Chapter 4 - THE LEATHER LEDGER
The silence in the hallway was heavier than the humid summer air outside.
Marco’s hands shook as he held the property deeds. The shipping ports were the lifeblood of the Moretti family’s legitimate income—and the perfect cover for everything else.
“You forged my signature,” Carmine said, his voice dangerously flat.
“I didn’t have to,” Vanessa replied smoothly. “You gave me power of attorney when you went into the hospital for your heart surgery last year. I just... forgot to relinquish it.”
I looked at this woman, truly seeing her for the first time. She wasn’t just a gold-digger. She was a tactician who had been playing a long game since her brother’s death twelve years ago.
“And the ledger?” Carmine asked. “You claim you have my private ledger?”
“The black leather one,” Vanessa smiled. “The one containing every payoff to the dock inspectors since 2015. It’s sitting in a wall safe in my bedroom. If anything happens to me—if I am forced to leave this house, or if I have an 'accident'—my lawyer has instructions to courier it to the District Attorney.”
Carmine’s jaw tightened. For a mafia boss, there was no worse checkmate than a paper trail in the hands of a traitor.
Hannah stepped closer to me, her hand gripping my arm. We had come here for an apology, to clear the air before I died carrying eighteen years of resentment. We had walked straight into a coup.
“Dad, we can fight this in court,” Marco said, his voice urgent. “We can prove she abused the power of attorney.”
“By the time a judge looks at it, she’ll have gutted the accounts and handed the ledger to the Feds,” Carmine said. He ran a hand over his face, suddenly looking every day of his sixty years.
He looked at me, a profound sadness in his eyes.
“Isabella, I am sorry. You finally come home, and I drag you right back into the poison.”
“You didn’t drag me, Carmine,” I said firmly. “I walked through that door myself.”
I turned to Vanessa.
“You say the ledger is in your bedroom safe?” I asked.
Vanessa arched a perfect eyebrow. “Yes. And don’t think about sending Marco up there to crack it. It’s biometric. It only opens for my fingerprint.”
Answer one: Vanessa was blackmailing Carmine with the black leather ledger to steal the legitimate business.
Open two: If Vanessa was so careful, why did she leave a loophole that Mrs. Bennett, the elderly housekeeper, was currently exploiting?
Suddenly, a soft throat cleared behind us.
We all turned.
Mrs. Bennett stood at the end of the hall. She was seventy-six years old, wearing her crisp black uniform and sensible shoes. In her hands, she held a heavy, black leather-bound book.
Vanessa’s smug smile instantly vanished.
“Is this the book you were referring to, Miss Vanessa?” Mrs. Bennett asked politely.
Carmine’s eyes widened. “Mrs. Bennett... how did you—”
“I clean this house, Mr. Carmine,” Mrs. Bennett said gently. “I have cleaned it for forty-three years. I know every loose floorboard, every hidden compartment, and every safe. Miss Vanessa’s safe is indeed biometric.”
Mrs. Bennett walked forward and handed the heavy ledger to Carmine.
“But Miss Vanessa is not very tidy,” the housekeeper continued, her tone completely even. “She leaves her daily planner on the vanity, and occasionally writes her master override codes in the margins so she doesn't forget them.”
Marco let out a sharp bark of laughter.
Vanessa lunged forward, her hands clawing for the ledger. “Give that to me!”
Carmine stepped effortlessly into her path, blocking her. He handed the ledger to Marco.
“Burn it,” Carmine ordered his son. “In the fireplace. Now.”
Marco nodded and sprinted back into the dining room. Seconds later, the sound of tearing paper and roaring flames echoed through the open doors.
Vanessa stood frozen, her ultimate leverage turning to ash.
“You stupid old woman,” Vanessa hissed at Mrs. Bennett. “I will make sure you die in a state home.”
“I will die in this house,” Mrs. Bennett replied calmly. “Because Isabella’s mother promised me a place here forever. And unlike you, this family keeps its promises to the people who are loyal.”
Carmine looked at Vanessa. The danger in his eyes was no longer restrained.
“The blackmail is gone,” Carmine said. “The deeds you transferred can be contested tomorrow morning. You have absolutely nothing left.”
He pointed toward the front door.
“Get out.”
Vanessa’s chest heaved. She looked around, realizing she was entirely surrounded by Morettis, and not a single one of them was on her side.
She grabbed her designer coat from the coat rack, her hands shaking with fury.
“You think you’ve won?” Vanessa spat, looking directly at me. “You think coming back here makes you a family again? Ask your brother what really happened to my brother, Silvio. Ask him why he needs this family to stay together so desperately.”
She yanked the front door open.
“Silvio didn’t die in a random warehouse explosion, Isabella,” Vanessa said, her voice dripping with venom. “Your brother ordered the hit. He killed his best friend.”
She slammed the door behind her, leaving the words echoing in the foyer.
I slowly turned to Carmine.
“Is it true?” I asked.
Carmine didn’t look away.
“Yes,” he said heavily. “It’s true.”
May you like
He walked over to the hallway closet and pulled out a heavy wool coat.
“Put this on,” Carmine told me. “There is something I need to show you. Something I’ve been waiting eighteen years to give you.”
