Chapter 8: The Brother Who Wasn't There
Vittorio stood motionless in the secure residence's kitchen, the phone pressed against his ear.
“Explain exactly what you mean,” he said.
Bianca was crying so hard that her words came in fragments.
“I don't know how long it's been happening. I swear I don't. Sometimes Marcus would be in the study, and Richard would call me from the office. Then I'd see someone who looked like Marcus near the stairs, and I'd hear Richard's voice from the other side of the house.””
“You're telling me you've been seeing two men who look alike?””
“Not exactly alike. But close enough that, from behind, in a dark room, I couldn't always tell.””
Vittorio felt the beginnings of a headache behind his eyes.
“Bianca, this is important. Are you saying Richard has been wearing Marcus's clothes?””
“Yes.””
“Has Marcus known?””
A long silence followed.
“I don't know.””
Vittorio closed his eyes.
“You expect me to believe that you allowed a man to impersonate your own brother without understanding why?””
“I didn't allow it!””
“Then tell me what you did.””
Bianca drew a shaky breath.
“Three weeks ago, Richard told me Marcus had gone away for a few days. He said Marcus was involved in a legal problem and couldn't be seen in public. He asked me to keep it quiet until the problem was resolved.””
“And you agreed.””
“I believed him.””
“Why?””
“Because Marcus had been asking for money. He said he was in trouble, and Richard offered to help him.””
Vittorio looked toward the window.
“Where is your brother now?””
“I don't know.””
“Have you called him?””
“I tried. His phone is off.””
“What about his apartment?””
“Richard said Marcus had left the country.””
“And you accepted that without speaking to your own brother?””
Bianca's voice cracked.
“I thought it was temporary.””
Vittorio felt anger rising again, but something about the story bothered him.
Bianca had lied repeatedly. She had allowed Lucy to be mistreated. She had participated in a plan to remove Vittorio from his company.
Yet the fear in her voice was difficult to dismiss.
“What happened tonight?”” he asked.
“I went to the sitting room after you left. I saw the coat, but Marcus was gone. Then I found his ring on the table. I checked the security recordings, and I saw Richard entering the west passage.””
“Why were you checking the recordings?””
“Because I was looking for Marcus.””
“Why didn't you tell Salvatore?””
“Because Richard called me.””
Vittorio stopped pacing.
“What did he say?””
“He told me that if I mentioned his name to anyone, Lucy would disappear permanently.””
Silence filled the kitchen.
Vittorio felt something cold settle in his chest.
“Bianca, listen carefully. Are you saying Richard threatened Lucy?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Tonight. Before he left.””
“Where?””
“In the pantry.””
Vittorio remembered the bowl.
The scraps on the floor.
Lucy asking whether she was a human being.
He had assumed Bianca was the central source of the cruelty, that she had chosen to humiliate her own daughter because she enjoyed control.
Now he wondered whether she had been trying to satisfy someone else's demands.
It did not excuse what she had done.
But it meant the danger was larger than he had imagined.
“Where is Richard now?”” he asked.
“I don't know. He told me to wait until he called again.””
“And you agreed?””
“I was scared.””
Vittorio exhaled slowly.
“Then you're going to do something different. You're going to stay where you are, keep the phone with you, and tell Salvatore everything you remember. No private conversations.
No messages to Richard. No warnings.””
“Will you help me?””
Vittorio looked toward the hallway where Lucy was sleeping.
“I will help establish the truth. That isn't the same as forgiving you.””
“I understand.””
“Do you?””
Bianca was silent.
Vittorio continued.
“You allowed Lucy to be humiliated, frightened, and deprived of food. Whatever Richard threatened you with, you had choices. You could have come to me.
You could have told a doctor. You could have protected her.””
“I know.””
“No, Bianca. You know now that the plan is failing. I need to know whether you understood what you were doing while Lucy was suffering.””
Her answer came in a whisper.
“I did.””
For several seconds, Vittorio said nothing.
Then he ended the call.
He stood at the counter, staring at the dark phone screen.
Bianca had finally told the truth about one thing.
She had known Lucy was suffering.
And she had continued anyway.
Mercer arrived at the secure residence forty minutes later.
He carried a laptop, a folder of printed records, and a small device used to examine digital storage.
“The situation is more complicated than we thought,” he said.
Vittorio gestured toward the table.
“Show me.””
Mercer opened the first file.
It was a photograph of a man entering the DeLuca property through the western service gate.
The image was grainy, but his face was visible.
Richard Sloane.
The second photograph showed the same man wearing Marcus's dark coat.
The third showed him entering the west library.
“He has access credentials assigned to Marcus,” Mercer explained.
“The credentials were issued through the property renovation contractor.””
Vittorio studied the images.
“So Richard used Marcus's identity to move through my house.””
“That's the leading possibility. But we haven't confirmed whether Marcus gave him access voluntarily, or whether someone stole the credentials.””
“Can you establish when it began?””
“Not yet. We have the additional cameras installed three weeks ago, and some footage from the original system. But several files were deleted.””
“By whom?””
“The access logs show a user account associated with Bianca. However, the account was also accessed remotely through the contractor's network.””
Vittorio leaned forward.
“Could Richard have used her credentials?””
“Yes.””
Mercer opened another file.
“This is a transfer record from a shell company connected to Northstar. It shows regular payments to an account associated with Marcus DeLuca. The payments began six years ago, shortly after your father's death.””
Vittorio looked up.
“Six years?””
“Yes. The amounts increased substantially three months ago.””
“How much?””
Mercer showed him the figures.
The payments totaled several million dollars.
Vittorio stared at the screen.
“Marcus has never had that kind of money.””
“According to his publicly available financial records, he hasn't. But the account appears to have been established through a separate holding company.””
“Who owns it?””
“That's what we're trying to determine.””
Vittorio rubbed his forehead.
“Why would Richard impersonate Marcus?””
Mercer considered the question.
“To gain access to the property. To manipulate Bianca. To create false records. Or to keep the real Marcus out of sight while using his identity.””
“And why would Bianca cooperate?””
“Possibly because she knew more than she admitted. Possibly because she was threatened. We don't have enough evidence to establish which.””
Vittorio looked at the photograph of Richard entering the west library.
“Find the real Marcus.””
Mercer nodded.
“We've already started.””
He opened another file.
A photograph appeared of a man entering a medical building in Boston two days earlier.
Marcus DeLuca.
This time, there was no mistaking him.
His gold ring was visible on his right hand, and his face looked thinner than Vittorio remembered.
“Where is he now?”” Vittorio asked.
“We don't know. He left the building at 4:18 p.m. and hasn't been seen since.””
“What medical building?””
“An outpatient clinic that provides neurological assessments.””
Vittorio stared at the image.
“Why would Marcus need a neurological assessment?””
Mercer opened the clinic's public records.
“We don't know what brought him there. But the clinic's contract records show that a Northstar subsidiary has funded several of its research programs.””
Vittorio felt the pieces shift.
Richard's false identity.
The secret cameras.
The medication concerns.
The doctor who had been asked to describe Lucy as unstable.
And now Marcus visiting a clinic tied to Northstar.
“This isn't simply corporate fraud,” Vittorio said.
“No,” Mercer replied.
“It may involve falsified medical records and attempts to manipulate more than one person.””
Vittorio thought of Lucy's question.
Am I a human being?
She had been forced to doubt herself, treated as though her needs were an inconvenience, and threatened into silence.
If Richard had been controlling the narrative in the house, Bianca's cruelty might have served a larger purpose.
But what purpose required an eight-year-old child to be frightened of her own family?
Mercer closed the laptop.
“We need the box examined as soon as possible. Whatever your father left behind may explain why Richard is willing to take such risks.””
Vittorio nodded.
“The specialist will arrive in an hour.””
“Good. Until then, I recommend we keep Lucy away from the main residence.””
“She'll stay here.””
“And Bianca?””
“Under supervision. She'll answer questions, and she'll have access to her attorney.””
Mercer looked at him carefully.
“You're aware that she may be implicated in what happened to Lucy.””
“I am.””
“Even if she was threatened?””
Vittorio's expression hardened.
“Threats might explain her behavior. They don't erase it.””
Mercer nodded.
“Then let's focus on the evidence.””
At eleven in the morning, the digital forensics specialist arrived with a portable examination system.
The black box remained sealed inside its evidence container until the specialist photographed every surface and checked the casing for tampering.
After nearly an hour, he identified a narrow compartment hidden beneath the internal lining.
Inside was a small storage device and a folded letter.
Vittorio recognized his father's handwriting immediately.
The letter was addressed to him.
He read it aloud.
My son,
If you are reading this, then the people I feared have finally moved against you.
I wanted to tell you the truth while I was alive, but I could not be certain who was listening. I made a mistake by keeping too much to myself. I believed I could protect the family by carrying the burden alone.
Do not repeat that mistake.
The ledger contains records of payments made through companies that appeared legitimate but were designed to conceal the identities of their beneficiaries. Those payments were connected to Northstar Capital, and several people within our company helped disguise them.
Carlo knows part of the story. Richard knows more than he admits. But there is one person whose role I have never fully understood.
Vittorio paused.
The letter continued.
That person may be the reason the others are so determined to keep the ledger hidden.
Do not assume that the person closest to you is the one who knows the most.
Vittorio lowered the page.
Mercer was watching him.
“Does it identify the person?””
“Not yet.””
The specialist connected the storage device to an isolated system.
A list of files appeared.
Financial ledgers.
Audio recordings.
Copies of contracts.
Photographs.
One folder was marked with a single word.
*SUCCESSION.*
Vittorio opened it.
Inside was a scanned version of his father's will, followed by a set of corporate documents that had never been filed with the public registry.
The final document was a letter from his father dated two days before his death.
It contained a name.
Not Carlo.
Not Richard.
Not Bianca.
Vittorio stared at it, unable to speak.
Mercer leaned closer.
“Who is it?””
Vittorio turned the screen toward him.
The name was *Marcus DeLuca*.
Below it, his father had written:
If Marcus is alive, he must be found before Richard discovers what he knows.
Vittorio felt the room grow cold.
He called Salvatore.
“Find the real Marcus. He's not just a witness. My father believed he was the key to the entire conspiracy.””
Salvatore answered immediately.
“Understood.””
Vittorio looked at the storage device.
The file system showed that one folder had been accessed just before the box was hidden.
Its name was *ORIGINAL RECORDING*.
He clicked it.
A video opened.
His father appeared on the screen, sitting in the west library. He looked tired but alert. A glass of water sat beside him, and a thick ledger rested on the desk.
He leaned toward the camera.
“If you're watching this, Vittorio, then I failed to protect you from the people I trusted.””
The recording paused briefly.
Then his father's face changed.
“But before you believe anything Richard tells you, you must understand what happened to Marcus.””
Vittorio leaned forward.
His father took a breath.
“Your sister—”
The video abruptly cut to black.
Vittorio stared at the screen.
Mercer checked the file.
“The recording is incomplete. It ends at the same point on the original storage copy.””
“Can you recover the missing segment?””
“We'll try. But I can't promise anything.””
Vittorio pressed his palm against the desk.
His father had never mentioned a sister.
Not once in the years they had spent together.
And yet the letter, the ledger, and the video all pointed toward a secret buried inside his own family.
Before he could speak, Salvatore called back.
“We've located Marcus.””
Vittorio grabbed the phone.
“Where is he?””
“At a private medical facility outside Boston. He's under a different name, and the clinic has placed restrictions on visitors.””
“Is he alive?””
“Yes, sir.””
“Then bring him here.””
Salvatore hesitated.
“There's a problem.””
“What problem?””
“The clinic says Marcus has been receiving treatment there for several months. According to their records, he was admitted under a court order.””
Vittorio stared at the dark screen.
“What court order?””
Salvatore's voice dropped.
“One that claims Marcus DeLuca is mentally incompetent, a danger to himself, and legally unable to make decisions.””
Vittorio felt the full shape of the conspiracy begin to emerge.
Someone had not only tried to make him look unstable.
May you like
They had already done it to Marcus.
And if his father's letter was accurate, the real Marcus might be the only person alive who knew why.
