Chapter 6
Adrian changed tactics.
He stopped pretending Elena was only afraid of Lorenzo.
Instead, he attacked her character.
“She wanted power.”
Lorenzo stood near the gallery windows.
Adrian remained seated.
His wrists were crossed casually.
Too casually.
“Elena married into this family and decided she understood it better than people born into it.”
Lorenzo turned.
“Did you threaten her?”
Adrian smiled.
“No.”
“Did you get into her car?”
“Yes.”
“Did she invite you?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Did you leave before the crash?”
Adrian’s eyes flickered.
There.
Lorenzo stepped closer.
“When?”
“I don’t remember.”
Bianca’s hands became still.
Lorenzo looked toward her.
She knew.
Then Claire entered with an old mechanic.
Peter Sloan had serviced Elena’s car for years.
He remembered Adrian visiting the garage the morning Elena died.
Adrian’s confidence faded.
Only slightly.
“What did he want?” Lorenzo asked.
Peter rubbed his palms together.
“He asked whether the cabin recording system worked.”
Lorenzo stared.
The Vescari vehicles used a private safety system.
Not a public dashcam.
A discreet cabin recorder designed for kidnapping or hijacking incidents.
It stored encrypted audio locally and uploaded only if manually triggered.
Lorenzo had forgotten Elena’s sedan had one.
“Did Adrian know how it worked?”
“Yes.”
Peter swallowed.
“He asked how to disable it.”
Bianca looked sharply at Adrian.
That reaction mattered.
She had not known.
Adrian’s jaw clenched.
Lorenzo’s voice lowered.
“Did you?”
Peter shook his head.
“I refused.”
Then hesitated.
“But somebody disabled it later.”
The recorder was inactive when investigators examined the wreck.
Adrian immediately spoke.
“You’re building a story around maintenance gossip.”
Peter looked at him.
His breathing became faster.
Then he reached into his coat.
An old service card.
Adrian had signed it.
REQUESTED PRIVACY DISCONNECT — OWNER AUTHORIZATION TO FOLLOW.
No owner authorization ever followed.
Adrian’s signature sat beneath the request.
Bianca stared at him.
May you like
For the first time since the memorial, she looked genuinely betrayed.
Adrian had hidden something from her too.
