Chapter 5 - Adrian Moretti Comes Home)
Adrian returned to New York on a Monday morning without telling his family.
His private jet landed before dawn.
By seven, he was sitting in the office of his attorney, Nathan Hale, reviewing eight months of documents.
Nathan had gray hair, a careful voice, and no patience for Moretti family drama.
"You should have come back sooner."
"I couldn't walk without a cane until April."
"You could have called."
"I did."
"Not me."
Adrian looked at him.
Nathan slid a file across the desk.
"Your brother has requested three temporary voting authorizations during your recovery."
"I signed two."
"The third signature isn't yours."
Adrian opened the file.
The signature looked almost perfect.
Almost.
"Who submitted it?"
"Sebastian's office."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
Nathan continued.
"There is more."
A list of estate staff appeared.
Adrian scanned it.
Then stopped.
Mara Collins.
He read the name twice.
"Where is she?"
"Employed at Sebastian's residence."
Adrian looked up so sharply Nathan leaned back.
"Since when?"
"Nine months."
"Why wasn't I told?"
"I sent you a letter when her background check flagged the Ashford Hotel connection."
"I never got it."
Nathan opened another folder.
"I also sent a private letter to her before you left the clinic."
Adrian stared.
"She never answered."
"No."
"Show me."
Nathan produced a copy.
Mara,
I owe you an explanation. I was injured before I could return. I never chose to disappear. If you want nothing more to do with me, I will respect that, but I need you to know the silence was not mine.
Adrian
Adrian read it twice.
"Where was it sent?"
"To the employment address listed for her."
"Sebastian's estate."
"Yes."
Adrian stood.
Nathan watched him.
"You think they intercepted it?"
"I know someone did."
"Adrian."
He headed for the door.
"Find out who."
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
But Adrian did not go to the main Moretti residence.
He went first to the Ashford Hotel.
The manager remembered Mara.
"Best worker I had," she said.
"Did she leave suddenly?"
"Her mother died. Then she got a live-in position."
"Did she steal from a guest?"
The manager looked offended.
"Absolutely not."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Did she ever say anything about me?"
The manager studied him.
"You're Adrian Cole."
"Sometimes."
"She cried after you vanished."
His throat tightened.
"She thought I left her."
"We all did."
"Did anyone come asking about her?"
The manager frowned.
"A woman."
"What woman?"
"Expensive coat. Dark hair. Maybe thirty-five."
Adrian pulled out his phone and showed a photograph.
Bianca.
The manager nodded immediately.
"Her."
Adrian felt something cold settle inside him.
"What did she ask?"
"Whether Mara had taken money. Whether she had spoken about a wealthy guest. I told her no."
"Did she identify herself?"
"She said she worked for your family."
Adrian thanked her.
Then he returned to the car.
His security chief, Daniel Reese, waited behind the wheel.
"Estate?"
"Not yet."
"Where?"
"Find everything Bianca did in the month after my accident."
Daniel looked at him in the mirror.
"Everything?"
"Everything."
By afternoon Adrian knew enough to stop thinking in terms of misunderstandings.
Bianca had accessed hotel records.
Bianca had contacted Mara's former manager.
Bianca had authorized a private investigation into Mara before Mara ever applied for the Moretti household position.
That last fact made no sense.
Unless Mara's application had not been coincidence.
Adrian called Nathan.
"Who referred Mara to the estate?"
Silence.
Then keyboard sounds.
"A staffing agency."
"Who owns it?"
"Hold on."
More typing.
Nathan swore softly.
"What?"
"The agency is controlled through a holding company."
"Whose?"
"Russo Financial Services."
Bianca.
Adrian looked out at the city.
She had not merely found Mara after the accident.
She had placed Mara inside her own home.
Why?
To monitor her?
To keep her away from Adrian?
To control what she learned?
Daniel's phone rang.
He listened for several seconds.
Then turned.
"We have a problem."
"What?"
"Bianca left the estate twenty minutes ago."
"Where is she going?"
"We're tracking the vehicle."
Daniel paused.
"Greenwood Memorial Cemetery."
Adrian's body went rigid.
He knew that name.
He had once driven Mara there after her mother's funeral when she could not stop crying long enough to navigate.
"Why would Bianca go there?"
Daniel looked at the second update on his screen.
"One of her security men says Mara is already there."
May you like
Adrian opened the car door.
"Drive."
