Chapter 10 - THE MAN WEARING MARCO’S FACE
The man was not Marco.
He was wearing Marco’s coat.
Using his access badge.
Seen at the right angle, on poor camera resolution, the resemblance had been enough.
Security cornered him before he left.
His name was Daniel Kross.
Former Bellini Protective Services technician.
Employed by Salvatore years earlier.
He had stolen Marco’s backup credentials weeks before.
Inside his bag were files relating to Emma’s paternity.
The Bellini trust.
Luca’s medical records.
And legal documents prepared for one purpose.
To challenge Emma’s claim to Luca’s inheritance.
The plan became visible.
If Luca died before formally acknowledging Emma—
Salvatore’s branch inherited controlling shares.
If Emma appeared afterward—
attack paternity.
Attack documentation.
Claim manipulation.
Delay everything.
Tie Rachel in litigation.
Control the company in the meantime.
Emma wasn’t supposed to be killed.
That almost made it worse.
She was an obstacle to be managed.
A child reduced to succession paperwork.
Then Kross talked.
Not from loyalty.
From fear.
Salvatore had stopped paying.
Men become honest quickly when the person they betrayed you for stops protecting them.
“The Shepherd is Salvatore?”
Luca asked.
Kross shook his head.
“No.”
Everyone froze.
“Then who?”
“I never met him.”
“You took orders.”
“Through messages.”
“From where?”
“Salvatore passed some.”
“Some?”
Kross nodded.
“Someone else was above him.”
Luca stared.
“Who is above Salvatore?”
Kross answered:
“I don’t know.”
That seemed impossible.
Then he gave Luca one phrase.
The Shepherd repeatedly referred to something called:
The Palermo Clause.
Elias Conti knew what it meant.
He looked sick when Luca mentioned it.
“It’s in the original family trust.”
“What does it say?”
“If direct Bellini control threatens the survival of the consolidated holdings, an independent trustee can suspend inheritance rights.”
“Who is the independent trustee?”
Elias did not answer.
“Who?”
He whispered:
“Your mother.”
Luca went completely still.
Isabella Bellini.
Living quietly in Sicily for seven years.
Publicly removed from family business after Alessandro’s death.
Luca had spoken to her four times in the last year.
She had always begged him to leave the organization.
Always.
Then why would The Shepherd know a clause only Isabella controlled?
Marco whispered:
“Luca…”
“No.”
His voice was hard.
“My mother is not hunting Emma.”
Nobody argued.
Then Elias said:
“She might be trying to protect her.”
Luca turned.
“How?”
“If Isabella believes Salvatore would kill you for succession, she could invoke the Palermo Clause.”
“Then why surveillance?”
“To establish Emma’s existence legally.”
Silence.
The black cars.
The photographs.
Not all surveillance may have come from the same side.
Somebody watched Emma to threaten her.
Somebody else watched her to prove she existed.
Luca called Sicily.
His mother answered on the third ring.
“Luca?”
“Are you The Shepherd?”
Silence.
So long that the answer became visible.
Then Isabella Bellini said:
“You were never supposed to learn that name.”
Luca’s entire understanding of the war shifted.
His mother had been moving pieces from across an ocean.
But whether she was protecting Emma—
May you like
or manipulating Luca—
remained unclear.
