Chapter 9 - At the Mafia Matriarch’s Birthday Dinner, Elena Exposed the Man Who Had Betrayed Sebastian for Twenty Years
By the afternoon of Viviana Romano's birthday dinner, Elena had stopped counting the number of times someone told her to be careful.
Naomi warned her not to assume the newest records established Anthony's guilt before the forensic review was complete.
Miriam explained that the disputed authorization logs needed to be compared against the original system data.
Luca reminded her that the person who had framed her might still have access to private information about the foundation.
And Sebastian asked her three separate times whether she wanted to attend the birthday dinner at all.
Her answer remained the same.
"Yes."
The dinner was no longer merely a family celebration.
Viviana had invited the foundation's senior administrators, several hospital representatives, long-standing donors, and the attorneys overseeing the independent audit. She had also invited Victoria Duca and her father, Matteo, who had recently announced that their company intended to expand its charitable partnerships with the Romano Foundation.
Anthony had insisted that the event proceed as scheduled.
Elena suspected he believed the celebration would provide a convenient setting in which to restore confidence in the family's leadership.
She intended to make certain that confidence was not restored through another convenient lie.
At five thirty, Elena stood in front of the mirror in her room at the estate.
She wore a dark emerald dress with a simple neckline, and her hair was pulled back from her face. Her mother's small gold pendant rested against her collarbone.
On the table lay a folder containing a copy of the disputed authorization report, the preliminary forensic findings, and a summary of the questions the independent auditors still needed to resolve.
The original records had been preserved by the audit team and the relevant authorities.
Elena would not carry anything that could be lost, damaged, or misrepresented if the evening became chaotic.
A knock sounded.
"Come in."
Sebastian entered wearing a black suit and a dark green tie.
He stopped when he saw her.
"You're beautiful."
She smiled faintly.
"You've said that before."
"I haven't become less certain."
For a moment, the pressure of the evening eased.
He approached the table and glanced at the folder.
"Are you ready?"
"No."
He nodded.
"Neither am I."
Elena turned toward him.
"Do you think your uncle knows what we've found?"
"I think he knows the audit has reached the payment authorization records. I don't know whether he knows the full extent of the evidence."
"What if he denies everything?"
"Then we let the evidence be examined."
"What if he accuses you of trying to destroy the family?"
"Then I remind him that the foundation belongs to the people it serves, not to the people who manage it."
Elena studied him.
"You sound like your father."
Sebastian's expression softened.
"I hope I do."
He held out his hand.
She took it.
For several seconds, they stood together in silence.
Then Sebastian said, "Whatever happens tonight, I want you to remember that you are not responsible for keeping my family together."
Elena looked at him.
"I know."
"I mean it. If the evidence establishes that Anthony betrayed the foundation, you don't have to soften the findings because you know what it will cost me."
She felt a lump rise in her throat.
"Sebastian, I would never do that."
"I know."
He squeezed her hand.
"That's why I trust you."
She looked down at their joined hands.
When she had accepted the consulting agreement, she had believed the greatest risk would be discovering that Sebastian was not the man she thought he was.
Instead, she had discovered that she cared about him enough to fear what the truth might do to him.
But she would not let that fear decide what the numbers meant.
She had learned too much from her father to make that mistake.
"Let's go," she said.
Viviana's birthday dinner was held in the estate's grand dining room.
The table was decorated with white roses, silver candleholders, and an enormous arrangement of flowers that Adrian claimed could have financed a small village.
Viviana had responded by telling him that if he continued complaining, she would make him pay for the arrangements himself.
Elena smiled as she took her seat beside Sebastian.
The atmosphere appeared festive.
Champagne glasses gleamed beneath the chandelier. Waiters moved quietly between the guests. Conversation drifted from business to family stories, and for a short time Elena could almost believe that the people gathered around the table were simply wealthy relatives celebrating an elderly woman's birthday.
Then Anthony stood.
He raised his glass.
"Before we begin dinner, I'd like to say a few words about Viviana. She has been the heart of this family for longer than most of us can remember, and her commitment to charitable work has helped shape the Romano Foundation into an organization respected throughout the city."
Polite applause followed.
Anthony smiled toward Viviana.
"She taught us that a family's reputation depends not only on its success, but on its integrity."
Elena felt Sebastian's hand tighten slightly beneath the table.
Anthony continued.
"Recently, questions have been raised about certain financial transactions. Those questions deserve to be examined properly. But I believe we should also remember that incomplete information can create damaging misunderstandings."
He glanced toward Elena.
"The foundation has always operated in good faith, and I remain confident that the independent review will confirm the integrity of its administration."
Several guests nodded.
Anthony lifted his glass.
"To Viviana, and to the future of the foundation."
The guests raised their glasses.
Elena did not.
Instead, she waited until Anthony sat down.
Then she stood.
"Before we continue, may I ask a question?"
The room fell quiet.
Viviana looked at her with undisguised interest.
"Certainly, cara."
Elena turned toward Anthony.
"You said the foundation has always operated in good faith. I hope that remains true. But I would like to know why the former controller's account was restored after his death and used to authorize payments to vendors whose deliveries cannot be verified."
Anthony's expression hardened.
"This is neither the time nor the place for an audit discussion."
"Then why did you raise the subject of the audit in your toast?"
A murmur spread around the table.
Anthony placed his glass down.
"Miss Foster, the records are complicated. You have been given only limited access to a complex administrative system, and I would caution you against drawing conclusions from incomplete data."
"I'm not drawing a conclusion. I'm asking a question."
"Then direct it through the appropriate channels."
"I have. The independent forensic accountant is examining the original access logs, and the investigators have received the relevant records."
Anthony's face changed.
Only slightly.
But Elena saw it.
"So you have been communicating with authorities about a matter that affects this family without waiting for the review to conclude?"
"The review is continuing. Preserving evidence is part of the process."
Anthony turned toward Sebastian.
"You allowed this?"
Sebastian rose.
"Yes."
The single word echoed through the room.
Anthony stared at him.
"You are permitting an outside consultant to cast suspicion on a man who has spent twenty years serving this family."
"I am permitting an independent audit to examine the foundation's records."
"Your father would never have approved of this spectacle."
Sebastian's expression became very still.
"Do not use my father to excuse the destruction of evidence."
The room went silent.
Anthony's face darkened.
"What did you say?"
Sebastian held his gaze.
"My father wanted the foundation to operate independently and honestly. We have records showing that he raised concerns about irregularities before his death. We also have an inventory showing that a letter he wrote was never delivered to me."
Viviana slowly set down her fork.
Anthony looked from Sebastian to his mother.
"That is an unrelated matter."
"Then you should have no difficulty explaining what happened to the letter."
Anthony did not answer.
Elena felt the entire evening change.
For years, Anthony had controlled the family's financial records and presented himself as the person who understood the complexities nobody else could manage.
Now he was being asked a question he had not prepared to answer.
Victoria stood abruptly.
"This is becoming absurd."
She looked toward Elena.
"You have spent days making accusations, yet none of your findings has been finalized. You have no right to turn a birthday dinner into a public trial."
Elena faced her.
"I have not accused you of a crime. I have identified records that require examination and asked questions about documents connected to the payments."
Victoria's cheeks colored.
"You are an accountant, not a prosecutor."
"Exactly. That's why I document discrepancies and refer potential wrongdoing to the appropriate investigators."
A hospital administrator seated farther down the table spoke up.
"Perhaps Miss Foster is asking a reasonable question. Our clinic never received some of the equipment listed in the Bellanova invoices."
Victoria turned toward her.
"That matter has already been addressed."
"No," the administrator replied. "It hasn't."
Another guest spoke.
"Our regional program also reported missing equipment."
A third guest nodded.
The room filled with quiet conversation.
Anthony raised his voice.
"This is a family matter being distorted by incomplete records and emotional speculation."
Viviana struck the table once with her cane.
"Enough."
The room fell silent.
She looked at Anthony.
"If the records are incomplete, then explain them. If the transactions are legitimate, then the independent audit should establish that. But you will not use my birthday to prevent people from asking questions."
Anthony's face had gone pale.
For the first time that evening, he looked less like the man in control of the foundation and more like someone who had discovered that his authority was no longer enough to silence a room.
Elena took a breath.
"There is one additional matter the independent audit team has confirmed."
She opened her folder.
"The disputed report attributing $2.4 million in transfers to my consultant account does not match the original access records. My account was configured for read-only review. The report appears to combine actions from different permission profiles under a single identity field."
Anthony shook his head.
"That is an interpretation."
"It is a finding that the forensic team is examining against the original logs."
"Then why bring it here?"
"Because the report was used to justify suspending my access and accusing me of misconduct. The same report appeared shortly after I began asking questions about Bellanova."
She looked around the table.
"I want the record to be clear. I did not authorize those transfers, and I did not remove documents from Bellanova's offices. I have preserved my work records and provided them to the independent review."
Then she turned toward Anthony.
"And I would like to know why the administrator account linked to your office was used to restore the former controller's credentials."
Anthony's hand struck the table.
"That is enough!"
Several people flinched.
Sebastian stepped forward, but Elena raised one hand slightly.
She wanted to finish this herself.
Anthony stood.
"You have no understanding of the responsibilities involved in managing a family organization of this size. You think a spreadsheet gives you the right to question twenty years of decisions."
"No," Elena said. "The records give me the responsibility to ask questions."
His expression twisted.
"You have been here less than a month."
"And yet the figures were wrong before I arrived."
Anthony stared at her.
Then he turned toward Sebastian.
"Choose carefully. You are allowing a temporary employee to destroy the family your father spent his life building."
Sebastian's voice was quiet.
"The family is not the same thing as the people who use it."
For several seconds, Anthony appeared unable to comprehend the answer.
Then the dining room doors opened.
Naomi Park entered with two investigators.
She approached Viviana first, explained that they were there to obtain documents relevant to the ongoing inquiry, and presented the necessary paperwork.
Anthony's face drained of color.
"What's this?"
Naomi answered calmly.
"The investigators have identified sufficient grounds to request additional records concerning the foundation's payment authorization process and the disputed vendor transfers. They have also requested preservation of certain archived correspondence associated with Dominic Romano's estate."
Anthony looked at Sebastian.
"You arranged this."
"No," Sebastian replied. "The evidence did."
One investigator spoke to Anthony privately.
The other approached Naomi to discuss the documents.
Nobody was arrested in the dining room.
Nobody was dragged away.
The investigators had come to secure evidence, not stage a spectacle.
But the public consequences were unmistakable.
The man who had once controlled the foundation's records was now required to explain them to people he could not command.
And for the first time, the family could no longer pretend that the problem would disappear if everyone simply stopped discussing it.
After the investigators finished collecting the requested records, the dinner ended early.
Guests departed in small groups.
Victoria left without saying goodbye to Viviana.
Matteo Duca remained long enough to speak quietly with his daughter, then followed her outside.
Anthony was taken to another room for a formal interview with the investigators before being released pending further inquiry.
The evidence did not establish his guilt that evening.
But his explanations had become part of the official record, and the questions surrounding his administrator account could no longer be dismissed as gossip.
Elena stood in the conservatory, watching rain fall across the gardens.
She had expected to feel triumphant.
Instead, she felt drained.
Sebastian found her beside the window.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded.
"Just tired."
He stood beside her.
"You did what needed to be done."
"I asked questions."
"You made it possible for everyone else to ask them, too."
Elena looked at him.
"I'm sorry about your uncle."
Sebastian was silent for a moment.
"Part of me still hopes there is an explanation that doesn't involve betrayal."
"That's understandable."
"But I can't make that hope the basis for a decision."
She felt a deep ache of admiration.
"No. You can't."
He reached for her hand.
She let him take it.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Elena asked, "What happens now?"
"Now we follow the evidence. We establish who authorized the payments, where the money went, what happened to the missing equipment, and why my father's records were withheld."
"And the letter?"
"Naomi believes the investigators can determine where it was transferred through the estate archive."
Elena nodded.
"Good."
Sebastian turned toward her.
"There is something else I need to tell you."
She looked up.
"Our public relationship was supposed to end when the engagement announcement was postponed. We have achieved that objective."
Her stomach tightened.
She knew what was coming.
The arrangement had been a practical solution to a complicated problem.
Now the problem was being investigated by independent professionals and the appropriate authorities.
There was no longer a reason to pretend.
Sebastian continued carefully.
"I won't use the arrangement to keep you here. Your consulting work can continue under its own agreement, but the personal part is yours to decide."
Elena looked down at their joined hands.
She had known this moment would come.
She had told herself that she would be relieved when the arrangement ended.
Instead, she felt as though someone were asking her to decide whether to close a door she had only recently discovered she wanted to walk through.
"I'm glad you told me," she said.
Sebastian nodded.
"I didn't want you to feel trapped by a decision you made under pressure."
She looked up.
"I don't feel trapped."
He held her gaze.
"Good."
"But I don't think I can answer you tonight."
"Then don't."
She smiled faintly.
"You are very good at allowing me time to think."
"I'm learning from someone difficult."
She laughed softly.
Then she leaned toward him and kissed his cheek.
It was a simple gesture, but neither of them mistook it for part of their old arrangement.
When she drew back, his eyes searched hers.
"Good night, Elena."
"Good night, Sebastian."
She walked toward the corridor, carrying her folder against her chest.
Behind her, the family was beginning to confront the consequences of its own history.
Ahead of her lay the final questions about the missing money, the letter her father-in-law had never received, and the man she was beginning to love.
Elena did not know how any of it would end.
But she knew she had done the right thing by refusing to let affection silence the evidence.
And if she was going to choose Sebastian, she wanted to choose him freely.
Not because his grandmother approved.
Not because the city expected it.
May you like
And not because they had once pretended to be in love.
Because the truth, whatever it revealed, would be something they could face together.
