Chapter 7 - The Eighteen MillionOlivia did not go alone.
She also did not tell Samuel that.
Maya insisted on notifying federal authorities.
Dante resisted for exactly thirty seconds.
Then Olivia said, “You want me to trust you? Stop solving everything like a crime boss.”
He made the call.
The FBI organized-crime squad did not arrive with sirens.
Two agents met them in a conference room at Maya’s firm.
Special Agent Elena Ruiz listened without interrupting.
Then she looked at Dante.
“You understand that if these records contain evidence of unrelated federal crimes, cooperation does not immunize you.”
Dante nodded.
“I understand.”
Olivia studied him.
That mattered.
Samuel requested a meeting inside an abandoned parking structure in Brooklyn.
The FBI refused to let Olivia approach him directly.
Instead, they fitted her with a microphone and positioned agents nearby.
Dante was ordered to remain in the surveillance van.
He hated every second.
Olivia knew because she could see his face through the windshield.
She walked toward Samuel.
He was standing beside a concrete pillar.
No gun visible.
That did not reassure her.
“You came.”
“You called.”
Samuel held up a flash drive.
“Your father made two recordings.”
Olivia stopped several feet away.
“Why do you have that?”
“Carlo did.”
“Why are you giving it to me?”
Samuel laughed bitterly.
“Because Carlo plans to bury everyone.”
“Including you.”
“Especially me.”
Olivia’s stomach turned.
“How long have you worked for him?”
“Eight years.”
Dante would hear every word.
Good.
Samuel looked toward the garage entrance.
“He paid me to report where Dante went and who he met.”
“You told him about the bank.”
“Yes.”
“My apartment?”
Samuel shook his head.
“That was another crew.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Convenient.”
“It’s true.”
Olivia held out her hand.
“The recording.”
Samuel did not give it to her.
“Your father found out the eighteen million wasn’t the real theft.”
“What does that mean?”
“That money was bait.”
Olivia frowned.
“Bait for what?”
“Harbor Point.”
Samuel swallowed.
“Carlo used the refinancing to move more than ninety million dollars through shell companies over four years.”
Olivia felt the scale of it.
“From Moretti?”
“From everybody.”
“Explain.”
“Investor funds. Construction loans. Pension money.”
That changed everything.
This was not family betrayal anymore.
It was fraud.
Samuel continued.
“Daniel found it. Alessandro found it. Matteo found it.”
“And all three died.”
Samuel looked at her.
“I never said Carlo killed them.”
“You didn’t have to.”
He gave her the drive.
A car engine roared somewhere below.
Samuel spun.
Olivia heard agents moving.
Then another vehicle shot through the lower ramp.
It did not come toward Olivia.
It came toward Samuel.
He jumped aside.
The sedan struck a concrete barrier and stopped.
Two men ran.
Federal agents intercepted them before they reached the stairs.
No shots.
Just shouting.
Bodies against concrete.
Handcuffs.
Olivia backed away.
Samuel stared at the fleeing men.
Carlo had sent them.
Not to kill Olivia.
To silence Samuel.
Later, inside the FBI office, they watched Daniel’s second recording.
He looked worse than in the first.
“If Carlo discovers I copied the Harbor Point files, I will not have much time.”
Olivia pressed her hands together.
Daniel continued.
“The eighteen million belongs to the company. Alessandro ordered me to isolate it because he feared Carlo would use it to cover the Harbor Point deficit.”
Dante leaned toward the screen.
“The deficit?”
Daniel answered as though he could hear.
“Forty-one million dollars at the time of this recording.”
Maya whispered, “Ninety now.”
Daniel continued.
“If I die, the voting trust passes to Olivia because I need someone outside the Moretti family to hold the swing vote.”
Olivia’s breath caught.
That answered it.
Not inheritance.
Not greed.
Leverage.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
“Liv, if you ever see this, I’m sorry.”
Olivia began crying silently.
“I chose you because I know you will hate having this power.”
She laughed through the tears.
Dante looked at her.
Daniel smiled faintly.
“That is why I trust you with it.”
The recording ended.
Agent Ruiz said, “We can build from this.”
Dante’s phone buzzed.
He checked the message.
His face changed.
“What?”
He turned the screen toward Olivia.
A legal notice.
Carlo had filed an emergency action in New York Supreme Court challenging Daniel’s voting trust as fraudulent.
At the same time, Moretti Hospitality’s board secretary had scheduled a special meeting.
Forty-eight hours.
Carlo intended to force through the restructuring.
If he succeeded, Olivia’s fourteen-percent vote would become nearly worthless.
Maya swore under her breath.
Dante looked at Olivia.
“You wanted to know why Carlo offered you ten million.”
Olivia wiped her eyes.
“Now I know.”
“He wasn’t buying your shares.”
“No.”
May you like
She stared at the board notice.
“He was buying forty-eight hours.”
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