Chapter 15 - The Paper Trail
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For two days, Norah practically lived in the study. Luca ordered the chef to bring her meals on silver trays, and he sat in the corner armchair, reading files and watching her work with a terrifying, protective intensity.
She was entirely in her element. The securities analyst Sebastian had tried to bury was fully awake, armed with the resources of a billionaire crime syndicate.
She followed the digital breadcrumbs, bypassing encrypted ledgers and fake vendor invoices. The thief was smart, routing the stolen money through three different continents before washing it clean in a legitimate holding company based in Miami.
But they weren't smarter than Norah.
At 3:00 AM on the second night, Norah hit the final keystroke. The ultimate beneficiary of the offshore accounts flashed onto the screen.
She stopped breathing.
“Luca,” Norah whispered into the quiet, dimly lit room.
He was at her side in a fraction of a second, his hand resting securely on the back of her chair. “Did you find him?”
Norah pointed a trembling finger at the screen.
The name on the holding company was Dominic Vane. He was Luca’s underboss. The man who had stood next to Luca at his sister’s funeral. The man who regularly bought Leo expensive birthday gifts.
Luca stared at the screen for a long, agonizing minute. His face betrayed absolutely no emotion, which Norah knew was the most dangerous reaction of all. The air in the study grew incredibly cold.
“Dominic,” Luca said, his voice entirely dead.
“He’s been doing it for two years, Luca,” Norah said softly, heartbroken for him. “He used the chaos of your sister’s death to hide the initial transfers. He knew you were distracted with Leo.”
Luca closed his eyes, taking a deep, slow breath. When he opened them, the steel-gray irises looked like a winter storm.
“Print the files,” Luca commanded quietly. “Every single page. Then, I want you to pack a bag for you and Leo. You’re leaving the estate.”
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Norah spun around in her chair. “What? Why?”
“Because Dominic knows he’s the only one with access to those accounts,” Luca said, pulling a heavy handgun from his desk drawer. “If he finds out I know, he won't just come for me. He’ll come for the things I love to use as leverage. And I will not risk you.”
