Chapter 7 - The Hotel Became a Symbol of Hope—Until Someone Tried to Turn Bella's Greatest Inheritance Into a TrapThe Grand Imperior was thriving.
Bella was thriving.
Her brother was home.
Dante was beside her.
The hotel employed hundreds.
The foundation helped families.
Everything was finally peaceful.
Too peaceful.
One morning, Bella discovered three employees had been fired without authorization.
Their records had been altered.
Their bank accounts emptied.
Someone had accessed the company system.
Nico traced the intrusion.
The source came from inside the hotel.
Bella's stomach dropped.
“Who?”
Nico gave her a name.
Her chief accountant.
Edward Vale.
Bella called him in.
He looked terrified.
“I didn't do anything.”
“Someone used your credentials.”
“I know.”
“Who?”
He started crying.
“They have my daughter.”
Bella froze.
“Who?”
Edward whispered:
“Someone from the old organization.”
Dante's face hardened.
“Which one?”
“Moretti.”
Bella frowned.
“The Moretti family was destroyed.”
“Not completely.”
Dante looked at her.
“They've been waiting.”
“For what?”
“You.”
The old crime network wanted Bella's legal name.
Not the trust.
Not the hotel.
Her signature.
Because Bella had become legitimate.
She had contracts with the city.
Government partnerships.
Investors.
Banks.
If the Morettis could use her identity to create fraudulent companies, they could rebuild without appearing criminal.
Bella realized the hotel was their gateway.
“We can't let them take it.”
Dante nodded.
“We won't.”
They created a plan.
Publicly, Bella would announce a sale.
Privately, they would use the transaction to expose the network.
The Morettis took the bait.
A representative arrived.
He offered $300 million.
Bella laughed.
“The hotel isn't for sale.”
“You signed the papers.”
“No.”
He pushed a document toward her.
Her signature appeared on every page.
Bella stared.
Forgery.
Perfect.
Dante leaned forward.
“Who made those?”
The man smiled.
“You know who.”
Bella suddenly understood.
The hotel system had been compromised from the beginning.
Someone had copied her signature.
And the person had access because they knew her personally.
She returned to her office.
Marin was there.
“You're worried.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
“You suspect me.”
Bella shook her head.
“No.”
Marin smiled.
“Then who?”
She answered:
“Nico.”
Marin froze.
Bella explained.
Only Nico had access to the security architecture.
Only Nico knew the family history.
Only Nico knew which documents Bella signed.
Dante refused to believe it.
“Nico would die for me.”
“That's what makes him dangerous.”
They confronted him.
Nico didn't run.
He confessed.
Not willingly.
His daughter had been kidnapped.
He had been forced to cooperate.
Bella didn't fire him.
Instead, she offered to help.
Together they staged the fake sale.
The Moretti family arrived.
Then federal agents surrounded the building.
The conspiracy collapsed.
Nico's daughter was rescued.
The old network was finally broken.
But the mastermind escaped.
A woman.
Bella had never heard her name.
Until the final report.
Victoria Moretti.
Alessandro Castello's former wife.
Dante's stepmother.
The woman who had secretly financed every betrayal.
Dante stared at the file.
“She was behind everything.”
Bella asked:
“Why?”
Dante looked at her.
“She wanted my father dead.”
“And?”
“She wanted me dead too.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed I stole her future.”
Bella shook her head.
“She wanted the hotel.”
“No.”
Dante looked at her.
“She wanted me.”
Bella's heart tightened.
“She loved you?”
“No.”
His face was cold.
“She hated me because my father chose my mother over her.”
Bella finally understood.
The entire twenty-one-year war had started with jealousy.
May you like
And now Victoria Moretti wanted one final thing.
Revenge.
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