Chapter 5 - Tuesday’s Route
We left in two cars.
Claire drove her aging Honda with Noah buckled into the back.
I sat beside her.
Luca, Vanessa, and Sal followed close behind.
At the mansion, the flowers from the engagement dinner still filled the foyer.
Someone had started clearing the champagne glasses.
It looked obscene.
Luca told the staff to prepare two bedrooms upstairs.
Then he called his attorney, Mara Ellis.
“Tonight,” he said.
“Yes.
Bring whatever you need.”
In the kitchen, Noah fell asleep with his cheek against Claire’s arm.
Sal watched him from across the table.
Finally, Luca spoke.
“Tell me about Adrian.”
Sal lowered his hands.
“Three years ago, he asked me to drive him to your father.”
“My father was already sick.”
“He said it couldn’t wait.”
“What did he want?”
“He had copies of foundation payments.
Money meant for children’s housing was going somewhere else.”
Vanessa stared at the floor.
Sal continued.
“Adrian said Victor was using property companies to take it out.
Your father wanted the papers.
He told Adrian to bring them the next morning.”
“But Adrian died that night,” Luca said.
Sal nodded.
“His car went off the road.”
“You never told me.”
“Your father said he’d handle it.
Then six weeks later, we buried him too.”
Luca looked away.
The clock above the stove clicked through several seconds.
“What happened Tuesday?” I asked.
Sal glanced at me.
“Vanessa asked me to take her to Claire’s.
She said not to log the address.”
“I needed to see my son,” Vanessa said.
“You also asked whether I still kept my old route books.”
Her eyes closed.
Luca leaned forward.
“Why?”
Vanessa twisted her engagement ring.
“My father found out Sal drove Adrian that afternoon.
He wanted to know whether there was a record of it.”
“And you decided to fire him.”
“He told me to get Sal out before the wedding.”
“You chose tonight,” I said.
She looked at me sharply.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I did.”
A bell sounded at the front gate.
Mara had arrived.
Luca stood, but Sal caught his sleeve.
“There’s something else.”
From his coat pocket, he removed a folded envelope.
Inside was a copy of his retirement letter.
His name appeared at the bottom.
“I didn’t write this.”
Mara entered the kitchen, took one look at the page, and stopped.
“Where did you get that?”
Sal explained.
She turned it toward Luca.
“This isn’t just a retirement notice.”
May you like
Her finger rested on the second paragraph.
“It says he accepts responsibility for missing foundation money.”
