Chapter 6 - Luca's Trust
The note on Rosa's kitchen table changed the direction of the investigation in six words.
Gabriel read it until the letters seemed to press through the screen.
ASK WHAT HAPPENED TO LUCA'S TRUST.
His older brother Luca had been dead for fourteen months.
The official story of everything after his death had always sounded simple.
Luca's personal assets went to Bianca.
His voting shares in several family companies were placed in a trust for the children of the next generation.
Gabriel had signed documents during a week when grief made every page look the same.
He had trusted the family attorney.
He had trusted Bianca.
He had trusted Celeste.
The word trust now felt like an accusation.
Dominic returned from Rosa's apartment shortly before dawn.
“She packed a small bag,” he said.
Gabriel looked up from his desk.
“So she left willingly?”
“Probably.”
“Probably isn't enough.”
“There were no signs of a struggle.”
Dominic placed photographs on the desk.
“Her passport is gone, but her husband's is still there.”
“Where is he?”
“Night shift at a hospital laundry facility.”
“Does he know where she went?”
“He says no.”
Gabriel studied the note again.
“Why leave the bottle?”
“Because she wanted us to know Marco planted it.”
“And the trust?”
Dominic shrugged.
“That is for the lawyers.”
Gabriel called his attorney, Miriam Cole, at 4:38 a.m.
She answered with the exhausted patience of someone who had represented him long enough to know that normal office hours were suggestions.
“I assume this is not about zoning.”
“Luca's trust.”
A pause.
“What about it?”
“I want every version of every document.”
“Gabriel, that file is enormous.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because someone just disappeared after telling me to look at it.”
Miriam's voice changed.
“Send me exactly what you have.”
By seven, the dining room smelled of coffee and toast.
Gabriel had not slept.
Emma entered with Lily on one hip and Ava holding her hand.
She took one look at him and stopped.
“You look terrible.”
Gabriel almost laughed.
“That might be the first honest thing anyone has said to me all morning.”
Ava pointed at his face.
“You have tired eyes.”
“Thank you, Ava.”
Emma set Lily in her chair.
“Did you find out who put the camera there?”
“Not yet.”
He hated giving her the same answer.
Emma noticed.
“What happened?”
Gabriel considered whether to tell her about Rosa.
He decided hiding it would be worse.
“Rosa left her apartment last night.”
Emma went still.
“Left?”
“We don't know where she went.”
“Is she okay?”
“We think so.”
Emma's face tightened.
“She was scared.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean really scared.”
Gabriel looked at her.
Emma lowered her voice.
“Three days ago she asked me whether anyone had ever offered me money to quit.”
“What did you say?”
“No.”
“What did she say?”
“She said if someone did, I should take the money and leave.”
Gabriel felt the room narrow.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Emma gave him a frustrated look.
“Because until yesterday, I thought your biggest concern was whether I was overstepping with Lily.”
The answer stung because it was fair.
Gabriel looked down.
“You're right.”
Emma blinked.
He rarely apologized, and both of them knew it.
“I should have been paying attention sooner.”
Emma's expression softened, but only slightly.
“Pay attention now.”
“I am.”
Lily banged a spoon against the tray.
Ava copied her.
For a few seconds, the children rescued the room from adult fear.
Then Bianca entered.
She wore sunglasses despite being indoors.
Gabriel looked at her.
“Long night?”
She removed the glasses.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
Her gaze moved to Emma.
“Why is she still here?”
Emma's shoulders stiffened.
Gabriel set down his cup.
“Because she works here.”
“After all of this?”
“After all of what?”
Bianca seemed to realize she had stepped too far.
She changed direction.
“The canceled appointment.”
“The email was forged.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do now.”
Bianca stared at him.
Gabriel continued.
“The metadata proves it came from the household administration tablet, not from Emma.”
Emma looked at him, surprised he had confirmed it.
Bianca's face remained controlled.
“Then someone used the tablet.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think it was me?”
Gabriel buttered toast with deliberate calm.
“I haven't said that.”
“You don't have to.”
“Then stop answering questions I didn't ask.”
Bianca's eyes flashed.
Ava looked between them.
Emma noticed and immediately started talking to the child about strawberries.
Gabriel saw the instinct again.
Protect the girls from the adults.
Bianca stood.
“I came to tell you the board meeting has been moved to ten.”
“What board meeting?”
She frowned.
“Moretti Holdings.”
“I didn't approve a meeting.”
“Marco did.”
Gabriel's hand stopped.
“Marco does not chair the board.”
“No, but he has enough proxy votes to call an emergency session.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Since when?”
Bianca's face changed just slightly.
Then Gabriel understood why Rosa's note mattered.
Luca's voting shares.
The trust.
“Who holds Luca's proxy?”
Bianca did not answer immediately.
Gabriel stood.
“Bianca.”
She looked toward the children.
“Not here.”
“Then my study.”
They left the dining room.
Emma watched them go.
Inside the study, Gabriel closed the door.
“Who holds the proxy?”
Bianca set her handbag down.
“Celeste is trustee.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“That is not what I signed.”
“You signed an amendment.”
“When?”
“After Luca's funeral.”
“I signed temporary administrative authority.”
“It became permanent under the succession clause.”
Gabriel's anger sharpened.
“Who explained that to me?”
“The attorney.”
“Which attorney?”
Bianca hesitated.
“Harold Vane.”
Gabriel knew the name.
Vane had represented Luca personally.
He had retired six months ago.
“Get me the amendment.”
“I don't have it.”
“You are Luca's widow.”
“That doesn't mean I carry trust documents in my purse.”
Gabriel moved closer.
“Do you benefit from the trust?”
Bianca's expression hardened.
“Of course I do.”
“How?”
“It pays household expenses and educational costs.”
“For which children?”
Bianca looked away.
Gabriel's voice dropped.
“Luca had no children.”
The room became silent.
Bianca looked back at him.
“No.”
“Then why does a trust created from his shares pay educational costs?”
“You should ask Celeste.”
“I am asking you.”
Bianca's mouth tightened.
“The beneficiaries were broadened.”
“To whom?”
“The next generation.”
“That means Lily and Ava.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel stared at her.
Something clicked into place.
If Luca's shares were held for Lily and Ava, then whoever controlled those shares could claim to be protecting the girls' financial interests.
“Who becomes voting trustee if I am unable to act for my daughters?”
Bianca said nothing.
Gabriel already knew the answer would matter.
“Bianca.”
She exhaled.
“Celeste.”
Gabriel felt the final piece settle.
Medical reports saying Lily's condition was worsening.
Emails making Emma look irresponsible.
A hidden camera pointed at the nanny.
A relative controlling a trust tied to his daughters.
He looked at Bianca.
“What happens if someone convinces a court that I am neglecting Lily's medical care?”
Bianca's face went pale.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“You knew enough to bring Dr. Harlan here because of a forged cancellation.”
“I thought Emma canceled it.”
“Why were you so ready to believe that?”
Bianca looked furious now.
“Because she has been undermining every professional we hire.”
“She got Lily walking.”
“That doesn't make her qualified.”
“It makes her effective.”
Bianca turned away.
Gabriel noticed her hands shaking.
“Are you afraid of Celeste?”
She spun around.
“No.”
“Marco?”
“No.”
“Then what are you afraid of?”
Bianca's eyes filled unexpectedly.
For one moment, the polished hostility disappeared.
“You don't know what Luca left behind.”
Gabriel's anger stopped moving.
“What does that mean?”
Bianca grabbed her handbag.
“I shouldn't have said anything.”
Gabriel stepped between her and the door.
“Say it now.”
She looked at him.
“Ask why Luca changed the trust three days before he died.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“You said I changed it after the funeral.”
Bianca's face crumpled with regret.
“I said too much.”
She pushed past him and left.
Gabriel did not follow immediately.
Miriam sent Gabriel a timeline of every document signed during the month surrounding Luca's death.
The list was longer than he expected.
Insurance forms.
Temporary voting authorizations.
Vendor approvals.
Estate notices.
Hospital releases.
He had signed dozens of pages while moving between grief, work, and two children who could not understand why familiar adults kept disappearing.
That was the weakness someone had used.
Not stupidity.
Volume.
Gabriel printed the timeline and spread it across the study floor.
Emma entered carrying Lily and stopped.
“You look like Ava when she dumps every puzzle out at once.”
Gabriel glanced up.
“This puzzle involves shell companies.”
“Ava's involves farm animals.”
“She may have the better afternoon.”
Emma set Lily on the rug.
The baby immediately crawled toward a stack of documents.
Gabriel moved them out of reach.
Lily frowned at him.
“Corporate governance,” he said.
“She disagrees with your filing system,” Emma replied.
Gabriel smiled despite himself.
Then Emma noticed one date circled in red.
“What happened there?”
“The day after Luca's funeral.”
Gabriel pointed to six documents.
“Vane brought these to the house.”
“Do you remember signing them?”
“Some.”
“Not all.”
“No.”
Emma crouched beside the papers.
“Was Celeste there?”
“Yes.”
“Bianca?”
“Yes.”
“Marco?”
Gabriel thought.
“For part of it.”
Emma studied the page.
“Then whoever forged your name did not need to hide from you.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“They only needed one paper in a stack you expected to sign.”
He hated how plausible it sounded.
Miriam later confirmed that one disputed document had been scanned into the estate system alongside legitimate forms delivered that day.
The metadata suggested it had been uploaded from Vane's office.
The physical original, however, was missing.
Gabriel called Vane's former partner.
The man sounded defensive before Gabriel finished the question.
“Harold took several private client files when he retired.”
“Was that allowed?”
“He was counsel of record.”
“Was it normal?”
A pause.
“No.”
“Why did nobody tell me?”
“We believed you knew.”
Gabriel ended the call with another lesson he did not enjoy learning.
Large systems could conceal wrongdoing simply because everyone assumed someone else had permission.
The Moretti family had not lacked rules.
It had lacked people willing to ask who gave the rulemaker authority.
His phone rang.
Miriam Cole.
He answered.
“I found the trust amendment,” she said.
Gabriel looked through the study window as Bianca hurried toward the foyer.
“What does it say?”
Miriam was silent for two seconds.
Then she answered.
“It says if you are deemed unable to provide appropriate care for Lily and Ava, Celeste can petition to become temporary guardian of their financial interests.”
Gabriel's grip tightened around the phone.
“That sounds exactly like what I expected.”
“It gets worse.”
“What?”
“The amendment is dated three days before Luca died.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Miriam continued.
“And the signature page has your name on it as a witness.”
Gabriel opened his eyes.
“I wasn't there.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because three days before Luca died, you were in Singapore.”
Gabriel remembered the trip clearly.
May you like
Miriam's voice became quiet.
“Someone forged your signature on the trust.”
