The Man Who Knew Who Killed Maria
Chapter 06 - The Man Who Knew Who Killed Maria
Harold Voss arrived in Chicago under the protection of two attorneys and a retired federal investigator.
He had refused to meet Dante Moretti privately.
He had also refused the family's offer to transport him.
Twenty-four years of secrets had taught Voss that a powerful man's promise was only as valuable as his willingness to honor it when the truth became inconvenient.
The meeting took place inside a law office overlooking the Chicago River.
Dante arrived with Evelyn Brooks.
Emma came with Margaret.
Marcus remained near the conference-room entrance.
Voss was already seated when they entered.
He was seventy-one, with thinning gray hair and the exhausted expression of a man who had spent too many years sleeping badly.
The moment he saw Emma, his face changed.
He stood.
"My God."
Emma stopped.
Voss stared at her.
"You look just like Maria."
Dante stepped slightly in front of his sister.
"Careful."
Voss nodded.
"I understand."
Emma touched Dante's arm.
"It's okay."
She looked at the older man.
"Did you know my mother?"
Voss lowered his eyes.
"Yes."
"What was she like?"
The question caught him off guard.
He had expected accusations.
Threats.
Questions about documents.
He had not expected the stolen child to ask about the woman whose death haunted him.
"She was brave," he said quietly.
Emma's eyes filled.
"People keep telling me that."
"Then they aren't exaggerating."
Voss sat down heavily.
"Maria Moretti was one of the few people in that family who didn't believe money entitled anyone to cruelty."
Dante looked away.
He remembered his mother's charity work.
The small shelter she supported on Chicago's South Side.
The way she insisted that every employee at the mansion receive a holiday bonus.
His father had called her generosity naïve.
Maria had laughed and told him kindness wasn't weakness.
Emma sat across from Voss.
"Then why did somebody take her baby?"
Voss closed his eyes.
"Because Maria found out what was happening inside the family businesses."
Dante leaned forward.
"Explain."
Voss opened his briefcase.
"Your father, Vincent, was expanding the shipping division in the late nineties. He was working with investors who didn't ask many questions about where profits came from."
Dante's face hardened.
"I know."
"But Maria didn't."
Voss removed an old ledger.
"She discovered that several corporate accounts were being used to conceal money from illegal operations."
Dante stared at the document.
"Who was running them?"
"Vincent handled the public decisions. But the bookkeeping was controlled by another man."
"Who?"
"Silas Mercer."
Dante went still.
Silas Mercer had been his father's closest friend.
After Vincent's death, Mercer had become chief financial officer of Moretti Holdings.
He was sixty-four, charming, polished, and widely regarded as one of the most respected executives in Chicago.
He had attended Dante's graduation.
He had been present at his father's funeral.
He had visited Alessandro after the stroke.
Dante trusted him with billions of dollars in corporate assets.
"You're accusing Silas?" Dante asked.
Voss nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Maria discovered he was stealing from the family and diverting money through private companies."
Dante's expression darkened.
"Meridian Equity Partners?"
Voss stared at him.
"You already found it?"
"Yes."
Voss exhaled.
"Then you're closer than I thought."
Evelyn leaned forward.
"Why did Elena's trust matter?"
"Because Maria wanted to leave her daughter independent control over a significant part of the family assets. She also intended to put restrictions on the way those assets could be used."
Emma frowned.
"What kind of restrictions?"
"She didn't want her daughter's money supporting criminal activities. And she didn't want Vincent or Mercer to have unlimited access to it."
Dante looked down.
Voss continued.
"Maria had already spoken with an outside attorney. She was preparing to expose what she found."
"So they stole her baby?" Emma whispered.
Voss nodded.
"They believed that if Elena disappeared and the trust documents were manipulated, they could eventually gain control of the assets."
Emma stared at him.
"That's insane."
"It was monstrous," Voss replied.
Dante gripped the table.
"What did my father know?"
Voss hesitated.
"Vincent was aware that Maria intended to separate from him and challenge the financial arrangements. But the evidence I have doesn't establish that he ordered the kidnapping."
Dante looked sharply at him.
"Then why did you say he was involved?"
"Because he helped conceal what happened afterward."
Silence settled over the room.
Voss placed another document on the table.
It was a copy of a payment record.
The recipient was a private investigative company.
The payment had been approved by Vincent Moretti six days after Elena's reported death.
Dante examined it.
"What was the payment for?"
"Surveillance of Maria."
Emma inhaled sharply.
Voss looked ashamed.
"Your mother didn't believe the baby had died. She was searching for her."
Dante closed his eyes.
"She told me that."
Voss nodded.
"She was right."
Emma began crying.
Margaret put an arm around her.
Voss's voice trembled.
"Maria found inconsistencies in the hospital paperwork. She contacted Rebecca Lane, who worked in neonatal care. Rebecca confirmed that the baby had been transferred out of the nursery alive."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"What happened next?"
"Rebecca helped get Elena out before the people controlling the hospital records could arrange another transfer."
Emma touched her bracelet.
"She took me to Margaret."
"Yes."
"Then they killed Rebecca?"
Voss lowered his eyes.
"I believe her death was arranged. I helped keep evidence out of the official report."
Dante rose.
His chair scraped across the floor.
Voss recoiled.
"You knew?" Dante demanded.
"I knew enough."
"And you let my mother die believing her daughter was gone?"
Voss began trembling.
"I was afraid."
Dante approached him.
Marcus stepped forward instinctively.
But Emma spoke.
"Dante."
He stopped.
She stood.
"Please."
Dante looked at her.
Her eyes were filled with tears, but her voice was steady.
"You promised."
He closed his eyes.
Then he stepped back.
Voss stared at her.
"You saved me from your brother's anger."
Emma looked at him.
"No. I reminded him of his promise."
She sat down.
"Now tell us what happened to my mother."
Voss swallowed.
"Maria was scheduled to meet a journalist on May eighteenth, 2002."
Dante's heartbeat accelerated.
That was the day she died.
"She was carrying copies of the financial records," Voss continued. "She also believed she had discovered where Elena had been taken."
Emma leaned forward.
"She knew about Margaret?"
"Not exactly. She knew Rebecca had placed the baby somewhere safe."
"What happened on the road?"
Voss looked at the table.
"A vehicle forced Maria's car off the highway."
Dante's face went white.
"My father told me she lost control."
"The crash was staged to look that way."
"Who was driving the other vehicle?"
Voss hesitated.
Then he removed a photograph.
It showed a black sedan outside a warehouse.
Beside it stood a younger Silas Mercer.
Dante stared at the image.
Voss spoke quietly.
"Mercer arranged the operation."
Emma felt her stomach turn.
The man responsible for destroying her family had been sharing meals with her brother for decades.
Dante looked at Evelyn.
"Contact the authorities."
Evelyn nodded.
"We'll provide the documents and coordinate a formal interview."
Voss lifted one trembling hand.
"There's more."
Dante turned.
Voss opened a sealed envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Alessandro Moretti sitting in his study with Silas Mercer.
The picture had been taken six months earlier.
Dante recognized the date.
His grandfather had suffered his stroke the following morning.
"Why do you have this?"
"Someone sent it to me anonymously last week."
Dante examined the photograph.
On the desk between Alessandro and Mercer was an open leather folder.
Its contents were partially visible.
Evelyn leaned closer.
"I recognize that document."
Dante looked at her.
"What is it?"
"An estate amendment Alessandro was preparing."
Dante felt a cold sensation.
Voss nodded.
"Your grandfather discovered irregularities in the trust. He was preparing to remove Mercer from every fiduciary role connected to the family."
Dante stared at the picture.
"And then he had a stroke."
Voss looked grim.
"I can't prove Mercer caused it."
"But you suspect him."
"Yes."
Emma covered her mouth.
Her grandfather had spent months unable to explain what happened.
And the people who might have harmed him were still moving freely through the business his family had built.
Dante reached for his phone.
Before he could call Marcus, the device vibrated.
Silas Mercer.
Dante stared at the name.
Then he answered.
"Silas."
"Dante! I've been trying to reach you."
His voice was warm.
Friendly.
Almost fatherly.
Dante felt sick.
"What do you need?"
"I heard some extraordinary rumors."
"Such as?"
"Apparently your grandfather's new maid claims to be Maria's missing daughter."
Dante said nothing.
Silas laughed softly.
"Ridiculous, of course. People will invent anything when they smell money."
Dante looked at Emma.
She was watching him.
"Perhaps," he replied.
Silas continued.
"We should discuss the situation before it becomes public. Your grandfather's estate is complicated. We don't want some stranger creating problems."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"She's not a stranger."
Silence.
Then Silas spoke more carefully.
"What do you mean?"
"The DNA test supports our relationship."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
Finally, Silas said, "Well. That's certainly unexpected."
Dante kept his voice controlled.
"Isn't it?"
Silas cleared his throat.
"I suppose congratulations are in order."
"Thank you."
"Come to my office tomorrow. Alone. We should review the implications."
Dante looked toward Evelyn.
"Send me the invitation."
The call ended.
Dante slowly lowered the phone.
Voss watched him.
"You can't go alone."
Dante looked at the older man.
"I have no intention of walking into his office unprepared."
That evening, Dante returned to the mansion and found Emma sitting beside Alessandro.
She was reading aloud from an old gardening magazine.
The elderly man appeared peaceful.
When Dante entered, Emma looked up.
"How did the meeting go?"
He hesitated.
"Badly."
Emma closed the magazine.
"Did you find out who did it?"
Dante nodded.
Her face changed.
"Who?"
He sat beside her.
"Silas Mercer."
Alessandro suddenly made a harsh sound.
Both turned.
The old man's eyes were wide.
He began shaking his head.
"Silas..."
Dante leaned forward.
"Grandpa?"
Alessandro reached toward Emma.
"Bad..."
Emma took his hand.
"We know."
The old man's expression twisted.
"Tea..."
Dante froze.
"What?"
Alessandro gripped the wheelchair armrest.
"Tea... bitter..."
Emma looked at Dante.
Then at the old man.
The nurse entered carrying a tray.
Alessandro saw the cup.
He recoiled violently.
"No!"
The nurse stopped.
"Mr. Moretti?"
Alessandro struck the tray.
The cup shattered against the floor.
Dante rose.
"Nobody gives him anything else to drink until the doctor examines him."
Emma held Alessandro's trembling hands.
"It's okay. You're safe."
But the old man kept shaking his head.
And Dante realized that his grandfather might not simply have suffered a stroke.
May you like
Someone might have been poisoning the man who knew the truth.
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