Chapter 4
Marco claimed he took the SUV to refuel it.
The fuel receipt said otherwise.
No purchase occurred.
Gate records showed the vehicle leaving the estate at 11:27 p.m. and returning shortly before 2:00 a.m.
Marco had been driving.
The GPS history for those hours was missing.
Silvano removed Marco from all driving and estate responsibilities immediately.
Marco’s attorney protested.
Silvano did not care.
His attorney did.
“You can remove him from your home. Employment issues still need to be handled properly.”
Silvano hated procedure.
He followed it anyway.
The family transportation company placed Marco on administrative leave while outside counsel reviewed vehicle records.
That decision created immediate problems.
Marco knew schedules, properties, private routes and staffing arrangements better than almost anyone.
Replacing him exposed how much Silvano had allowed one man to control.
Then Lucia made her own move.
She retained a family-law attorney.
Silvano learned about it from his lawyer.
“She was already consulting him before the SUV incident.”
Silvano looked up.
“How long before?”
“Five weeks.”
Lucia had asked about reopening Ethan’s guardianship arrangement.
Her concern was supposedly the environment at Silvano’s estate.
Armed security.
Late-night business.
Unstable routines.
Exposure to organized-crime associates.
Silvano felt anger rise.
Then he forced himself to read the concerns again.
Not all were fabricated.
He had brought Ethan into a house built for his own life rather than rebuilding his life around a six-year-old.
That did not justify Lucia’s stunt.
But it explained why her resentment had found somewhere to grow.
His attorney continued.
“She needed evidence that Ethan was unsafe in your care.”
Silvano looked toward the SUV report.
“So she manufactured it.”
“That's what it looks like.”
But one question remained.
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If Lucia planned only a short staged incident with the air conditioning running, why had Marco agreed to help?
Silvano suspected the missing two-hour drive contained the answer.
