.
No fear.
No tears.
No hesitation.
She walked into the room.
Dante took one step toward her.
“Isabella.”
She raised a hand.
“Not yet.”
She placed the flash drive on the table.
“This has the rest.”
Vittorio stared.
His expression changed.
“You found it.”
“No.”
Isabella looked at him.
“I found something better.”
She opened her handbag and removed the original Bellucci invoices.
“I checked the vendor registration records.”
Carlo went pale.
“These invoices were created using your credentials.”
She looked at him.
“Not mine.”
She placed a second document beside them.
“Your system.”
Carlo's face hardened.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand everything.”
She looked around the room.
“Someone wanted me blamed because I was getting too close.”
Dante stood across from her.
“I should have told you.”
She looked at him.
“Yes.”
“I believed you.”
“But you didn't defend me.”
His voice broke.
“I was trying to find proof.”
“I needed my fiancé.”
“You had him.”
“No.”
Her eyes filled.
“I had a man who stood silent while his family called me a thief.”
Dante looked down.
“I know.”
“I left your ring because I wanted you to understand what that silence cost.”
He looked at the table.
The ring was not there.
“Where is it?”
Isabella smiled sadly.
“I kept it.”
The room fell silent.
Dante looked at her.
She continued.
“Because I wasn't sure whether our relationship was over.”
His breath caught.
“But I didn't come back for the ring.”
“Then why?”
She looked at Vittorio.
“To finish what they started.”
Vittorio laughed.
“You think you can stop me?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Isabella reached into her coat.
A small recording device.
“I have your conversation from my apartment.”
Vittorio's expression froze.
“You threatened me.”
“Yes.”
“You threatened Dante.”
“Yes.”
“You admitted everything.”
Vittorio stared at the device.
“You're bluffing.”
“No.”
She pressed play.
His voice filled the room.
If you give me the flash drive, Dante dies.
The room went silent.
Dante looked at Vittorio.
“That's enough.”
Vittorio reached for his weapon.
Marco moved first.
Within seconds, Vittorio was disarmed.
Carlo tried to run.
Marcus blocked him.
Sophia collapsed into a chair.
The room finally became quiet.
Dante turned to Isabella.
“You came back.”
She nodded.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
Dante's eyes filled.
“But love doesn't erase what happened.”
“I know.”
“You have to earn my trust again.”
“I will.”
She looked toward the necklace.
“And you have to stop protecting me by lying.”
“I will.”
She took the ring from her pocket.
Dante stared.
She placed it in his palm.
“Don't give it back yet.”
His heart fell.
“I want to choose it again when this is over.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
Vittorio was taken away.
Carlo was arrested.
Sophia was placed under investigation.
But one mystery remained.
May you like
Dante's father.
And by the next morning, Isabella would discover that the dead man at the center of their family's secrets might still be alive.
