Chapter 5 - THE MAN AT THE FUNERAL

Vincent Moreau had known Lorenzo since they were seventeen. Together they had turned one borrowed delivery van into a port and freight company worth more money than either of them had imagined.

At Isabella’s funeral, Vincent had stood beside Lorenzo at the grave.

Now Lorenzo sat in his office and watched Vincent through the glass wall across the hall.

“Don’t confront him,” Rachel said over the phone.

“I haven’t.”

“I mean it. The message could be pointing you at the wrong person.”

Lorenzo remembered Vincent’s hand on his shoulder as the casket went down.

“I know.”

That afternoon, he asked Vincent to join him for coffee. They talked about an overdue shipping contract and a delayed inspection. Lorenzo barely heard himself speak.

Vincent studied him. “You look terrible.”

“I haven’t slept.”

“Because of the rumor about Isabella?”

The cup stopped in Lorenzo’s hand. Only the police, Mason, and a few people at the estate knew about the footage.

“What rumor?”

Vincent gave a small shrug. “People talk. Somebody thinks they saw her.”

Lorenzo set down the cup. “People think they see ghosts too.”

“Exactly.” Vincent leaned back. “Don’t let it tear you apart again.”

Lorenzo nodded and left before his anger showed.

At home, Mason had recovered part of an email Isabella sent to herself two days before the crash. Its subject line read PORT FILES.

If these numbers are right, Vincent has been moving money through North Pier vendors for at least eighteen months. Need independent review before telling L.

Attached files had not synced to her tablet.

Mason scrolled through company records. Several subcontractors had billed for work on the same dates. Their payments ran through a network of small businesses that shared addresses and officers.

“How much?” Lorenzo asked.

“Roughly nine million in payments we need to examine. Some may be legitimate.”

Lorenzo stared at the screen. Isabella had found the irregularities before he had. She had kept checking because Vincent was his oldest friend.

Mason’s phone buzzed. A security alert had come from the hotel where Sophia and Emma were staying.

The camera outside their room had gone dark.

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