Chapter 8 - THE RECORDING
The memory card contained audio files.
Some were empty. Others captured room noise. One recording was dated three nights before the engagement dinner.
Luca sat at his desk with Matteo and Elena nearby. I stood near the door.
The audio began with the sound of a chair moving. Then Vanessa's voice.
“Are you certain this will work?”
Richard answered.
“It only needs to capture the first part. The receiver will be outside. Once we have the conversation, the rest is easy.”
“What if Luca changes the meeting?”
“He won't. He trusts the calendar.”
A pause.
“And Grace?”
“She won't matter.”
I felt the words like a slap.
Vanessa continued. “She saw me near the chair.”
Richard answered, “Then make her look unstable. A maid who wants attention. Nobody will believe her over you.”
Luca's hand tightened around the edge of the desk.
The recording continued.
“What about the documents?” Vanessa asked.
“They'll be in the library. Peter will bring them. Once Luca appears to approve the transfer, we have what we need.”
“And if he refuses?”
“Then we use the recording to make it look as though he agreed.”
The file ended.
No one spoke.
I stared at the monitor. “They were going to make him look like he approved something he never agreed to.”
Luca nodded. “A false record. Enough to create a dispute and pressure people into accepting the transfer.”
“Why would he sign anything?”
“He wouldn't. That's why they needed the recording.”
Matteo leaned forward. “The question is what they intended to transfer.”
Luca opened a folder. It contained a list of properties and company shares. One entry was marked in red: a shipping terminal near the lake.
I didn't understand the business details, but I understood the amount beside it. It was enormous.
“Who owns that?” I asked.
“Several companies,” Luca said. “Some are mine. Some belong to partners. The transfer would have changed control of a major asset.”
“Was Vanessa supposed to benefit?”
He looked at the list. “Her father has been trying to acquire a stake for years.”
The engagement suddenly looked different to me. It had not been only a romance. It had been a negotiation disguised as one.
Luca stood and walked to the window.
“Richard gave them access to my schedule. Vanessa provided the chair and the room. Peter was supposed to bring the documents. Celia arranged the equipment.”
“And the receiver?” Matteo asked.
“Someone outside the estate was waiting for the recording.”
Elena's phone rang. She answered, listened, and looked at Luca.
“Celia Voss has been located. She's at a hotel downtown. She says she was hired to provide event security and knew nothing about the recording.”
“Does she have the receiver?”
“No. The receiver was found in a vehicle registered to a consulting firm.”
Luca nodded. “Bring her in for questioning with counsel present. Don't pressure her.”
I looked at him, surprised by the restraint in his voice.
He turned to me. “Grace, I need you to tell me something. Did Vanessa ever ask you to move the original chair back after the dinner?”
“No.”
“Did she tell you why she chose that particular chair?”
“No.”
“Then we need to find out what was hidden in it besides the transmitter.”
Matteo returned to the evidence room. He came back ten minutes later carrying a small envelope.
Inside was a folded strip of paper, tucked beneath the seat lining.
It contained four words:
ASK WHO OWNS THE HOUSE.
Luca read it once.
Then he turned the paper over.
May you like
On the back was a name.
PETER LANG.
