Carlo ignored me.
“Luca’s emotional attachment has already compromised his judgment.
He brought armed men into a public boutique today.”
“Security footage shows otherwise,” Samuel replied.
“It also shows Ms.
Sinclair attempting to seize evidence and Mr.
DeLuca reaching for a concealed weapon.”
Carlo’s gaze flickered toward Vanessa.
She looked down.
Luca remained standing beside the windows, silent and controlled.
Carlo had expected fury.
His restraint unsettled the room.
I placed the codicil on the table.
“The court has accepted the will amendment for expedited review.
A prenatal paternity test was completed under independent supervision six weeks ago.”
That was the fact I had withheld even from Luca.
He turned sharply toward me.
I removed the certified result.
“Probability of paternity: greater than 99.99 percent.”
Samuel distributed copies.
The board members began reading.
Carlo did not touch his.
“A laboratory result can be challenged.”
“The blood samples were witnessed by a court-appointed physician,” Samuel said.
Luca stared at the page in front of him.
His thumb moved once over the line identifying him as the biological father.
He did not smile.
His eyes shone, but the emotion was too complicated for happiness alone.
He had a son.
He had also lost eight months he could never recover.
Carlo pushed back from the table.
“Even if the child is Luca’s, Isabella is unfit to control the trust.
She stole company funds and fled prosecution.”
That was the final structure holding his plan together.
I opened the second file.
“The destination company for those transfers was Bellweather Consulting.”
One of the board members nodded.
“A shell corporation registered in Delaware.”
“Owned through two intermediaries,” I said.
“The first belongs to Marco DeLuca’s brother.
The second belongs to Vanessa Sinclair’s private foundation.”
Vanessa stood.
“That is a lie.”
The federal investigators entered through the boardroom doors.
Her attorney whispered something urgent, but she was no longer listening.
I continued.
“The transfers were authorized from Carlo’s terminal using my credentials after my phone was cloned.
The building access logs placed me at a charity dinner across town.
Forty-three cameras confirm it.”
Carlo looked toward the chief financial officer.
The man lowered his eyes.
He had already cooperated.
The lead investigator placed a warrant on the table.
“Carlo Moretti, Vanessa Sinclair, and Marco DeLuca are subjects of an investigation involving wire fraud, conspiracy, evidence tampering, medical-record falsification, and attempted coercion of a protected beneficiary.”
Carlo’s composure finally broke.
