Chapter 4 - THE NAME BURIED FOR TWENTY YEARS
Elena Romano had died three years earlier in what authorities had classified as a single-car accident.
Her vehicle had left a wet road outside Greenwich, Connecticut, and struck a barrier. She had been returning from a charity event.
Victor had been in London.
Adrian Cross had informed him of the accident.
The funeral had taken place four days later.
Victor had never questioned the official report because the grief had been overwhelming, and Adrian had assured him that every necessary investigation had been completed.
Now, sitting in his office with the recording still playing in his mind, Victor began to question everything.
"Find Elena's original accident file," he told Michael.
"That was three years ago."
"I know."
"And if the authorities closed the case?"
"Then we'll ask them to review it."
Michael nodded.
Within hours, the records arrived.
The police report contained no obvious evidence of foul play. The road had been wet, visibility had been poor, and the vehicle's damaged brakes had initially been attributed to the impact.
But a maintenance invoice raised a question.
The brake system had been serviced six days before the accident.
The mechanic had reported no serious defects.
Victor read the invoice twice.
"Who arranged the service?"
Michael examined the file.
"According to this, Adrian."
Victor felt a cold weight settle in his chest.
He called Adrian.
"Come to my office."
"Of course, sir."
Adrian arrived ten minutes later wearing a charcoal suit and carrying his usual leather folder.
"Is everything all right?"
Victor gestured toward the chair.
"Sit down."
Adrian noticed the police report on the desk.
His expression barely changed.
"Elena's accident?"
"Yes."
"Why are we discussing that now?"
"Because your voice appears on a recording discussing her death."
Adrian became still.
Victor pressed play.
The audio filled the room.
When it ended, Adrian folded his hands.
"The recording is incomplete."
"Then complete it."
"Vanessa was upset. She was speculating."
"About what?"
"About the boy's questions."
Victor leaned forward.
"Why did you tell her Noah needed to be removed from the family?"
"Because he was having emotional difficulties."
"Who authorized you to make that decision?"
Adrian sighed.
"Victor, I have spent fifteen years protecting this family. I know things you don't."
"Then start telling me."
Adrian looked at him for a long moment.
Finally, he said, "Elena was afraid of you."
Victor recoiled as if struck.
"What?"
"Not because you hurt her. Because she believed you were becoming like your father."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"My father has nothing to do with this."
"Your father built the Romano empire through fear. Elena believed you were repeating his mistakes."
"That doesn't explain the recording."
"No," Adrian admitted. "It doesn't."
Victor pressed the intercom.
Security officers entered.
"Take Mr. Cross to the guest wing. He is not to leave the property until the police have spoken with him."
Adrian stood.
"You can't keep me here."
"I'm not arresting you. I'm removing your access to my home and my company."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"You think this is about your son. It isn't."
"Then what is it about?"
Adrian stepped toward the door.
"The man you buried twenty years ago."
Victor went pale.
Adrian was escorted away.
For several minutes, Victor sat without moving.
Twenty years earlier, his older brother, Dominic Romano, had disappeared after a violent dispute with their father.
The family claimed Dominic had stolen money and fled the country.
Victor had been twenty-three.
He had believed the story because his father showed him bank records, legal documents, and a letter supposedly written by Dominic.
He had never seen his brother again.
When their father died, Victor inherited the company and spent years rebuilding its reputation.
He had never spoken Dominic's name publicly.
Now Adrian had invoked it as if Dominic were still alive.
Michael entered the office carrying a new report.
"We found something in Elena's old correspondence."
He placed a sealed envelope on the desk.
The handwriting belonged to Elena.
Inside was a letter addressed to Victor but never sent.
Victor,
I know you believe Dominic betrayed your father. I no longer think that story is true. I found evidence that money was moved through accounts he did not control. Adrian knows more than he admits.
If anything happens to me, please look after Noah. He must never become a bargaining chip in the family's old war.
Victor read the letter again.
His vision blurred.
Elena had known.
She had tried to warn him.
And he had never seen the warning because the letter had remained hidden inside a locked cabinet in the house he shared with her.
Michael waited.
"Victor, there's something else."
He opened a photograph recovered from an old security archive.
It showed Adrian standing outside a private terminal at an airport.
Beside him was a man whose face had been partially obscured by a baseball cap.
The image was dated six months earlier.
Victor recognized the man's posture before he recognized his face.
Dominic.
May you like
His brother was alive.
And he had been meeting with the man Victor trusted most.
