Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN IN THE RED DRESS
Luca read the threat twice.
“Put two plainclothes officers near Sarah’s building,” he ordered
Daniel. “Coordinate with the police. No one approaches the child.”
Sarah held the photograph with trembling fingers.
“I can leave the job. Maybe they’ll leave Mia alone.”
“The person who sent this already knows where she goes to school,” Luca
replied. “Leaving won’t erase that. We’ll follow the police safety
plan.”
Vanessa’s belongings had been removed from the mansion under the
supervision of her lawyer. She called Luca that afternoon.
“I need to explain.”
“You can speak through your attorney.”
“My father said your mother was confused. He said the fund was in
danger.”
“You saw her injured on the floor and called her a liar.”
“I was angry.”
“You tried to take the pearl.”
Vanessa fell silent.
Luca asked whether she knew about the missing scholarships. She admitted
that her father had told her there were complaints, but insisted he said
the families were exaggerating.
“Did you tell the staff not to help my mother contact them?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“I sent a message. I thought she was making trouble.”
“You helped silence her.”
“I didn’t know about every payment.”
“That doesn’t make what you did harmless.”
He ended the call.
Elena arrived later with an update. More than two million dollars had
been diverted from the fund over six years. Some went to shell
companies; some paid false invoices. Several transfers passed through a
consulting firm owned by Richard’s brother.
But Elena had found another pattern: whenever Evelyn questioned a
payment, a beneficiary family received a warning or had its scholarship
canceled.
Luca looked at the records.
“Find out who sent the warnings.”
Elena showed him messages from a device registered to Vanessa’s
assistant. The device might have been used by someone else, but the
trail was worth investigating.
May you like
“Preserve everything,” Luca said. “No assumptions. We follow the
evidence.”
