Chapter 6
Rocco did not confront them immediately.
He followed the money first.
Marcus’s legitimate construction company had problems.
Two projects were behind schedule.
One lender had demanded additional collateral.
Another loan would mature within six months.
Marcus was not broke.
He was exposed.
If the projects failed, he could lose most of what he had built outside the Caruso organization.
That gave him motive.
Not proof.
Victoria’s finances looked different.
She earned well as an interior designer and had no serious debt.
But her prenuptial agreement with Rocco was strict.
If they divorced, she kept what she brought into the marriage and received a limited settlement.
If Rocco died, she received the marital residence and a defined sum.
No control of Caruso Holdings.
No control of Noah’s inheritance.
No automatic right to remain in Noah’s life.
Rocco remembered one argument from months earlier.
Victoria had asked:
“If something happens to you, what happens to me and Noah?”
Rocco had answered too quickly.
“Noah will be protected.”
She had said:
“I asked about both of us.”
At the time he thought she wanted reassurance.
Maybe she did.
Maybe Marcus heard the same fear and found a way to use it.
Maria brought another detail.
Victoria had repeatedly asked whether Noah’s hearing loss was permanent.
“She said she wanted to understand his future.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That his doctors were optimistic and that his hearing aids work very well.”
“Did she ask anything else?”
Maria thought.
“She asked whether he would always need someone helping him make decisions.”
Rocco looked at her.
“What did you say?”
“I told her he’s three.”
The answer sat heavily between them.
A child wearing a hearing aid did not mean a child lacked intelligence.
It did not mean he would require lifelong guardianship.
Yet someone around Rocco seemed very interested in describing Noah’s hearing difference as something much larger.
That evening he requested every medical authorization involving his son.
He found one he did not recognize.
Victoria had attempted to obtain a broader summary of Noah’s developmental records through the family concierge service.
The request had been denied.
The reason given:
estate-planning purposes.
Rocco stopped reading.
May you like
Estate planning.
Again.
