Chapter 17 - The Fire in the Penthouse
Fire crews saved the penthouse.
They could not save the piano.
By dawn, Hannah stood inside the library looking at blackened wood scattered across soaked flooring.
Dominic remained behind her.
He had barely spoken since they returned.
Hannah touched one burned ivory key lying beneath a chair.
Her mother’s hands had once played it.
Mason’s small fingers had learned scales on it.
For years after their mother died, Hannah had thought the piano was gone forever.
Dominic had found it.
Restored it.
Returned it to her.
Now Gabriel had turned it into ash.
“I’m sorry,” Dominic said.
Hannah looked over her shoulder.
“You didn’t burn it.”
“I brought this family into your life.”
She stood.
“You gave that memory back to me when I thought it was gone.”
“For less than a year.”
“That year mattered.”
Dominic’s face showed guilt.
Hannah crossed the room and placed the burned key into his palm.
“He wants us angry.”
“I am angry.”
“He wants you reckless.”
“I’m working on that.”
Despite everything, she smiled.
Mason entered on crutches borrowed from the paramedics—not because he needed them medically, but because the kidnappers had tied him tightly enough to leave his legs numb.
“Hate to interrupt the romantic trauma bonding.”
Hannah hugged him.
Hard.
“Ow.”
“Deal with it.”
Mason kissed her temple.
“I’m okay.”
“Did they hurt you?”
“One guy punched me.”
Dominic looked up.
“Name.”
“Relax, Batman.”
“Mason.”
“I never saw his face.”
Agent Pierce joined them.
“We have a bigger problem.”
She placed a tablet on the table.
News channels showed explosive headlines.
Scanned pages of Salvatore Moretti’s ledger had been leaked to journalists.
Judges.
Police officials.
CEOs.
State politicians.
Some names were retired.
Some dead.
Others currently powerful.
Dominic read silently.
Then his face changed.
“What?”
Hannah looked.
One name appeared repeatedly.
DOMINIC MORETTI.
Transactions worth millions were listed beside it.
Pierce crossed her arms.
“Gabriel is framing you as your father’s successor.”
“I was twenty-three when some of these payments happened.”
“Facts move slower than headlines.”
Hannah watched television footage outside Moretti Global.
Protesters already gathered.
Employees were leaving through rear exits.
Moretti Global stock had dropped twenty-one percent before markets officially opened.
“This is planned,” Adrian said.
He stood near the doorway, still looking strange inside Dominic’s home.
“Gabriel isn’t only protecting himself. He’s taking the company.”
Dominic looked toward him.
“How?”
“Destroy your reputation. Trigger shareholder panic. Force emergency board action.”
Mason frowned.
“Can he actually do that?”
Dominic answered.
“If the stock collapses far enough and lenders call specific credit provisions, yes.”
Hannah stared.
“Your cousin can steal your company?”
“He can attempt to.”
A phone rang.
Dominic answered on speaker.
Evelyn Shaw.
“Dominic, emergency board meeting. Two hours.”
“Who called it?”
“Gabriel.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“There it is.”
Hannah looked toward Dominic.
He was suddenly calm.
Too calm.
That frightened her more than rage.
“What are you thinking?”
“That Gabriel believes my company is the thing I value most.”
“And?”
“He’s wrong.”
Dominic looked at Hannah.
“The foundation matters more.”
She understood.
Gabriel expected Dominic to defend himself.
Instead, Dominic could protect everyone else first.
At the board meeting, cameras surrounded Moretti Global.
Dominic entered through the front doors.
Hannah walked beside him.
Reporters shouted.
“Mr. Moretti, did you inherit a criminal bribery network?”
“Mrs. Moretti, is your foundation involved?”
“Did your husband finance illegal operations?”
Dominic stopped.
Luca tensed.
Hannah squeezed Dominic’s hand.
He faced the cameras.
“My father committed crimes.”
The crowd exploded.
Dominic continued.
“I spent years pretending his empire could be cleaned quietly. That was arrogance.”
Reporters shouted again.
“I will provide investigators unrestricted access to every Moretti Global archive. I will also place my voting shares into temporary independent stewardship until the investigation concludes.”
Inside the lobby, Adrian stared at the television.
Gabriel had expected denial.
Dominic had given transparency.
Hannah stepped toward the microphones.
“The Cole-Moretti Foundation will publish every donation, grant, salary, and payment made since its creation. If someone wants to accuse us of stealing from injured families, they can do it while looking at every receipt.”
The cameras flashed.
Dominic took her hand.
Then a reporter shouted one final question.
“Mr. Moretti! Is your brother Adrian alive?”
Dominic stopped.
Hannah’s heart sank.
Someone had leaked that too.
Dominic turned.
“Yes.”
The entire building fell silent.
“My brother is alive.”
Thirty cameras exploded with light.
“And tomorrow,” Dominic said, “he will tell you why he disappeared.”
May you like
Across town, Gabriel Moretti watched the broadcast.
His smile finally vanished.
Related Stories
