Chapter 14 - THE LAST MORETTI SECRET
The Moretti mausoleum stood on a hill outside the city.
Rain fell heavily.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Vincent, Isabella, Sofia, Marcus, and David stood before the stone doors.
Emma remained safely at home.
Vincent refused to risk her.
Marcus examined the entrance.
“Locked.”
David stepped forward.
“There is no lock.”
Vincent frowned.
David pushed against the stone.
Nothing happened.
“Look at the inscription.”
Vincent read it.
WHAT IS BURIED WITH THE DEAD MUST REMAIN WITH THE DEAD.
Thomas's voice suddenly came from behind them.
“Unless the dead were lying.”
Everyone turned.
Thomas stepped out of the rain.
Vincent stared.
“You disappeared.”
“I had to.”
“Where were you?”
“Making sure no one followed me.”
“Who?”
Thomas looked toward the cemetery gates.
“The last people loyal to your father.”
Vincent's expression changed.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
Marcus immediately reached for his weapon.
Thomas shook his head.
“They aren't here for us.”
“Then who?”
Thomas looked at the mausoleum.
“They're here for the ledger.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“You knew about it.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know who I could trust.”
Vincent stared.
“You could have trusted me.”
Thomas smiled sadly.
“Twenty-seven years ago, I thought your family was beyond saving.”
“And now?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Now I think you proved me wrong.”
He walked toward the mausoleum.
“There is a mechanism beneath the third stone.”
Vincent found it.
A small depression shaped like a hand.
He placed his palm against it.
Nothing happened.
Thomas shook his head.
“Not yours.”
Vincent looked at Isabella.
She stepped forward.
She placed her hand against the stone.
Nothing.
Then Emma's voice came through Vincent's phone.
“Daddy?”
Vincent froze.
He had accidentally left the call connected.
Emma had been talking to Sofia earlier.
Vincent smiled.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
“Where are you?”
“Just outside.”
“Are you looking for secrets?”
Everyone looked at each other.
Vincent laughed.
“Yes.”
Emma giggled.
“Use the little key.”
Vincent frowned.
“What little key?”
“The one Grandma gave me.”
Sofia looked at him.
“Emma has the key?”
Vincent remembered.
The tiny brass key Emma had found inside Margaret's old jewelry box.
He had thought it was meaningless.
Now he understood.
“Sweetheart, can you give the key to Sofia?”
“Yes.”
A few minutes later, Sofia returned.
The key fit perfectly into a hidden slot.
The stone door opened.
Inside was a narrow chamber.
At the center stood a metal coffin.
Not for a body.
For documents.
Vincent opened it.
Hundreds of files filled the chamber.
But one black folder sat on top.
He opened it.
The title made his blood run cold.
PROJECT EMMA.
Vincent read.
The file documented everything.
The birth.
The hospital switch.
The fake adoption.
The surveillance.
The attempted assassination.
The trust.
Every detail.
But there was something else.
A photograph.
Emma as an infant.
Beside her stood a young man.
Vincent stared.
He recognized him.
His own father.
But beside him was another man.
Someone Vincent had never seen before.
Thomas looked over his shoulder.
His face went white.
“That's impossible.”
Vincent looked at him.
“Who is he?”
Thomas whispered:
“Your father's partner.”
“Name?”
“Gabriel Vale.”
Vincent frowned.
“Where is he now?”
Thomas shook his head.
“Dead.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Vincent looked back at the photograph.
Then he noticed the date.
The photograph had been taken two years ago.
Thomas stared.
“He's alive.”
Vincent's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Vincent.”
The voice was calm.
Older.
Familiar somehow.
Vincent looked at the photograph.
“Gabriel.”
A pause.
“You found the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Where is Emma's mother?”
Gabriel laughed softly.
“Still asking the wrong question.”
Vincent's grip tightened.
“What do you want?”
“I don't want money.”
“Then what?”
“Justice.”
Vincent looked around the chamber.
“You murdered people for justice?”
“No.”
“You helped my father.”
“I helped him survive.”
“What's the difference?”
“Everything.”
Vincent's voice hardened.
“Come out.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“Your daughter's wedding venue.”
Vincent froze.
“It's been months.”
“I know.”
“Why there?”
“Because that's where the lie began.”
The call ended.
Vincent stared at the phone.
Sofia stepped closer.
“What did he say?”
Vincent looked at her.
“He wants us at the wedding venue tomorrow.”
Isabella's face tightened.
“Why?”
Vincent looked at the old photograph.
“Because someone planned this long before Emma was born.”
Thomas picked up another file.
“Vincent.”
“What?”
“You need to see this.”
Vincent turned.
Thomas held up a document.
At the bottom was a signature.
Margaret Moretti.
Vincent's face hardened.
“Margaret?”
Thomas nodded.
“She wasn't merely protecting the trust.”
“What was she doing?”
Thomas handed him the paper.
“She was the person who arranged the original baby switch.”
Vincent stared.
“That means…”
Thomas nodded.
“Margaret knew Emma was the heir from the beginning.”
Vincent looked toward the rain outside.
May you like
His entire life had been shaped by people who knew the truth and chose silence.
Tomorrow, he would make sure there was nowhere left for the truth to hide.
