Chapter 15 – The Boardroom Trap
By sunrise, every major news network in America had the same headline.
MORETTI DYNASTY IN CRISIS.
BILLIONAIRE'S FIANCÉE ACCUSED OF FAKE PREGNANCY.
EMPIRE FACES EMERGENCY BOARD VOTE.
Satellite trucks lined both sides of Fifth Avenue.
Helicopters circled above the Moretti estate.
Reporters shouted questions through locked iron gates.
No one inside answered.
The truth hadn't finished unfolding.
I watched from the back seat of Alessandro's armored SUV as Emma slept against my shoulder.
Her fever had finally begun to fall after receiving treatment at the children's hospital.
Dr. Harris smiled gently.
"She's going to be alright."
For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours...
I could breathe.
Emma stirred awake.
"Mama..."
"I'm here."
She looked toward Alessandro, who sat across from us reading documents without saying a word.
"Is the scary man still sad?"
I glanced at him.
He heard every word.
Before I could answer, he quietly closed the folder in his lap.
"I am."
Emma frowned.
"Because the princess lied?"
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Yes."
She thought carefully.
"My daddy said lies are like broken windows."
He looked at her.
"Did he?"
She nodded.
"They always cut somebody."
The SUV became silent.
Daniel had been gone for three years.
Yet somehow...
His words continued guiding everyone around him.
The convoy arrived at Moretti International Headquarters just before nine.
The seventy-story tower stood like polished steel against the Manhattan skyline.
Hundreds of employees filled the lobby.
Television screens replayed last night's scandal.
As Alessandro entered...
Every conversation stopped.
No one applauded.
No one whispered.
People simply stepped aside.
Not because they feared him.
Because they were waiting to see whether their empire would survive the day.
Marco approached with urgent news.
"The board is already assembled."
"Without me?"
"They advanced the meeting by forty minutes."
Alessandro's expression darkened.
"Who authorized that?"
Marco handed him the attendance sheet.
Five signatures.
One name at the top.
Luca Moretti.
"They moved faster than expected," Marco said.
"They thought you would spend today cleaning up Vanessa's mess."
Alessandro gave a short nod.
"They underestimated the problem."
"The fake pregnancy?"
"No."
He buttoned his jacket.
"They underestimated me."
The executive boardroom occupied the entire top floor.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Manhattan.
A twenty-foot walnut table stretched through the center.
Twelve leather chairs.
Twelve votes.
The future of the Moretti Empire would be decided there.
As the doors opened...
Every director turned.
At the head of the table sat a man I recognized only from photographs.
Luca Moretti.
He looked remarkably like Alessandro.
The same dark hair.
The same sharp features.
But where Alessandro's eyes remained calm...
Luca's constantly measured everyone around him.
Always calculating.
Always smiling.
Too much.
He rose slowly.
"My brother."
His voice carried effortless charm.
"I'm glad you made it."
Alessandro didn't return the smile.
"I heard the meeting started without me."
Luca shrugged.
"Business never waits."
Several board members shifted uncomfortably.
Everyone knew the family rules.
No major vote could occur unless both brothers were present.
Yet Luca had ignored tradition.
That alone told Alessandro everything he needed to know.
"I've called this emergency session," Luca announced,
"to protect shareholder confidence."
He clicked a remote.
News headlines filled the enormous screen.
Vanessa.
The fake pregnancy.
Market losses.
Declining stock prices.
"Our company has already lost two billion dollars in market value."
He looked directly at the board.
"We require stable leadership."
Then...
He looked directly at Alessandro.
"I therefore propose a temporary transfer of executive authority."
Silence.
Even I understood what he was saying.
He wasn't asking Alessandro to step aside.
He was staging a corporate coup.
Director Harold Benson cleared his throat.
"Temporary?"
Luca smiled.
"Until public confidence returns."
Another director raised her hand.
"And who would assume control?"
Luca spread his hands modestly.
"If the board wishes..."
"...I am prepared to serve."
The room grew colder.
Marco leaned toward Alessandro.
"He planned this before Vanessa announced the pregnancy."
"I know."
"How?"
"The board packets."
Marco frowned.
"What about them?"
"They're already printed."
Alessandro pointed toward the folders at every seat.
"That takes preparation."
"Not one night."
"Several days."
Marco looked again.
He realized Alessandro was right.
The coup had been organized long before the engagement party.
Luca continued speaking.
"My brother has suffered a terrible personal betrayal."
He sounded almost compassionate.
"We all sympathize."
He paused.
"But emotions cloud judgment."
Another pause.
"Our investors deserve certainty."
His performance was flawless.
Measured.
Reasonable.
Almost convincing.
If I hadn't seen Daniel's evidence...
I might have believed him myself.
Then Alessandro finally spoke.
Only one sentence.
"Call Vanessa."
The room froze.
Luca blinked.
"What?"
"Invite Miss Cole."
"This meeting concerns corporate governance."
"No."
Alessandro calmly took his seat.
"It concerns conspiracy."
Exactly fifteen minutes later...
Vanessa entered under police escort.
She wore yesterday's white engagement dress.
The makeup had faded.
Her confidence had not.
She looked directly at Luca.
Only for half a second.
Most people missed it.
Alessandro didn't.
Neither did Marco.
That tiny glance told them everything.
They knew each other far better than either had admitted.
Luca smiled politely.
"Miss Cole."
She nodded.
"Mr. Moretti."
Not Alessandro.
Luca.
Alessandro quietly slid a tablet across the table.
"Play it."
The hotel video appeared again.
The room watched in silence.
Vanessa.
Adrian Pierce.
The fake pregnancy.
The board members looked horrified.
Luca remained perfectly calm.
Almost too calm.
When the recording ended...
Luca sighed dramatically.
"Terrible."
He looked toward Vanessa.
"I trusted you."
She lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
It sounded rehearsed.
Almost theatrical.
Alessandro noticed.
"So do I."
Everyone turned.
"So do you... what?"
Luca asked.
"I also think she's acting."
A long silence followed.
Then Alessandro placed another document onto the table.
"The forensic report."
Marco distributed copies.
Every director examined the DNA analysis.
One by one...
Confusion spread across their faces.
Luca reached for his own copy.
His hands remained steady.
But Alessandro saw something no one else did.
For the first time that morning...
His brother didn't immediately read the report.
Instead...
He looked at the cover page.
As though he already knew what it contained.
"Interesting," Luca finally said.
"What exactly does this prove?"
Alessandro leaned forward.
"It proves the prosthetic contains DNA from someone inside the Moretti family."
Several directors gasped.
Luca laughed softly.
"Family DNA is hardly unusual."
"No."
Alessandro agreed.
"It isn't."
He paused.
"What is unusual..."
"...is that the DNA wasn't transferred accidentally."
The room became silent again.
"The laboratory identified epithelial skin cells concentrated along the interior fastening straps."
Marco added quietly,
"Meaning someone repeatedly helped Miss Cole put it on."
Now...
For the first time...
Luca's smile disappeared.
Only for an instant.
But it was enough.
Alessandro saw it.
Marco saw it.
And so did I.
Before anyone could speak further...
The boardroom doors burst open.
A young forensic technician ran inside, breathing heavily.
"Mr. Moretti!"
Marco frowned.
"This meeting is private."
"I know."
The technician held up a sealed evidence bag.
"But this couldn't wait."
"What happened?"
"We finished restoring the damaged hard drive recovered from Daniel Carter's archive."
Alessandro slowly stood.
"And?"
The technician swallowed.
"We found the complete video."
The room held its breath.
"The final thirty seconds weren't corrupted."
"What does it show?"
The technician looked around the table.
His eyes stopped...
On Luca Moretti.
May you like
Then he whispered the words that sent every heartbeat in the room racing.
"Sir... Daniel recorded the face of the man who ordered his murder."
