Chapter 6 - THE MAN LUCA TRUSTED WITH HIS LIFE
“Gabriel, show me your hand.”
Luca's voice was calm.
That frightened me more than shouting would have.
Gabriel Rossi stood beside the hospital entrance.
He had worked for the Moretti family for nearly fifteen years.
He arranged Luca's security.
Protected Frank.
Handled emergencies.
And knew every entrance to the mansion.
I had watched him carry Frank's wheelchair down the front steps during a power outage.
I'd seen him bring soup to sick employees.
He was not a man I associated with cruelty.
But beneath the bright lobby lights, he looked suddenly much older.
“Luca,” Gabriel said, “we need to discuss this privately.”
“Show me your hand.”
Gabriel slowly withdrew his right hand from his coat pocket.
The silver lion ring caught the light.
Luca stared at it.
“Where did you get that?”
“My father.”
“Your father worked for mine?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes.”
Luca took a step closer.
“You told me your father was a dock supervisor.”
“He was.”
“Was he at the warehouse fire?”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
I glanced toward Frank.
He was watching Gabriel carefully.
Then he began signing.
Wrong ring.
I turned sharply.
“What?”
Frank repeated the signs.
Wrong man.
My heart began pounding.
I looked at Luca.
“Your grandfather says Gabriel isn't the man your father meant.”
Luca frowned.
“The letter describes a silver lion ring.”
Frank signed again.
Many rings.
Gabriel slowly nodded.
“My father and several senior men wore them. They belonged to the Harbor Brotherhood.”
Luca looked at him.
“The dockworkers' association?”
“Originally. Before certain businessmen used it to control contracts.”
Luca lowered the letter.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Gabriel swallowed.
“Because the ring was one of the few things my father left me. And because I knew what that symbol meant to your family.”
Luca stared at him for a long moment.
“Take it off.”
Gabriel obeyed.
He placed the ring in Luca's palm.
Inside the band were two initials.
P.R.
Luca frowned.
“Your father's name was Peter Rossi.”
Gabriel nodded.
But Frank shook his head.
Not Peter.
I translated.
Gabriel looked confused.
Frank pointed toward the initials.
Then signed:
Paul Rinaldi.
Gabriel's expression changed.
The silence became unbearable.
Luca looked at him.
“Who is Paul Rinaldi?”
Gabriel's voice was quiet.
“The man who gave the ring to my father.”
“And where is he?”
Gabriel looked down.
“He died sixteen years ago.”
Luca exhaled.
For the first time, I saw uncertainty replace suspicion.
He had built his world around loyalty.
Now almost everyone he'd trusted seemed connected to his father's death.
Frank signed again.
Rinaldi had a son.
I translated.
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes. His son inherited the old waterfront contracts.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Gabriel hesitated.
“Dominic negotiated with him last year.”
My stomach tightened.
“What's his name?”
“Daniel Rinaldi.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Daniel Rinaldi owns the company hired to demolish Grandpa's restaurant.”
Gabriel nodded slowly.
“And Daniel's father was the man wearing the original lion ring.”
I looked toward the envelope.
Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.
But something still bothered me.
If Paul Rinaldi had been the man Michael feared, why had Arthur Bellini carried Michael into the burning warehouse?
And why was Dominic working with Paul Rinaldi's son?
Luca seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“Gabriel,” he said, “I want every payment made to Rinaldi Demolition reviewed.”
Gabriel nodded.
Then Luca added, “You won't handle it alone.”
Gabriel accepted that without argument.
It was the first small sign that Luca understood trust could not simply be demanded.
It had to be earned again.
We returned to the mansion shortly after midnight.
The guests had gone.
Vanessa and Arthur were waiting in the library, accompanied by two security employees.
Neither appeared pleased.
Vanessa stood when Luca entered.
“Are you finally ready to explain why your grandfather's memories have turned our engagement dinner into a criminal investigation?”
Luca placed the envelope on his desk.
“My father knew someone planned to kill him.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
Vanessa stared.
“Luca—”
“I've spent twenty-nine years believing the fire was an accident.”
Arthur looked at the floor.
“And now I know it wasn't.”
Arthur slowly sat down.
I could see that he'd reached the point where silence was becoming more dangerous than honesty.
“Michael was investigating a financial scheme,” he said.
Luca folded his arms.
“We know about the stolen pension money.”
Arthur looked surprised.
“Then you know more than I expected.”
“Tell me the rest.”
Arthur rubbed his forehead.
“Several waterfront businesses diverted retirement contributions into private accounts. Michael discovered it while reviewing contracts.”
“Was my father involved?”
“At first, he signed documents without fully understanding them. When he realized what was happening, he demanded the money be returned.”
“And?”
“Paul Rinaldi refused.”
Luca stood perfectly still.
“Why did you carry my father into the warehouse?”
Arthur's face twisted.
“Because he was already injured.”
“Who injured him?”
Arthur shook his head.
“I didn't see it happen.”
“Did you lock the doors?”
Arthur stared at Luca.
Then whispered, “Yes.”
Vanessa began crying.
“Uncle Arthur, stop.”
Luca didn't move.
“Why?”
Arthur looked toward Frank.
“I was told Michael's sons would die if I didn't.”
My stomach tightened.
Frank began signing.
Arthur chose.
I translated.
Arthur's eyes filled.
“Yes,” he whispered. “I chose.”
Luca took a step back.
For a moment, he looked like a little boy hearing something his heart couldn't hold.
“You left my father to die.”
Arthur lowered his head.
“I thought the building was already beyond saving.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“No,” Arthur whispered. “It isn't.”
Luca turned away.
He walked to the window.
Outside, the lake was hidden in darkness.
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“My uncle made a terrible mistake. But he has spent decades trying to make amends.”
Luca faced her.
“By helping demolish the place where the evidence is hidden?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't know what Dominic was trying to find.”
“Then why did you arrange the demolition?”
She swallowed.
“Because Dominic asked me to.”
“Why?”
Her voice trembled.
“He said the building was keeping Grandpa trapped in the past. He said Luca would never marry me while Frank kept interfering in everything.”
I looked toward Frank.
He was watching Vanessa's lips.
His expression wasn't angry.
It was hurt.
Vanessa continued.
“I wanted our marriage to have a chance.”
Luca stared at her.
“So you tried to erase the building my grandfather spent his life building.”
“I thought it was empty.”
“And you tried to make him believe he was confused.”
Vanessa began crying harder.
“I was wrong.”
Luca didn't comfort her.
But he didn't humiliate her either.
He simply said, “Being afraid of losing me doesn't give you the right to take away somebody else's dignity.”
I watched Vanessa absorb that.
For the first time, she had no answer.
Then Arthur spoke.
“Dominic doesn't want the records destroyed.”
Luca turned.
“What?”
Arthur looked frightened.
“He wants them first.”
“Why?”
Arthur glanced toward the door.
“Because he's convinced they prove something about your father.”
“What?”
Arthur swallowed.
“That Michael Moretti ordered Teresa Bellini killed.”
Frank struck the armrest three times.
His hands flew into motion.
False.
I translated.
Arthur nodded.
“I know. But Dominic doesn't.”
Luca grabbed his coat.
“Then we need to reach him before Daniel Rinaldi does.”
Gabriel checked the property surveillance feed.
His expression changed.
“Luca.”
He turned the screen around.
At the old restaurant, two demolition trucks stood beneath floodlights.
The front doors were open.
And Dominic Moretti was walking inside with a metal case.
Luca leaned closer.
“What's in the case?”
Gabriel enlarged the image.
Dominic paused beneath the entrance light.
Then opened the case just enough for the camera to capture its contents.
Inside lay Michael Moretti's gold watch.
Another one.
Identical to the watch Arthur had surrendered.
Except this watch had no dent.
May you like
And beside it was a handwritten note.
ONE OF THESE WATCHES STOPPED AT THE MOMENT MICHAEL DIED. THE OTHER WAS PLANTED TO FRAME THE WRONG MAN.
