Chapter 6 - The Woman Everyone Was Supposed to Blame
Emily had never been so grateful to hear police sirens.
Marcus Voss disappeared from her porch less than a minute before the first patrol car turned onto her street.
By then, she'd locked herself upstairs with Grace, Margaret's notebook, and the phone she was using to speak with the emergency dispatcher.
"Officers are outside now, ma'am," the dispatcher said. "Remain where you are until they identify themselves."
Emily held Grace against her shoulder.
The baby had stopped crying.
Emily hadn't stopped shaking.
When Rachel arrived twenty minutes later, she found Emily sitting on her bedroom floor, surrounded by pillows, with the nursery door locked.
Rachel knelt beside her.
"It's okay. The police are here."
Emily looked up.
"He knew about the notebook."
"I know."
"He knew Margaret sent it to me."
Rachel's expression hardened.
"We're going to give investigators everything."
Emily shook her head.
"He mentioned Grace."
Rachel reached for her hand.
"That was a threat. We're treating it as one."
Emily looked toward her sleeping daughter.
"I can't keep living like this."
Rachel didn't offer empty reassurance.
Instead, she said, "Then we make a plan."
That night, Emily and Grace temporarily moved into a private apartment secured through a victim-protection arrangement coordinated with investigators.
The location was known only to a small number of people.
Rachel arranged for police to collect security camera footage from Emily's townhouse.
Marcus's face appeared clearly.
His vehicle was also recorded.
The video showed him approaching the door, looking directly into the camera, and demanding Margaret's notebook.
By morning, the footage was in federal investigators' hands.
Vincent learned what had happened at 7:10 a.m.
He was in a meeting when Nico entered and whispered something.
Vincent stood so abruptly that his chair struck the wall.
"Where is she?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
"Rachel has asked that we not disclose the location."
Vincent stared at him.
"My daughter was threatened."
"I understand."
"Then tell me where she is."
Nico held his ground.
"No."
The room became silent.
Nobody had refused Vincent Moretti a direct order in years.
Nico looked him in the eyes.
"Emily is already frightened. If I tell you where she is without her consent, I become another person she can't trust."
Vincent's breathing slowed.
He looked toward the window.
For several seconds, anger and fear battled inside him.
Then he nodded.
"You're right."
Nico seemed almost surprised.
Vincent returned to his chair.
"Tell Rachel I'm available to provide records, statements, or anything else investigators request. I won't approach Emily's location."
"Yes, sir."
Vincent looked down at the photograph of Grace on his desk.
"Was she hurt?"
"No."
"And Emily?"
"Physically, no."
Vincent closed his eyes.
The distinction mattered.
He had spent years believing protection meant preventing bullets and broken bones.
Now his wife and daughter were hiding because his family's world had become dangerous.
He had protected his assets better than he'd protected his home.
At noon, Emily received a call from an unfamiliar number.
She almost declined it.
Then she saw a message from Rachel.
It's Detective Harris. I've verified the number.
Emily answered.
"Mrs. Moretti?"
"Yes."
"This is Detective Laura Harris. I wanted to update you about Margaret."
Emily sat upright.
"Have you found her?"
"She's alive."
Emily pressed a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, thank God."
"She was discovered at a roadside service station outside Milwaukee. She has injuries consistent with an assault, but she's conscious and receiving medical care."
Emily began crying.
"Can I talk to her?"
"Not yet. She's being evaluated, and investigators are speaking with her."
"Does she know who hurt her?"
"She's provided information about the people involved. I can't discuss everything while the investigation is active."
Emily wiped her eyes.
"Please tell her I'm sorry."
The detective paused.
"For what?"
"She got hurt because she was trying to help me."
"Mrs. Moretti, the people who attacked her are responsible for what happened."
Emily looked down at her hands.
"Please just tell her I love her."
"I will."
After the call, Emily held Grace and cried quietly.
Margaret had been there when she couldn't walk comfortably during the last weeks of pregnancy.
She had held Emily's hand while Vincent ignored the hospital calls.
She had helped her pack the mansion.
And even after Emily left, Margaret had continued trying to protect her.
Emily knew one thing with complete certainty.
Whatever happened to the Moretti empire, she would not allow Margaret's courage to be forgotten.
Meanwhile, the foundation scandal was beginning to spread.
An anonymous source had leaked the fraudulent transfer allegations to several Chicago news outlets.
The first headlines were cautious.
MORETTI FOUNDATION FACES QUESTIONS OVER MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR PAYMENTS.
Then the reporting became more personal.
ESTRANGED WIFE OF CHICAGO BUSINESSMAN LISTED ON SUSPICIOUS CHARITY TRANSFERS.
One article included a photograph of Emily leaving the hospital with Grace.
It had been taken without her knowledge.
Her exhausted face filled the screen.
The caption described her as the wife who had "mysteriously left" Vincent's estate shortly after large financial transfers.
Emily stared at the photograph.
She remembered that day.
The soreness in her body.
The awkward way she'd held the car seat.
The fear of taking a newborn home without her husband.
Now strangers were treating her departure as suspicious.
Rachel arrived that afternoon with Jack.
He carried groceries.
She carried legal documents.
Emily looked at them both.
"What happened?"
Rachel set her folder down.
"Sophia Bennett gave an interview."
Emily sighed.
"Of course she did."
Rachel opened a video on her laptop.
Sophia sat across from a television interviewer in an elegant studio.
She wore a conservative black dress and a carefully composed expression.
"I've known Vincent Moretti for many years," Sophia said. "He's a generous man who has supported charitable causes throughout Chicago."
The interviewer leaned forward.
"Do you believe the allegations involving his estranged wife?"
Sophia hesitated theatrically.
"I would never accuse another woman without evidence."
Emily groaned.
Jack muttered, "That's usually what people say right before they accuse somebody."
Sophia continued.
"However, I find it troubling that Mrs. Moretti left the family residence at approximately the same time these financial irregularities were discovered."
The interviewer asked whether Sophia had a personal relationship with Vincent.
Sophia smiled sadly.
"Vincent and I share a very deep history. When someone you love needs help, sometimes you're the only person who can be there."
Emily closed the laptop.
"That's enough."
Jack looked furious.
"She knows you were in the hospital."
Emily nodded.
"Yes."
"And she knows Vincent was with her."
"Yes."
Rachel exhaled slowly.
"She's trying to redirect attention."
Emily stood.
"Then we correct the record."
Rachel looked up.
"Emily, you're still recovering."
"I'm not going to sit here while that woman uses my daughter as part of a public relations campaign."
She took a breath.
"I won't discuss my marriage on television. But I will give investigators whatever proves those documents are false."
Rachel nodded.
"That's exactly the approach we should take."
They prepared a short statement through her attorneys.
It confirmed that Emily disputed the authorizations, was cooperating with investigators, and had medical records establishing where she was when the alleged transfers occurred.
It also asked the press to respect Grace's privacy.
Emily refused to mention Sophia.
"She wants a fight," Emily said. "I'm not giving her one."
That evening, Vincent watched Sophia's interview from his office.
He didn't speak until the video ended.
Then he called his public relations director.
"Tomorrow's foundation event. Are reporters attending?"
"Yes, sir. We can cancel if necessary."
"No."
Vincent stood.
"Prepare a statement."
"Regarding the transactions?"
"Regarding my wife."
The director hesitated.
"Sir, counsel will want to review anything you say."
"They should."
Vincent looked toward the image of Sophia on the paused television screen.
"And I won't accuse anyone of a crime we haven't proved."
"Understood."
"But I will not allow Emily to carry the blame for the choices I made."
The next evening, the Moretti Family Foundation held a previously scheduled fundraising reception at one of Vincent's downtown hotels.
The event was smaller than usual.
Several donors had withdrawn amid the investigation.
Reporters lined the entrance.
Sophia attended, believing she could repair her reputation by standing beside Vincent.
She wore an emerald-green gown.
When Vincent entered, she immediately approached him.
"Vincent."
He stopped.
"Sophia."
She reached for his arm.
He stepped away.
Her smile stiffened.
"People are watching."
"I know."
"Then perhaps you should stop embarrassing me."
Vincent looked at her.
"That's an interesting request."
She lowered her voice.
"You're angry about Emily. I understand."
"No."
"Vincent—"
"I'm angry because a charitable foundation has been robbed, my wife's identity has been misused, and someone threatened my infant daughter."
Sophia went pale.
"That has nothing to do with me."
"Then cooperate fully with the investigation."
He walked past her.
Ten minutes later, Vincent stepped onto the stage.
The room quieted.
He looked across the crowd.
Business partners.
Donors.
Employees.
Members of his extended family.
Carlo stood near the back, watching carefully.
Vincent adjusted the microphone.
"Thank you for coming."
His voice carried through the ballroom.
"I was originally scheduled to speak tonight about the foundation's expansion projects. Given the current investigation, that would be inappropriate."
A few reporters raised their phones.
"An independent forensic review is underway. We have preserved financial records and referred suspicious transactions to the appropriate authorities."
He paused.
"I also need to address statements concerning my wife, Emily Carter Moretti."
Sophia's expression changed.
Vincent continued.
"Emily did not leave our family home because she was running from an investigation."
The ballroom became silent.
"She left because I failed her."
A reporter leaned forward.
Vincent looked directly into the cameras.
"Thirteen days before I returned to Chicago, I traveled to Paris. My wife was nine months pregnant. I chose to remain overseas while she went into labor."
Someone gasped.
Vincent continued.
"My daughter was born during my absence."
Sophia looked toward Carlo.
Carlo's face had gone rigid.
"Emily experienced serious medical complications after delivering our child. She needed a husband. Our daughter needed a father."
He paused.
"I was neither."
A wave of murmurs spread across the room.
Vincent lowered his eyes briefly.
"The separation was Emily's decision, and she had every right to make it."
He looked up again.
"Her decision to protect herself and our daughter should not be used to imply criminal wrongdoing."
The room went quiet.
"The disputed documents are under investigation. But I can confirm that several transactions attributed to Emily were recorded while she was receiving emergency hospital treatment."
A reporter called out.
"Are you saying her signatures were forged?"
Vincent answered carefully.
"I am saying there is substantial evidence that the authorizations were not made by her. Investigators will determine who was responsible."
Another reporter shouted.
"Do you believe your wife is innocent?"
Vincent didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The word echoed through the ballroom.
Sophia looked as if she'd been slapped.
Vincent continued.
"Emily contributed years of work to projects that were intended to help vulnerable families. She should not be publicly condemned because of documents that are now being examined for fraud."
He stepped back from the microphone.
"That's all I have to say."
But before he could leave the stage, a reporter asked one final question.
"Mr. Moretti, are you trying to win your wife back?"
Vincent stopped.
For a long moment, he looked toward the crowd.
Then he answered.
"No."
Sophia's shoulders relaxed.
Until he continued.
"I'm trying to become someone my daughter won't be ashamed to call her father."
He left the stage.
Within an hour, clips of his statement were circulating online.
Emily watched the video at Rachel's insistence.
Jack stood near the kitchen counter.
Rachel watched Emily's expression carefully.
When Vincent said he'd failed her, Emily's eyes filled with tears.
She didn't wipe them away.
After the video ended, Rachel closed the laptop.
"Well?"
Emily stared at the screen.
"He finally told the truth."
Jack nodded.
"Publicly."
Emily looked toward Grace's bassinet.
"It doesn't change what happened."
"No," Rachel said.
Emily drew a slow breath.
"But it matters."
She hadn't expected Vincent to confess his failures to a room full of powerful people.
The man she'd married guarded his pride like a fortress.
He hated public embarrassment.
He hated vulnerability.
And he'd spent years pretending their marriage was perfect.
Now he'd admitted that he abandoned her when she needed him most.
Emily didn't mistake that confession for redemption.
But she recognized it as something he'd never given her before.
Honesty.
Later that night, Vincent returned to his office.
Nico was waiting.
"We have an update from the investigators."
Vincent stopped.
"Margaret?"
"She's recovering. She identified one of the men who assaulted her."
"Who?"
"An associate of Marcus Voss."
Vincent's expression hardened.
"And Voss?"
"Investigators have obtained a warrant related to the threats and financial records. They're looking for him."
Vincent nodded.
Then Nico placed a sealed envelope on the desk.
"Margaret also gave investigators a statement about a conversation she overheard between Anthony and Carlo."
Vincent opened it.
He read the summary.
Anthony had allegedly told Carlo that Emily's early labor threatened the planned transfer schedule.
Carlo had replied that they needed to finish using her credentials before the birth became widely known and brought Vincent home.
Vincent stared at the page.
Someone had not merely taken advantage of his absence.
They had counted on it.
Nico continued.
"There's more."
Vincent looked up.
"Margaret says she overheard Anthony mention that Sophia would keep you in Paris as long as necessary."
Vincent remained motionless.
For thirteen days, Sophia had cried when he mentioned returning home.
She'd invented new appointments.
New problems.
New reasons he needed to stay another night.
He remembered a morning when he'd suggested flying back for Emily's final prenatal appointment.
Sophia had become distraught, saying her entire gallery would collapse if he abandoned her before the bank negotiations were complete.
He had stayed.
Not because he was forced.
Because he'd allowed himself to believe Sophia's needs were more important than his wife's.
Vincent looked down at the statement.
Then he spoke quietly.
"I want everything preserved."
Nico nodded.
"Already done."
Vincent picked up his phone and called Rachel.
She answered cautiously.
"Mr. Moretti?"
"Is Emily safe?"
"Yes."
"Good."
He paused.
"Please tell her something for me."
Rachel waited.
"Tell her I know nothing I say can undo what happened."
His voice roughened.
"But I'm going to cooperate with the investigation, even if the evidence leads back to people I once protected."
Rachel said nothing for a moment.
Then she asked, "Including yourself?"
Vincent looked toward the dark city.
The question landed exactly where it needed to.
He had spent years hiding behind the belief that his family's criminal affairs were separate from his legitimate businesses.
He knew that wasn't entirely true.
He'd signed documents.
Approved questionable partnerships.
Ignored warnings.
And benefited from money he hadn't always wanted to examine.
Vincent closed his eyes.
"Yes."
Rachel's voice became quieter.
"Then that would be a beginning."
After the call, Vincent remained at the window.
May you like
For the first time, he understood that protecting Emily and Grace might require surrendering the empire he'd spent his adult life building.
And he also understood that no apology would mean anything if he refused to pay the price.
