Chapter 6 - THE SECOND BELLINIThe tattooed man refused to give us his name.
Daniel found it anyway.
Anthony Bellini.
Vanessa's older brother.
A former security contractor who had disappeared three years earlier after being accused of falsifying corporate records.
I stared at him through the interrogation room glass.
“He's her brother?”
Luca nodded.
“And you never knew?”
“No.”
The answer came through clenched teeth.
Anthony sat calmly on the other side.
He had a split lip from the fight, but he looked almost amused.
Daniel entered first.
“Tell us where Vanessa is.”
Anthony smiled.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“You won't reach her.”
Luca stepped inside.
Anthony looked at him.
“I've waited twelve years to see your face when you finally understood.”
“What happened twelve years ago?”
Anthony leaned forward.
“Ask your mother.”
“She died.”
Anthony smiled wider.
“She lied.”
Luca's fist struck the table.
“Don't play games.”
Anthony's expression remained calm.
“Your mother knew your father was going to expose her.”
My stomach tightened.
“Expose her for what?”
Anthony looked directly at me.
“She wasn't the victim.”
Luca went still.
“What are you saying?”
“Your father discovered Vivian Moretti was siphoning money from his private foundation.”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
“Your mother wasn't stealing for herself.”
Anthony's smile faded.
“She was paying people.”
“For what?”
“To keep a secret buried.”
Silence.
Anthony turned toward the observation window.
“And one of those secrets involved Vanessa's family.”
Daniel asked,
“What secret?”
Anthony laughed.
“The kind that destroys dynasties.”
He leaned back.
“Your father discovered a financial network connecting several companies to organized crime.”
Luca's face hardened.
“I'm not interested in fairy tales.”
Anthony shrugged.
“Then ask yourself why he died one day after telling your mother he was going to the police.”
I looked at Luca.
He said nothing.
Anthony continued.
“Vanessa isn't after your fortune.”
“What does she want?”
“The evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“The original ledger.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“Where is it?”
Anthony smiled.
“Your father hid it.”
“Where?”
Anthony's gaze moved toward me.
“With the one thing your mother trusted.”
I felt cold.
“Bruno.”
Anthony nodded.
“The dog was always around.”
“He's a dog,” I said.
“Exactly.”
Luca stared at him.
Anthony leaned closer.
“Your father hid a key inside Bruno's collar.”
I remembered the missing tag.
“So Vanessa cut it off.”
“Too late.”
Anthony smiled.
“Someone got the key first.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
Daniel entered with a tablet.
“Boss.”
He showed Luca security footage from the mansion.
A woman was walking through the west wing.
Maria.
She stopped at the hidden room.
Then someone joined her.
A man.
Anthony looked at the screen and immediately stopped smiling.
“That's impossible.”
Luca turned.
“Who is he?”
Anthony didn't answer.
Luca repeated the question.
Anthony finally whispered,
“Frank Bellini.”
I stared at him.
“Your father?”
Anthony nodded.
“That's my father.”
“But he's dead,” Vanessa's brother said.
Luca looked at Daniel.
“Verify it.”
Daniel hesitated.
“Boss…”
“What?”
“We already did.”
Luca's expression darkened.
“What did you find?”
Daniel swallowed.
“The death certificate is real.”
“Then who is on the footage?”
The room went silent.
Anthony stood abruptly.
“You don't understand.”
“Sit down.”
“That man isn't Frank.”
“Then who?”
May you like
Anthony stared at me.
“He's the man who killed your father.”
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