Chapter 6
The investigation changed daily life faster than anyone expected.
Delia stopped calling Raffaele and started calling relatives.
By Sunday, half the family had heard that Sofia was trying to turn Raffaele against the sister who raised him.
Several believed it.
Sofia refused to attend the usual family lunch in Westchester.
Raffaele stayed home too.
It did not fix anything.
That night, Sofia packed a suitcase.
Raffaele stood in their bedroom doorway.
“Where are you going?”
“My sister’s.”
“With Lily?”
“Yes.”
His first reaction was immediate.
“No.”
Sofia stopped folding.
Raffaele heard himself.
The old tone.
The one that made decisions for everyone else.
He corrected it.
“Why?”
Sofia looked at him.
“Because Lily watched your sister hit me.”
“I know.”
“Then she watched you hit two people.”
Raffaele did not answer.
Sofia zipped the suitcase.
“I need her somewhere quiet.”
“You’re safe here.”
“This isn’t about bodyguards.”
That landed.
Sofia had never asked whether Raffaele could protect the doors.
She was asking whether life around him could become less frightening.
“I’m not leaving you,” she said.
He hated the relief that moved through him.
“I’m leaving this house for a while.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
He nodded.
For once, he did not negotiate.
Lily hugged him before leaving.
“Daddy coming?”
“Not tonight, sweetheart.”
She frowned.
Sofia knelt beside her.
“Daddy’s going to see us tomorrow.”
Lily accepted that.
Raffaele had more difficulty.
After they left, the penthouse felt absurdly large.
The next morning Evelyn called.
She had found another problem.
Metropolitan’s invoices were not only inflated.
Someone inside the penthouse had repeatedly altered staffing schedules after events ended.
The original schedule might show seven workers.
The archived copy submitted for payment showed twelve.
“Who had access?”
“Four people.”
Marcus.
Delia.
The event administrator.
And Sofia.
Raffaele went completely still.
Evelyn continued.
“I’m not accusing your wife.”
“But?”
May you like
“But her credentials appear on eleven revisions.”
For the first time since the gala, the investigation pointed directly at Sofia.
