Chapter 5 – A Name from the Past
Rain pounded against the mansion windows as Marco barked orders into his radio. Within seconds, the Moretti security network spread across the city. Every airport, private marina, and highway exit would be watched before dawn.
Richard Hale was not going to disappear easily.
Inside the ballroom, however, the silence felt even heavier.
Alessandro turned his attention back to Ethan.
"Who is Richard Hale?"
Ethan looked down at the marble floor.
"He... he's a corporate consultant."
Marco shook his head.
"No."
He handed Alessandro a tablet displaying a dossier.
"Former attorney. Disbarred eight years ago. Specialized in corporate fraud, witness intimidation, and offshore financial transfers."
Several guests quietly stepped farther away.
Ethan rubbed his trembling hands together.
"Vanessa met him last year."
"For what purpose?" Alessandro asked.
"I wasn't told everything."
"You know enough."
Ethan nodded weakly.
"She said marrying you wasn't about love."
Vanessa's eyes snapped toward him.
"Stop talking!"
He ignored her.
"She believed the Moretti fortune would eventually pass to your first legitimate child. She said... if she could convince you she was carrying your heir, the wedding would happen before anyone questioned the pregnancy."
Murmurs rippled through the ballroom.
One elderly businessman sighed.
"So the child was the shortcut."
Ethan nodded.
"Richard designed the entire plan."
Alessandro's face remained unreadable.
"And after the wedding?"
Ethan hesitated.
"They planned to fake... a premature delivery."
The room erupted.
"Impossible!"
"That's insane!"
"Where would the baby come from?"
Ethan swallowed.
"I don't know."
Vanessa suddenly laughed—a sharp, desperate laugh.
"You actually believe him?"
She looked around the room, searching for allies.
"He's trying to save himself!"
Nobody answered.
Instead, Alessandro walked toward one of the long windows overlooking the rain-soaked gardens.
For nearly a minute, he said nothing.
Then, without turning around, he asked a question no one expected.
"When did Richard first contact you?"
Vanessa froze.
"I don't know any Richard."
"You just reacted to his name."
She had.
Everyone had seen it.
Alessandro slowly faced her again.
"The innocent ask questions."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"The guilty recognize names."
Vanessa's confidence crumbled.
Before she could speak, another security guard hurried into the ballroom.
"Sir!"
Marco turned.
"What is it?"
"We searched Mr. Hale's office."
"And?"
The guard handed over a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was a thick manila folder.
Across the front, written in black marker, were four chilling words:
MORETTI SUCCESSION PROJECT
The ballroom fell into horrified silence.
Alessandro opened the folder.
His eyes scanned the first page...
Then, for the first time all night, genuine shock crossed his face.
May you like
Because clipped to the inside cover...
...was a photograph of me holding baby Emma outside a cemetery three years earlier.
