Chapter 3 - THE BRACELET THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN PARIS
The emerald bracelet had supposedly been sold to a private collector in Paris.
That was what the Moretti Family Foundation’s records said.
Amelia knew this because Isabella arrived at Brooks and Bloom the next morning carrying copies.
Dominic arrived six minutes behind her.
Amelia looked at him.
“Did she escape again?”
“No.”
Isabella removed her gloves.
“I dismissed the driver for excessive conversation.”
“He said good morning.”
“Twice.”
Dominic sighed.
Amelia smiled despite herself.
The previous evening, Chicago police had taken the threatening photograph as evidence. Officers also opened a harassment investigation connected to the boutique incident.
Dominic offered private security.
Amelia refused permanent guards.
They compromised on visible patrols outside closing hours until police determined whether the threat was credible.
Amelia disliked how quickly “compromise” had entered her conversations with Dominic Moretti.
She disliked more that he appeared to take the word seriously.
Isabella spread foundation documents across the worktable usually reserved for wedding arrangements.
“The bracelet was Lot Forty-Seven,” she said.
Amelia looked at the auction sheet.
Emerald-and-diamond Cartier bracelet. Donated by Isabella Moretti.
Winning bidder:
Société Laurent Collection, Paris.
Payment:
$800,000.
Funds deposited into the Moretti Family Foundation.
Everything looked legitimate.
Dominic placed another document beside it.
“I had people check the French entity.”
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
“Police people?”
“Lawyers.”
“Better.”
“Société Laurent existed for eleven months. It purchased three pieces from our foundation auctions and dissolved.”
“Owner?”
“Nominee corporation.”
“Meaning?”
“Someone hid behind it.”
Isabella tapped another page.
“The foundation received payment.”
“So how was money stolen?” Amelia asked.
Dominic leaned against the worktable.
“That is what bothers me.”
If the auction received full payment, perhaps there was no theft.
Unless the money itself had been recycled from Moretti accounts.
Dominic explained.
The foundation received charitable donations from his legitimate companies and wealthy associates. If someone controlled a vendor or shell buyer, they could use foundation money through inflated service contracts, route cash into a fake bidder, purchase valuable donated property, then quietly resell it.
The foundation would appear to receive money.
In reality, its own funds might be returning through a loop while valuable assets disappeared into private hands.
Amelia stared at him.
“That sounds incredibly complicated.”
“Most financial crime is complicated because simple theft gets noticed.”
“Do you know that from experience?”
Silence.
Isabella slowly lifted her tea.
Dominic looked at Amelia.
“Yes.”
The answer was not defensive.
That surprised her.
“How much experience?”
“Enough that I know where the weaknesses are.”
The stories around Dominic’s family were not imaginary.
Amelia had spent half the night reading.
His grandfather’s generation had been tied to illegal gambling and dockside rackets.
His father moved large portions of the empire into legitimate freight and real estate.
Dominic expanded everything.
Warehousing.
Construction.
Restaurants.
Financial investments.
But older allegations remained.
Intimidation.
Debt collection.
Union pressure.
Nothing that had produced a major conviction against Dominic personally.
Plenty that made people lower their voices when his name appeared.
Amelia looked at him.
“Are you a criminal?”
Isabella inhaled.
“Direct.”
Dominic did not flinch.
“I have participated in businesses I would not build the same way today.”
“That is very lawyerly.”
“Yes.”
“Have you hurt people?”
His eyes became colder.
“Not for pleasure.”
“That was not the question.”
“No.”
He thought.
“I have threatened people.”
“Physically?”
“Yes.”
“Have people been hurt because of orders you gave?”
Dominic became silent for several seconds.
“Yes.”
Amelia’s stomach tightened.
At least he did not lie.
“Why tell me?”
“You asked.”
“Most men would soften it.”
“I am trying not to insult your intelligence.”
Isabella looked between them.
“Well. This is cheerful.”
Amelia turned back to the records.
“If the bracelet can expose theft, why would anyone humiliate you instead of quietly selling it somewhere else?”
Isabella answered.
“Maybe they did not know I would recognize it.”
“But Vanessa reacted quickly.”
Dominic nodded.
That bothered him too.
Police had recovered incomplete boutique footage before the server was wiped.
At 1:14 p.m., Isabella entered.
At 1:17, Vanessa received a phone call.
At 1:20, she approached the jewelry department.
At 1:23, security began watching Isabella.
The missing diamond bracelet fell accidentally into another shopper’s bag at 1:29.
Vanessa accused Isabella less than a minute later.
She had been prepared to remove Isabella before any bracelet went missing.
“The theft accusation was an excuse,” Amelia said.
“Yes,” Dominic answered.
“They wanted your mother out.”
“Yes.”
“Because she had been looking at the emerald bracelet.”
“Probably.”
Isabella looked offended.
“I asked one question about provenance.”
“What?”
“Who consigned it.”
“And?”
“Vanessa said private seller.”
“Then?”
“I told her it had been mine.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“Mother.”
“What?”
“You told the woman managing a suspicious sale that you recognized evidence.”
“I am old, Dominic. I do not have time for elaborate detective work.”
Amelia laughed.
Dominic stared at both of them.
“You two are going to kill me.”
“Apparently someone else already finds us inconvenient,” Amelia said.
The joke died immediately.
Dominic looked at the threatening photograph again.
“Which is why I want someone outside this shop.”
“One person.”
“Two.”
“One.”
“Two after dark.”
Amelia considered.
“Fine.”
Isabella smiled.
“Look at that. Negotiation.”
Dominic looked irritated.
Then Rafael entered.
“We found the bracelet.”
Everyone turned.
Police had secured Bellamy & Hart’s inventory after the footage deletion attempt.
The emerald bracelet remained inside a private vault.
Its serial inscription matched the foundation auction documentation.
No question.
Same piece.
The boutique’s consignment paperwork listed the owner as:
Larkspur Luxury Assets LLC.
Dominic recognized the name.
His face changed.
“Who?”
Isabella asked.
“Larkspur is a vendor for the foundation.”
“What do they do?”
“Event logistics.”
Amelia frowned.
“An event company owns your mother’s bracelet?”
“Apparently.”
Rafael continued.
Larkspur had received $4.8 million from the Moretti Family Foundation during the previous five years.
Its registered manager was an attorney.
Beneficial owner hidden.
Dominic looked at Rafael.
“Find the bank.”
“Already requested through counsel.”
Amelia crossed her arms.
“You said police first.”
“They are.”
“Good.”
Rafael added:
“There’s something else.”
The boutique’s owner was not publicly Vanessa Clark.
She managed the store.
Bellamy & Hart itself was controlled by a holding company called North Meridian Group.
Dominic’s expression changed again.
Isabella saw it.
“Whose company?”
Dominic did not answer immediately.
Then:
“Lorenzo.”
Amelia looked between them.
“Who is Lorenzo?”
Isabella’s voice lost every trace of humor.
“Dominic’s cousin.”
Dominic added:
“My chief financial officer.”
Silence.
The person overseeing Moretti family money also controlled the company that owned the boutique where Isabella’s donated bracelet had reappeared.
Amelia understood the implication.
“Does he control the foundation accounts too?”
“Not directly.”
Isabella said:
“He is treasurer.”
Dominic walked toward the window.
For twenty years, Lorenzo Moretti had been beside him.
Cousin.
Friend.
Financial architect.
The man who knew where every legitimate company ended and every older Moretti obligation began.
If Lorenzo had been stealing from the family foundation, he knew exactly how to hide it.
Amelia watched Dominic.
“You want to confront him.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t.”
He turned.
“You are becoming comfortable giving me orders.”
“I’m practicing.”
Isabella smiled faintly.
Then Amelia’s shop phone rang.
She answered.
“Brooks and Bloom.”
A man’s voice responded.
“Ms. Brooks?”
“Yes.”
“This is Andrew Keller with Halpern Property Management. We represent your building owner.”
Amelia’s stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“We received notice that the building changed ownership this morning.”
She stared at Dominic.
“To who?”
The man hesitated.
“North Meridian Group.”
The room became silent.
Lorenzo’s company had purchased the building containing Amelia’s flower shop.
That morning.
Less than twenty-four hours after she defended Isabella.
The caller continued.
“The new owner has elected not to renew commercial tenants when current terms expire.”
Amelia gripped the counter.
“My lease expires in three months.”
“I’m aware.”
“When do you need me out?”
“Ninety days.”
She slowly placed the phone down.
Dominic’s face became dangerous.
“No.”
Amelia lifted a hand.
“Don’t.”
“He is using your business.”
“I know.”
“I can buy the building back.”
“No.”
“Amelia.”
“No.”
“He bought your livelihood because of me.”
“And if you buy it, then my livelihood belongs to you instead.”
Dominic became silent.
She softened slightly.
“I need a lawyer, not a billionaire.”
“I can provide both.”
“That sounded worse.”
Isabella stepped between them.
“She’s right.”
Dominic stared at his mother.
“You agree?”
“Yes.”
“We can stop the eviction in one afternoon.”
“Then help her find the right legal people. Do not turn rescue into ownership.”
Dominic looked toward Amelia.
Something in his expression changed.
Respect, perhaps.
Or frustration.
Probably both.
“All right,” he said.
Amelia blinked.
“That was fast.”
“I am still adapting.”
Rafael’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
Then looked toward Dominic.
“Police traced the threatening photograph’s print stock.”
“To where?”
“Bellamy & Hart’s private office.”
Amelia felt cold.
The threat came directly from inside the boutique network.
Then Rafael added:
“Vanessa Clark is missing.”
Dominic straightened.
“Since when?”
“She failed to report to police for a follow-up interview this morning. Her apartment is empty.”
Isabella looked toward the street.
The bracelet was real.
The company connection was real.
The threat was real.
And the woman who slapped Amelia after falsely accusing Isabella had disappeared before police could ask why she had targeted the wrong elderly customer.
Amelia looked at Dominic.
“Please tell me this is the part where your family becomes less complicated.”
“No.”
May you like
For once, Dominic sounded almost apologetic.
“This is the part where it gets worse.”
