Chapter 2 - The Contract With My Name
I didn't go upstairs alone.
That was the first rule Marco broke for me that night.
"Whoever sent that message knows you're frightened and confused," he said. "That means they want control."
"I'm not frightened."
Marco looked at my hands.
They were shaking.
"You can be frightened and still walk forward."
That was my oldest brother.
He never lied to make me feel stronger.
He simply reminded me that fear and strength could occupy the same body.
Gabriel stayed downstairs with the guests while Marco and Luca followed me upstairs.
Damian protested.
"This is my house."
I stopped halfway up.
"Then why don't you want me to see what's in your office?"
He had no answer.
Patricia did.
"Because you've caused enough embarrassment."
I looked down at her.
For years, I had tried to win that woman's approval.
I suddenly couldn't remember why.
"Then be embarrassed."
I continued upstairs.
The office door remained open.
Nobody stood inside.
The room appeared empty.
Marco entered first.
Luca checked the adjoining bathroom.
"Clear."
I walked toward Damian's desk.
The contract from the photograph wasn't there.
But something else was.
A birthday card.
My name was written across the envelope.
ELENA.
Inside was one sentence.
Happy birthday. I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you.
No signature.
Underneath the card sat a flash drive.
Marco reached for it.
"Wait."
I took it first.
"My birthday."
"My paranoia."
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
We plugged it into Damian's computer.
A folder opened.
PROPERTY TRANSFERS.
INSURANCE.
ROMANO HOLDINGS.
My stomach tightened.
Romano Holdings belonged to my family.
I hadn't been involved since marrying Damian, but I still owned twelve percent of the company—shares my father had left me.
They were worth millions.
Marco clicked the first document.
A transfer agreement appeared.
It assigned my shares to a shell company called North Vale Capital.
My forged signature sat at the bottom.
Another document transferred my interest in the mansion.
Another changed the beneficiary on a life insurance policy.
I stopped breathing.
"Beneficiary?"
Marco opened it.
My original beneficiary had been Damian.
The revised document named North Vale Capital.
Luca swore under his breath.
"Who owns North Vale?"
"We'll find out," Marco said.
A voice came from behind us.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
Damian.
He stood in the doorway.
Marco moved between us.
I stepped around my brother.
"No. I want to hear him."
Damian looked exhausted now.
The arrogance was slipping.
"What were you doing?"
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
"I was protecting us."
"By forging my signature?"
"It wasn't like that."
I laughed once.
"What exactly was it like?"
He looked at Marco.
"This is between Elena and me."
"No," I said. "You lost that privilege downstairs."
Damian's jaw tightened.
"You think your brothers are heroes? Ask them where your father's money came from."
"I know where it came from."
That surprised him.
"My father told me everything before he died. The ugly parts too."
Marco glanced at me.
I had never told him that.
Damian stared.
"You knew?"
"I knew enough."
"Then you know your family isn't innocent."
"I never claimed they were."
I stepped closer.
"But tonight isn't a trial of my father. It's a trial of you."
Damian's eyes flickered.
For a moment I saw the man I had married.
The charming man who brought coffee to my office.
The man who danced with me in the kitchen.
The man who promised I would never feel alone.
Then I understood something terrible.
Maybe that man had existed.
Maybe he simply hadn't lasted.
"Who owns North Vale?"
"I don't know."
Marco laughed quietly.
Damian looked at him.
"You think that's funny?"
"I think you're a terrible liar."
Damian's face hardened.
"I borrowed money."
"From whom?"
"People."
"Names."
Damian remained silent.
I opened the insurance document again.
The policy was for twelve million dollars.
My life.
Twelve million.
"Why did you increase this?"
"I didn't."
"Your authorization is here."
"Someone else handled it."
"Who?"
Before he could answer, shouting erupted downstairs.
Luca ran to the hallway.
Gabriel yelled up.
"Marco!"
We hurried down.
Vanessa was standing near the front entrance.
Nico held her purse.
Patricia screamed at him.
"Give that back!"
Nico emptied the purse onto a table.
Lipstick.
Keys.
Wallet.
A compact.
And the envelope Patricia had given Vanessa.
I picked it up.
Vanessa whispered, "Don't."
Inside were photographs.
Photographs of me.
Leaving a doctor's office.
Driving alone.
Entering my brothers' restaurant six months earlier.
Sleeping beside a swimming pool.
Someone had been following me.
One photograph was taken through our bedroom window.
I looked at Damian.
"Did you know about these?"
He appeared genuinely stunned.
That frightened me more.
Patricia tried to take them.
Marco blocked her.
"Why did you give these to Vanessa?"
"I didn't."
"We watched you."
"Then the video was manipulated."
Vanessa suddenly began crying.
Not the theatrical tears she had shown when wine touched her dress.
These were different.
"I didn't know they were going to hurt her."
Everyone turned.
Damian stared at her.
"Shut up."
Vanessa covered her mouth.
I stepped closer.
"Who?"
She shook her head.
"Vanessa."
"I can't."
"Who was going to hurt me?"
Patricia grabbed her wrist.
"Don't say another word."
Marco separated them.
Vanessa looked terrified.
"They told me tonight was supposed to make you emotional."
"Why?"
"So you'd sign without reading."
"The transfer?"
She nodded.
"Damian said you wouldn't sign."
Damian shouted, "She's lying!"
Vanessa flinched.
I didn't.
"What happened if I refused?"
She looked at the photographs.
Then at the insurance policy in my hand.
Her silence answered enough.
Damian moved toward the door.
Nico blocked him.
"Move."
"No."
"You can't imprison me."
"Nobody's imprisoning you," Marco said. "The door's right there."
Damian looked toward it.
Outside, my brothers' SUVs remained parked beyond the gates.
He stayed.
Interesting.
He was more afraid of leaving than remaining with us.
Marco noticed too.
"Who are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anyone."
A vehicle appeared outside.
Not one of ours.
A white sedan stopped near the gates.
A man stepped out.
Patricia whispered something.
I couldn't hear it.
But Damian did.
His entire body stiffened.
The man carried a leather briefcase.
He walked toward the gate and held something up to the camera.
The gates opened automatically.
"Who is that?" I asked.
Nobody answered.
The stranger entered the mansion.
He looked around at the guests.
Then at my brothers.
Finally, he looked at me.
"Mrs. Cole?"
"Yes."
He opened his briefcase.
"My name is Aaron Pierce. I'm an attorney."
"For whom?"
He removed a sealed envelope.
"For the person who owns North Vale Capital."
Marco stepped closer.
"Who owns it?"
Aaron looked at Damian.
Then Patricia.
Then me.
"The answer is inside."
I tore open the envelope.
There was one sheet of paper.
One name.
I read it twice.
My knees nearly gave way.
Because North Vale Capital didn't belong to Damian.
It belonged to someone I had trusted for most of my life.
May you like
I looked toward Marco.
And whispered his name.
