Chapter 5 - The Name Hidden Behind the Trust
The Bellini estate was silent when we arrived.
Too silent.
Luca noticed immediately.
"Something's wrong."
Daniel nodded.
"No guards."
"Anthony wouldn't leave the house unprotected."
They entered carefully.
I stayed close to Luca.
The estate smelled like old wood and rain.
Then we heard a sound upstairs.
A chair scraping across the floor.
Luca raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
He moved toward the staircase.
I followed.
At the top of the stairs stood Anthony Mercer.
His suit was wrinkled.
His hair was disheveled.
But his expression was calm.
Too calm.
"Hello, Luca."
Luca stared at him.
"Where is everyone?"
"Safe."
"Vanessa?"
"Already arrested."
Anthony smiled.
"She was always weak."
Luca's face hardened.
"You killed Thomas Carter."
Anthony didn't deny it.
"Your father made a mistake."
"He trusted you."
"Yes."
"And you betrayed him."
"I protected the trust."
Luca took one step forward.
"You stole forty-two million dollars."
Anthony laughed.
"Forty-two million is nothing."
He pulled a folder from his coat.
"The trust is worth far more."
Luca stared.
"What are you talking about?"
Anthony opened the folder.
"Your father never told you about the secondary trust."
Luca's face changed.
"What secondary trust?"
Anthony smiled.
"Exactly."
I looked at Luca.
"What does that mean?"
Anthony turned to me.
"Your father did know you."
He smiled.
"He knew you'd eventually find everything."
He flipped through the papers.
"The Moretti Family Trust controls property, businesses, investments, and voting rights across Illinois."
He looked at Luca.
"But there's one clause."
"What clause?"
"If Luca dies without a direct heir, control transfers to his nearest surviving male relative."
Luca frowned.
"Victor."
Anthony smiled.
"My name isn't Victor."
The room became silent.
Anthony stepped aside.
A man emerged from the adjoining room.
He looked enough like Luca that my breath caught.
Same dark hair.
Same jawline.
Same eyes.
But older.
Scarred.
Alive.
Luca stared.
"Matteo."
My heart stopped.
His brother.
The brother the Moretti family had believed dead for twelve years.
Luca whispered, "You died."
Matteo smiled.
"That's what they told you."
I looked between them.
"What happened?"
Matteo's expression was bitter.
"Our father sent me away."
"Why?"
"Because I knew about Anthony."
Anthony's face remained calm.
"Matteo was unstable."
Luca's voice became colder.
"Don't."
Matteo stepped forward.
"You want the truth?"
Luca said nothing.
"I found Anthony moving money."
Matteo pointed at him.
"He found out."
Then Matteo looked at Luca.
"Your father believed I was dead because he had no choice."
Luca stared.
"Why didn't you come back?"
Matteo laughed without humor.
"Because every time I tried, someone came after me."
"And now?"
"Now the trust is about to transfer."
Luca understood.
"You've been working with Anthony."
Matteo nodded.
"I needed him."
"So you let him kill Thomas."
"No."
Matteo looked at me.
"That wasn't supposed to happen."
Anthony sighed.
"Thomas was never part of the plan."
I stepped forward.
"You ordered it."
Anthony looked at me.
"Your father refused to cooperate."
"My father refused to help you steal."
"He refused to understand."
I felt rage rise.
"You murdered him."
Anthony shrugged.
"And now you're still alive."
Luca moved between us.
"Enough."
Anthony held up another document.
"There's something else."
He handed it to Luca.
Luca read it.
His face went pale.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
Matteo smiled.
"Your mother knew."
Luca looked toward him.
"Knew what?"
"That our father intended to leave everything to you."
I stared at Luca.
"That's why you were targeted."
Matteo nodded.
"He was protecting Luca."
"And me?" I asked.
Anthony's expression changed.
"Your father left a key."
I frowned.
"What key?"
"The key to a bank vault."
Luca looked at me.
"Do you have it?"
I thought of my father's watch.
Then the notebook.
Then something clicked.
I took out the watch.
The back panel had a tiny compartment.
Inside was a brass key.
Anthony's eyes widened.
Luca saw it.
"Where did you get that?"
"My father left it."
Anthony stepped forward.
Daniel raised his weapon.
"Don't move."
Anthony stopped.
He smiled.
"You have no idea what that key opens."
Luca looked at me.
"I think I do."
"What?"
"The old Chicago First Bank vault."
Anthony went pale.
Inside that vault was the proof Thomas Carter had spent his final days protecting.
The original trust documents.
The names of every person involved.
And possibly the evidence needed to destroy Anthony permanently.
But Anthony wasn't finished.
He drew a small blade and lunged.
Everything happened at once.
Daniel tackled him.
Matteo moved toward Luca.
I stepped backward.
The room erupted into chaos.
Then a gunshot cracked through the house.
Everyone froze.
Matteo staggered.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Luca caught him.
"Matteo!"
Anthony smiled.
"Interesting."
A second gunshot came from outside.
Daniel shouted.
"Sniper!"
Luca pushed me to the floor.
"Stay down!"
I crawled behind a pillar.
Another shot shattered a window.
Then silence.
Anthony had vanished.
Matteo was bleeding badly.
Luca knelt beside him.
"Stay with me."
Matteo coughed.
"It wasn't Anthony."
"What?"
"The shooter."
He looked toward the window.
"Vanessa."
Luca went still.
"That's impossible."
Matteo shook his head.
"She made a deal."
Then he looked at me.
"To save herself."
The ambulance arrived minutes later.
Matteo survived.
Vanessa was found hiding at a safe house.
Anthony disappeared again.
May you like
But the truth was now moving faster than he could run.
And the key in my father's watch had become the most valuable object in Chicago.
