Chapter 2
Serafina did not insert the flash drive into any family computer.
Victor noticed.
“You afraid of what’s on it?”
She turned the object between two fingers.
“No.”
Her eyes lifted.
“I’m afraid of who already knows.”
Victor’s mouth tightened.
Nolan tried to stand.
Anthony Russo stepped in front of him.
Nolan’s confidence returned for half a second.
“You work for my father.”
Anthony did not blink.
“I worked beside your father.”
The distinction landed hard.
Serafina handed the drive to her outside forensic accountant, Claire Morton, who had been among the dinner guests because the evening had included a family business review.
Claire placed it inside an evidence envelope.
Victor laughed.
“You bring accountants to dinner now?”
Serafina looked at him.
“You taught me to.”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
Years earlier, after Serafina’s husband Lorenzo died in what everyone believed was a mountain-road accident, Victor had stepped into the role of mentor.
He taught her never to trust one ledger.
Never to let the same man authorize and reconcile a payment.
Never to assume family meant honest.
She had listened.
Apparently too well.
Upstairs, Leo sat on the edge of his bed while Mia remained beside him.
Serafina entered alone.
Leo’s hands were clenched between his knees.
She sat several feet away.
“What happened before I came outside?”
Leo glanced toward the door.
“Uncle Nolan asked what I picked up.”
“And?”
“I said nothing.”
Serafina waited.
“He said give it back.”
“Did he know what it was?”
Leo nodded.
“What did he call it?”
The boy swallowed.
“The orchard key.”
Serafina’s eyes changed.
There was no orchard on the estate.
But there was an ORCHARD account.
A dormant investment entity established twelve years earlier and supposedly closed after Lorenzo’s death.
Serafina had seen the name three weeks ago during an internal audit.
She had asked Victor about it.
He told her it was ancient paperwork.
Nothing more.
Mia spoke softly.
“Grandpa Victor said something too.”
Serafina turned.
Mia rubbed her palms against her dress.
“He told Nolan, ‘If she opens it, Lorenzo dies twice.’”
For a moment, Serafina forgot to breathe.
Mia watched her face.
“Mom?”
Serafina lowered her voice.
“I’m okay.”
She was not.
Lorenzo had been dead seven years.
May you like
Whatever was inside that drive had just connected an old financial account to her dead husband.
And Victor had known exactly what would happen if she saw it.
