Chapter 4 - Unraveling the Web
By midnight, the Moretti estate was locked down tighter than a federal prison.
Down in the subterranean vaults, Julian and Isabella sat in separate soundproof interrogation rooms. They hadn't realized that while they were plotting my downfall, I had spent years building an intelligence network that extended far beyond legal commerce.
I walked into Julian’s room. He was handcuffed to a steel table, but he still tried to wear a smug grin.
"You can't hold me here forever, Alessandro," Julian sneered. "My lawyers are already filing habeas corpus. By morning, the press will cover the news that New York’s favorite billionaire is holding his best man hostage."
I placed a thick black folder on the table between us.
"Your lawyers aren't coming, Julian," I said softly, sitting down across from him. "Because three hours ago, federal agents raided your private estate in the Hamptons. They found the offshore ledgers, the forged power-of-attorney documents, and the digital trace payments you made to the mechanic who tampered with David Vance’s brakes."
Julian’s smug expression slowly disintegrated. "That's... that's impossible. I cleared those servers."
"You cleared the local drive," I corrected him. "You forgot that every file created on a Moretti-issued device backs up to my personal cloud network."
I leaned forward, my voice dropping to an icy whisper. "Isabella already cracked. She’s singing like a bird to Marco. She confessed that you promised her thirty percent of my liquid assets once you helped her poison me slowly over six months using thallium tasteless drops."
Julian stared at me, his breath hitching.
"I gave you a position. I gave you power. I treated you like a brother," I said, my voice thick with cold rage. "And you tried to murder me and destroy an innocent family."
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"You took everything from my father!" Julian suddenly screamed, lunging across the table until his handcuffs snapped against the iron loop. "My father helped your dad build this empire! But who got the crown? You! Always you! Perfect Alessandro!"
"Your father was a thief, Julian," I said, standing up and buttoning my suit jacket. "And you are just a murderer in a tailored suit."
