Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN IN THE RECORDING
The security team reviewed footage from the previous weeks.
The cameras did not cover private rooms, but they recorded the service corridors, office entrances, and kitchen areas.
At 6:18 p.m. on the night of the dinner, the footage showed Vanessa entering the kitchen. She took Hannah's blue lunch bag from the refrigerator, carried it to the trash, and emptied the bottles.
There was no confusion.
No accidental spill.
She had looked directly at the labels before tipping them out.
Luca watched the recording once.
Then again.
Rafael stood beside him.
“Do you want me to bring her in?”
“No. First, show me the office footage.”
They found another recording from two weeks earlier. Vanessa stood outside the office with the household administrator. She handed over a folder and pointed to a stack of staff forms.
The administrator appeared uncomfortable.
The next day, Mrs. Alvarez's resignation had been entered into the system.
Luca called the administrator, who confirmed that Vanessa had told her the dismissal had been approved. She had never spoken to Luca directly.
The payroll review uncovered more. Several staff members had been listed as having resigned voluntarily, even though they said they had been dismissed or pressured to leave. Their final wages were incomplete.
The total missing money was larger than the first report suggested.
Luca called Vanessa to the library.
She entered with her usual composed expression.
“You wanted to see me?”
He turned the monitor toward her.
The footage played.
Vanessa watched herself empty the milk bottles into the trash.
When it ended, she shrugged.
“It was a refrigerator used for the household.”
“You knew whose milk it was.”
“She was told not to store personal things there.”
“By whom?”
“By me.”
“On what authority?”
“I'm your fiancée.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“You're making an enormous issue out of a few bottles.”
Luca changed the screen. The payroll records appeared.
“Explain these payments.”
Her face tightened.
“Those were household expenses.”
“Bellini Domestic Services has no employees.”
“It uses contractors.”
“Name one.”
She did not answer.
“The resignation forms?”
“People leave jobs. It's not my fault if they regret it.”
“Mrs. Alvarez was told I wanted her gone.”
“She was difficult.”
“She worked here for twenty-two years.”
“And she expected special treatment.”
Luca stared at her.
“You used my name to make people afraid of losing their jobs.”
“I kept this house running.”
“You made people believe I had ordered things I never ordered.”
Vanessa leaned forward.
“You were never here. Someone had to make decisions.”
“Then you should have made honest ones.”
Her composure finally cracked.
“You think these people care about you? They work here for money. They'd leave tomorrow if someone offered them more.”
“Maybe. But they shouldn't have to lie, beg, or fear you to earn it.”
Vanessa looked at the monitor again.
May you like
“Who gave you this?”
“The house did.”
