Chapter 4: The Woman in the Red Scarf
Emma tightened her grip on the confidential file.
For one terrifying second, she considered screaming for security. Then she remembered the woman's words.
Someone who knows why Vincent Moretti hired you.
The woman in the red scarf closed the archive door behind her and turned the lock.
Emma noticed.
“Why did you lock that?””
“To prevent interruptions.””
“Unlock it.””
The woman's eyebrows rose.
“You've been working for Mr. Moretti for less than an hour, and already you're giving orders?””
“I'm not giving you orders. I'm telling you to unlock the door.””
The woman studied her with an expression that suggested Emma was an insect attempting to negotiate with a shoe.
“My name is Caroline Price. I have been Mrs. Langford's executive assistant for eleven years. I've watched people considerably more important than you make considerably worse decisions.””
“Then you should understand why I want that door unlocked.””
Caroline's smile faded.
“Give me the file, Emma.””
Emma's stomach tightened.
“How do you know my name?””
“Your new employer has apparently made you very important overnight.””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
Caroline stepped closer.
“I know your name because I was present when your application was rejected.””
Emma felt the floor shift beneath her.
“Lily's scholarship application?””
“Among other things.””
“You were involved in rejecting it?””
“I processed the paperwork.””
“You knew my sister needed that money.””
“Thousands of applicants need money. Your sister wasn't entitled to special consideration.””
“She earned that scholarship. Her grades were excellent. Her references were outstanding.””
“And yet she was rejected.””
Emma stared at her.
There was something grotesque about Caroline's composure. She spoke about Lily's future as if it were a misplaced receipt.
“Why?”” Emma demanded.
“What did my father do?””
Caroline glanced at the document.
“Your father made a decision twenty-four years ago. That decision has consequences.””
“What decision?””
“Ask him.””
“He had a stroke. He can barely speak some days.””
“Then perhaps you should have asked him before you began digging through confidential records.””
Emma's injured hand throbbed beneath the bandage.
“You threatened my sister.””
“I gave you advice.””
“You sent me messages telling me to stop looking into my father's past.””
Caroline's eyes narrowed.
“I sent no such messages.””
Emma held up her phone.
Caroline looked at the screen, and for the first time, her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Emma saw it.
“You recognize the number,” Emma whispered.
Caroline recovered quickly.
“Anyone could have sent those messages.””
“Someone knew I was in this room.””
“Perhaps you aren't as discreet as you think.””
Emma slipped the phone into her pocket.
“I'm calling Daniel Brooks.””
“Go ahead.””
Caroline moved aside, leaving the doorway clear.
The gesture was so unexpected that Emma hesitated.
“You can leave whenever you wish,” Caroline said.
“But if you take that file out of this room, you will have violated your employment agreement before your first day is over.””
Emma looked at the document.
Her sister's name had been crossed out in red. Her father's name appeared on a settlement she had never known existed. Someone had apparently decided that her family should remain poor rather than risk an old secret being exposed.
And Caroline expected her to walk away because of a clause in a contract.
Emma pulled out her phone and dialed Daniel.
He answered on the second ring.
“Emma?””
“I'm in the archive room on forty-two. Victoria Langford's assistant is here. Her name is Caroline Price. She has just admitted that she processed the rejection of my sister's scholarship.””
A pause.
“Is she threatening you?””
“She says I need to stop investigating my father's past.””
“Stay where you are. Don't touch anything else. I'm coming up.””
Caroline sighed.
“Dramatic, isn't it?””
Emma ignored her.
“Daniel, there's a confidential settlement involving my father and Moretti Hospitality Group. It was signed twenty-four years ago.””
The line went silent.
Then Daniel asked, “What exactly does the document say?””
“Most of it is redacted. But it says Daniel Carter and Moretti Hospitality Group. There's a note claiming that if my sister receives funding, questions may be asked about the original settlement.””
“Don't leave the room.””
The call ended.
Caroline folded her arms.
“You should understand something, Emma. Vincent Moretti may enjoy playing the benevolent billionaire, but his company has existed for decades. Companies accumulate complicated histories.””
“Does that mean they get to threaten families?””
“I haven't threatened anyone.””
“You knew about the settlement.””
“I knew there was an old file.””
“And you knew about Lily.””
Caroline's jaw tightened.
“Your sister's application was rejected because the foundation follows strict conflict-of-interest procedures.””
“What conflict?””
“I've explained enough.””
“No, you haven't.””
For the first time, Emma raised her voice.
“My father is lying in a hospital bed. My sister is trying to finish college. I've spent years working myself sick to keep our family together. If someone used a secret from my father's past to take away Lily's scholarship, I have every right to know why.””
Caroline looked at her for several seconds.
Then she said something that chilled Emma more than any threat could have.
“Your father wasn't always the honest, hardworking man you remember.””
Emma went still.
Caroline continued.
“He worked for the Moretti family before Vincent became the man he is today. There was an accident. A settlement followed. People were compensated, records were sealed, and everyone agreed to move forward.””
“What accident?””
“Ask your father.””
“I just told you he can barely speak.””
“Then ask Vincent.””
Emma stared at her.
“Why would Vincent hide something from me?””
“Because people like Vincent don't become billionaires by telling everyone everything.””
The archive door opened.
Daniel Brooks entered with two security officers.
His eyes moved immediately to Caroline.
“Miss Price.””
“Daniel.””
“I'd like you to accompany me to Mr. Moretti's office.””
Caroline gave a faint smile.
“On whose authority?””
“Mine, for the moment.””
“You have no authority over me.””
Daniel's expression remained neutral.
“Then you won't mind explaining to Mr. Moretti why you entered a restricted archive without authorization.””
Caroline picked up her handbag.
“I was here on Mrs. Langford's instructions.””
Daniel stepped aside.
“Wonderful. I'm sure Mr. Moretti will want to hear about those instructions directly.””
Caroline walked past him.
As she passed Emma, she stopped.
“Be careful what you uncover,” she murmured.
“Some truths don't set people free. They simply give them a new reason to suffer.””
Emma met her gaze.
“Then why are you so afraid of me finding this one?””
Caroline's smile disappeared.
She continued down the corridor.
Daniel waited until the officers had followed her before approaching Emma.
“Show me the file.””
Emma handed it over.
He examined the documents, his expression growing increasingly troubled.
“Did you read everything?””
“Everything that wasn't covered in black ink.””
“Did you remove any pages?””
“No.””
“Good.””
He placed the file inside a protective folder.
“Mr. Moretti needs to see this immediately.””
“What about the messages?””
“Forward them to me. Don't respond to the sender.””
Emma showed him the unknown number.
Daniel photographed the screen, then returned the phone.
“We'll trace what we can.””
“Can you find out what happened twenty-four years ago?””
His eyes met hers.
“I'm going to try.””
“Why does everyone keep telling me to ask my father?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Because your father may know more than any of us.””
Emma's throat tightened.
“Then why hasn't he told me?””
Daniel didn't answer.
And somehow, his silence was worse than Caroline's accusations.
Vincent Moretti was waiting in his office when they arrived.
He stood behind his desk, jacket removed, sleeves rolled to his forearms. Three documents lay spread before him, and a phone rested beside an untouched cup of coffee.
Caroline sat in a chair near the windows, her posture perfectly composed.
When Emma entered, Vincent looked up.
“Emma. Are you all right?””
“Yes.””
“Did she threaten you?””
Emma glanced at Caroline.
“She told me my father wasn't the honest man I remember.””
Vincent's expression darkened.
“Caroline, did you say that?””
“I said Mr. Carter was involved in a confidential settlement. I was attempting to explain why the archive file is sensitive.””
“You were attempting to frighten an employee into abandoning an investigation.””
“I was attempting to protect the foundation.””
“From what?””
Caroline pressed her lips together.
Vincent looked at Daniel.
“Did you verify her access?””
“Her credentials were used to enter the archive at 9:41. She had no scheduled appointment there.””
Caroline turned toward him.
“I have worked for Mrs. Langford for eleven years. I don't need an appointment to retrieve information she requested.””
“Then why did you lock the door?”” Emma asked.
Caroline ignored her.
Vincent placed both hands on his desk.
“Let's stop pretending this is about paperwork. My mother's wheelchair was fitted with a tracking device. Her handbag contained another.
Someone accessed the foundation's financial records using Thomas Reed's credentials. Now we have an old settlement involving Emma's father, and you're standing in my office insisting none of this deserves scrutiny.””
He paused.
“Give me one reason not to suspend your access immediately.””
Caroline looked at him.
“Because your wife is going to be very angry.””
The room fell silent.
Vincent's face became unreadable.
“Are you threatening me with my own wife?””
“I'm reminding you that Mrs. Langford has considerable influence over the foundation's donors.””
“Donors don't determine who has access to confidential records.””
“Perhaps not. But they determine whether the foundation remains funded.””
Vincent slowly nodded.
“Thank you.””
Caroline frowned.
“For what?””
“For confirming that your priorities may not align with ours.””
He turned to Daniel.
“Suspend her access pending investigation. Preserve all correspondence relating to the scholarship review and the settlement.””
Caroline stood abruptly.
“You can't do this.””
“I just did.””
“Victoria will hear about this.””
“She should. I intend to speak with her myself.””
Caroline grabbed her handbag.
“You're making a terrible mistake, Vincent.””
“Perhaps.””
He looked toward the door.
“But it won't be because I failed to investigate.””
Daniel escorted Caroline out.
Once the door closed, Vincent turned to Emma.
“Show me the messages.””
She handed him her phone.
He read them without speaking.
At the final message, his jaw tightened.
Ask Vincent Moretti what happened the night you were born.
He looked up.
“Did Caroline mention your birth?””
“She said my father made a decision twenty-four years ago. She wouldn't tell me what it was.””
Vincent walked toward the window.
For several seconds, he stared at the river.
Then he turned back.
“Emma, I need to ask you something, and I want you to answer honestly.””
“All right.””
“Has your father ever told you that he worked for my family before I took over the company?””
“Yes. He was a maintenance supervisor at one of our hotels. He left when I was a child.””
“Did he tell you why?””
“He said he wanted a quieter life. He took a job with a local property management company.””
Vincent nodded slowly.
“Did he ever mention a woman named Margaret Hale?””
Emma frowned.
“No.””
“What about a fire at the old Moretti Hotel on North State Street?””
“No. Why?””
Vincent looked down at the settlement.
“Because twenty-four years ago, a fire destroyed part of that hotel. Several employees were injured. One of them was your father.””
Emma felt her stomach tighten.
“My father was injured in a fire?””
“Yes.””
“He never told me that.””
“He may have believed he was protecting you.””
“From what?””
Vincent looked at the document.
“That's what we need to find out.””
Emma stared at him.
“Were you there?””
“No. I was living in New York at the time. My father was still running the company.””
“Was my father responsible for the fire?””
Vincent's eyes met hers.
“I don't know.””
The honesty in his answer frightened her.
He could have reassured her. He could have dismissed the document or promised that everything would be fine.
Instead, he admitted that he didn't know whether the company he controlled had been involved in something that had shaped her entire childhood.
“I want the original settlement,” Vincent said.
“Not the redacted copy. I want the complete record, every attachment, every signature.””
Daniel reappeared in the doorway.
“Sir, there's a problem.””
Vincent turned.
“What now?””
“The original settlement isn't in the archive.””
“Where is it?””
“It was transferred to off-site storage six months ago. The authorization was signed by Thomas Reed.””
Vincent's expression hardened.
“Can we access the storage records?””
“We can. But there's another issue.””
Daniel handed him a printed report.
“The box containing the original settlement was removed from storage yesterday afternoon.””
Emma stared at the report.
“Yesterday?””
“Three hours before the gala,” Daniel replied.
Vincent's gaze shifted to her.
“Someone knew we might be looking for this document.””
Emma's phone vibrated again.
Another message from the unknown number.
This time, it contained a photograph.
Her father stood outside the old Moretti Hotel, much younger, wearing a maintenance uniform. A little girl sat on his shoulders.
Emma recognized herself.
She had never seen the photograph before.
Beneath it were eight words.
Your father didn't save you that night.
Emma's knees weakened.
Vincent caught her elbow before she could fall.
“Emma?””
She stared at the photograph.
May you like
For the first time, she wondered whether the story her father had told her about her childhood had been a lie.
And if it was, she feared the truth might be far worse than anything Victoria Langford could do to her.
