Chapter 5 - The True Motive
The banquet dissolved into chaos. Guests murmured in hushed, scandalized tones as waiters hurriedly cleared untouched plates of filet mignon. Dr. Lorenzo immediately approached Luca, motioning for Emily to assist him.
"Mr. Moretti, we need to transport Sofía to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital right now," Dr. Lorenzo said urgently, keeping his voice low so the remaining guests wouldn't overhear. "What Vanessa just implied... it wasn't an empty threat."
"Explain," Luca said, his face drained of blood.
"For the past four months, Sofía’s rehabilitation progress has followed an inexplicable pattern," Dr. Lorenzo explained, leading them out toward the private elevator. "She would make extraordinary leaps during our morning sessions, but by late afternoon, her lower extremities would suffer severe muscular flaccidity and lethargy. We attributed it to neurological exhaustion from the spinal trauma. But if Vanessa had access to her medications..."
My stomach dropped into an icy abyss. "Her vitamin supplements," I blurted out, my hands trembling on the handles of Sofía's chair. "Every afternoon at three o'clock, Vanessa insisted on giving Sofía her special imported neuro-vitamin shake. She made it in the kitchen herself. She told me it was a Swiss organic formula to prevent nerve degradation."
Luca kicked the nearest marble planter with such force that the stone cracked. "Damn her! Damn her to hell!"
"Dad, don't be mad," Sofía said, reaching up to tug on his sleeve. "I don't feel sick. I just feel sleepy sometimes."
"We're going to the hospital, Sofía," Luca said, kneeling beside her once again, kissing her forehead over and over. "Right now. We are going to find out what she gave you, and I swear on your mother’s soul, she will pay for every milligram."
Ten minutes later, the Moretti family motorcade was speeding through the neon-lit avenues of Manhattan, police escort sirens clearing the intersections ahead. In the back of the armored SUV, Luca held Sofía tight against his chest, refusing to let her go even for a second.
Marcus sat across from them, his tablet illuminating his lined face in a harsh blue glow.
"It’s worse than we thought, Luca," Marcus said, scrolling through encrypted legal files. "Our forensic accountants just broke through the off-shore trust Vanessa set up in the Cayman Islands last month."
"Tell me," Luca growled.
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"Sofía’s mother left her trust fund protected by a strict testamentary clause," Marcus explained. "If Sofía reaches the age of eighteen with full mental and physical capacity, ninety million dollars in prime real estate and maritime equity transfers directly to her. But if Sofía is declared permanently disabled and placed under a full adult conservatorship, the designated legal trustee assumes absolute managerial control over the dividends—nearly six million dollars a year in tax-free distributions."
Luca closed his eyes, his breathing heavy and ragged. "She didn't want to get rid of Sofía because of a wedding dress. She wanted to turn my daughter into a cash cow locked in an Alpine vault."
