Chapter 3 - Secrets in the LedgerBefore Lorenzo could press further, a sharp knock echoed at the study door. Sal Bruno pushed it open, holding a thick manila folder that had been retrieved from Elena’s small quarters on the third floor.
"Found this in her locked suitcase under some old clothes, Boss," Sal said, handing the folder to Lorenzo. "Fake papers. Passport, driver's license, employment references—all printed out of a shop in Brooklyn two weeks ago."
Lorenzo opened the folder while keeping one arm securely wrapped around the sleeping toddler. Inside were photographs, bank statements with zeroes that didn't add up for a maid, and a folded newspaper clipping dated four years ago.
The headline read: FORMER MORETTI ACCOUNTANT FOUND DEAD IN WAREHOUSE FIRE.
Lorenzo’s eyes locked onto the photograph of the deceased man. Julian Vance. A quiet, brilliant numbers man who had managed the Moretti family's offshore charitable trusts before vanishing just months before Matteo’s death.
"Julian Vance was your husband," Lorenzo stated, looking up from the page with cold, calculating eyes.
Elena nodded, fresh tears tracing her cheeks. "He wasn't just an accountant, Mr. Moretti. He was trying to warn your brother Matteo that someone inside the family was skimming millions from the legitimate shipping fronts to fund an independent war chest. Julian found out who was doing it. That’s why they locked him in that warehouse and burned it to the ground."
"If my father’s internal audits showed no such thing, why should I believe a word you're saying?" Lorenzo demanded, though the grip on his gun was strangely slack as the toddler stirred against his chest, murmuring something unintelligible in her sleep.
"Because the man who ordered Julian's death is sitting downstairs drinking your scotch," Elena whispered fiercely. "Your uncle Vittorio."
The room fell into a silence so profound that the hum of the desk lamp sounded like a jet engine.
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened. "My uncle helped raise me and Matteo after my parents died. He is blood."
"Blood is exactly why he thought he could steal from you," Elena countered, stepping closer despite the guards. "Julian kept a digital ledger on a secure drive. He hid it inside something that belonged to the Moretti family—something he thought no one would ever search."
Lorenzo looked down at the little girl in his arms. Her small hand was still balled into a fist against his shirt, clutching his lapel.
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"The velvet fox," Lorenzo realized aloud.
Elena’s eyes widened. She reached out, gently unzipping the hidden Velcro seam along the back of the worn toy. Inside, tucked deep within the polyester stuffing, sat a small, encrypted titanium thumb drive.
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