Chapter 7 - The Woman Behind the Camera.
Serena watched the frozen image of Celeste smiling into the pantry camera as if the screen had accused her personally.
Lorenzo watched Serena.
He had learned long ago that evidence changed people before it changed facts.
The guilty calculated.
The innocent protested.
The frightened searched for exits.
Serena did none of those things.
She simply sat down.
"She switched it," Serena whispered.
Lorenzo looked at the image again.
"She added something after you."
"The bottle Hart gave me was clear."
"And hers?"
"I never saw it."
Marco enlarged the frame.
Celeste's bottle was small and dark, with no visible label.
The footage had no audio.
It did not need any.
Everything about Celeste's deliberate movements suggested familiarity.
She knew which glass was Lorenzo's.
She knew where Serena would stand.
She knew the camera angle.
Most importantly, she knew the camera existed.
"Why put the video in Serena's purse?" Elena asked.
Lorenzo turned toward her.
"Because somebody wanted us to find it."
"Or Celeste wanted Serena to find it," Marco said.
Serena shook her head.
"She could have called me."
"Unless she doesn't trust your phone."
Marco checked the memory card again.
"The file was copied at six forty-two this morning."
Lorenzo glanced toward the clinic windows.
"After the party."
"Yes."
"Meaning whoever put this card in Serena's purse had access to her after we left the estate."
Serena immediately opened her purse and emptied everything onto Hart's desk.
Nothing else unusual appeared.
"No one touched it."
"Someone did," Lorenzo said.
She looked at him.
"I slept for maybe twenty minutes in the car."
Marco's eyes narrowed.
"Who drove?"
"Anthony."
Anthony Russo had been Serena's personal driver for six years.
Marco called him.
No answer.
He tried again.
Straight to voicemail.
Lorenzo felt the familiar tightening beneath his ribs.
Not panic.
Pattern.
Every useful witness vanished just before being questioned.
The false server.
Celeste.
Matteo.
Now Anthony.
Someone was not merely hiding evidence.
Someone was managing the order in which Lorenzo received it.
"We're being led," he said.
Serena looked at him.
"To whom?"
"That's the part I don't like."
A sound came from the hallway.
Mia turned instantly.
Her attention sharpened before anyone else reacted.
She pointed toward the door.
Marco moved first.
He opened it.
The receptionist stood there.
She was young, pale, and visibly terrified.
"Please don't hurt me."
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"Nobody is going to hurt you."
Her eyes moved over his tattoos and the men behind him.
She clearly did not believe that.
"What's your name?"
"Claire."
"Claire, where is Dr. Hart?"
"I don't know."
"Who emptied the office?"
"He did."
"When?"
"Around five this morning."
Marco stepped closer.
"You were here?"
"He called me and said there had been a data breach."
"Did you see anyone with him?"
Claire hesitated.
Lorenzo lowered his voice.
"The safest answer is the true one."
"Mr. Romano."
Serena stood.
"My father?"
Claire shook her head.
"The other Mr. Romano."
Victor.
The room went still.
"What did they do?" Lorenzo asked.
"Dr. Hart gave him two boxes of patient files."
"Anything else?"
"A locked case."
"What kind?"
"Medical sample case."
Serena's face tightened.
"Where did they go?"
"I heard Mr. Romano say something about the marina."
Lorenzo looked at Marco.
"Which marina does Victor use?"
"North Cove in the city sometimes."
Serena interrupted.
"No."
Everyone turned toward her.
"He keeps a boat in Port Washington under a company name."
"Why?"
"Because my uncle thinks privacy is a religion."
Marco was already texting his people.
Claire looked toward the door.
"Can I go?"
Lorenzo nodded.
"One more question."
She froze.
"Did Hart ever talk about me when I wasn't here?"
Her face changed.
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He said you were the most important patient he never wanted to cure."
Serena closed her eyes.
Lorenzo felt nothing at first.
Then anger arrived, cold and clean.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Claire started crying quietly.
"I thought he was joking."
Lorenzo believed her.
People survived powerful men by pretending ugly comments were jokes.
He had seen it all his life.
"Go home," he said.
"Don't answer your phone unless it's your family."
She left quickly.
Marco looked at Lorenzo.
"I can have people at Port Washington in forty minutes."
"No."
"Boss?"
"Victor knows our people."
"Then what?"
Lorenzo looked at Serena.
"We use someone he doesn't expect."
Serena understood immediately.
"My father."
"He and Victor haven't trusted each other in years."
"You know that?"
"Your family isn't as mysterious as it thinks."
Serena hesitated.
"My father won't help if he thinks you're accusing him."
"Then don't tell him I'm accusing anyone."
"You want me to lie to him."
"You've had practice."
Her eyes flashed with hurt.
He did not apologize.
At nine thirty, Salvatore Romano arrived at the clinic furious enough to forget elegance.
He entered Hart's office and stared at the empty shelves.
"Where is my brother?"
Lorenzo leaned against the desk.
"Good morning to you too."
"Serena said Victor was involved."
"We have evidence he met Hart this morning."
Salvatore looked at his daughter.
"You should not be here."
Serena laughed bitterly.
"Apparently I should have been in a lot more rooms over the last three years."
Her father ignored that.
Lorenzo showed him the appointment records and the engagement clause.
For the first time, Salvatore seemed genuinely surprised.
He read section nine twice.
"I never approved this."
"Victor is your representative on the review board."
"He handles legal structures."
"Convenient profession."
Salvatore looked at Serena.
"Did you sign this?"
"Not that version."
He looked back at Lorenzo.
"Neither did I."
"I didn't ask you."
"I'm telling you anyway."
Salvatore placed the document on the desk.
"Victor has been moving money without my authorization for nearly a year."
Serena stared at him.
"What?"
"Small amounts. Different entities. Enough to notice, not enough to accuse."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I believed I could handle my own brother."
Lorenzo smiled without humor.
"Families seem to be doing a lot of handling lately."
Salvatore ignored him.
"If Victor is at the marina, he will not stay there long."
"Can you get him to stay?"
The older man's eyes narrowed.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Call him."
"And say what?"
"Tell him Serena confessed."
Serena's head snapped toward Lorenzo.
"Confessed to what?"
"Everything."
"That's not funny."
"It isn't supposed to be."
Salvatore slowly understood.
"If Victor believes she is taking the blame, he may think the plan is still contained."
Lorenzo nodded.
"Exactly."
Salvatore took out his phone.
He called his brother.
Victor answered on the third ring.
Salvatore put the call on speaker.
"Where are you?"
"Busy."
Victor's voice was smooth.
"You've heard about last night?"
"Everyone has."
"Serena admitted what she did."
A pause.
Small.
Very small.
"Did she?"
Lorenzo looked at Serena.
She heard it too.
Victor continued.
"Then perhaps this embarrassment can finally end."
"She says Hart told her to do it."
Another pause.
"Hart is a fool."
"I thought you liked him."
"I like useful people."
Salvatore looked at Lorenzo.
Lorenzo nodded slightly.
"Where are you, Victor?"
"Why?"
"Because the family is breaking apart while you're hiding on your boat."
Victor laughed softly.
"You always were dramatic."
Then a muffled voice sounded behind him.
A man's voice.
Weak.
Angry.
"Lorenzo..."
Lorenzo recognized it instantly.
Matteo.
Victor went silent.
Salvatore's face changed.
"What was that?"
The line disconnected.
Lorenzo was already moving toward the door.
May you like
Victor Romano had just made the mistake frightened men always made.
He had confirmed where the missing witness was.
