Chapter 13 - THE VILLA ON LAKE COMO
Federal authorities did not allow Nicholas to chase Charles Whitaker across Europe like a man in an action movie.
Avery considered that a positive development.
Nicholas disagreed.
“He murdered my mother.”
“Allegedly.”
“Avery.”
“That word matters until a court removes it.”
Nicholas stared at her.
“You spend too much time with lawyers.”
“You employ too many.”
Italian authorities were notified.
Interpol received information.
Whitaker's accounts began freezing.
Yet forty-eight hours later, there was still no confirmed arrest.
Then Sofia received a photograph.
No message.
Just a photograph.
Bianca Marino's grave near Verona.
Fresh white lilies lay across the stone.
Nicholas looked at it.
“He's in Italy.”
Marco nodded.
“Or wants us to think he is.”
The second photograph came an hour later.
Avery.
Walking out of Marino Atlantic the previous afternoon.
Taken from across the street.
Nicholas's entire posture changed.
“You're staying at my residence.”
“No.”
“This is not negotiable.”
“You really love that phrase.”
“Avery.”
She looked at the photograph again.
This time, she did not argue.
Someone had watched her.
That was different from Nicholas being overprotective.
“Fine.”
He blinked.
“Fine?”
“Don't make me regret agreeing with you.”
Marco added twenty-four-hour protection.
Avery hated it.
She also accepted it.
Three days later, Whitaker's attorney contacted federal prosecutors.
Charles wanted to negotiate surrender.
Condition:
Nicholas must meet him privately in Italy.
Avery laughed when she heard.
“No.”
Nicholas did not.
“You're considering it.”
“He has information.”
“He has prosecutors.”
“He claims Luca was not acting alone in the recent poisoning attempt.”
Avery stopped.
“What?”
Grant and Luca had already been implicated in Nicholas's attack at Hawthorne House.
But Whitaker claimed a current Marino Atlantic executive remained involved.
Someone not yet arrested.
“That could be another trap.”
“Yes.”
“So don't go.”
Nicholas looked toward Lake Como on a map.
“He says he has evidence.”
Avery crossed her arms.
“You know what I learned from watching wealthy men at restaurants?”
“I suspect this will be insulting.”
“They always think the answer is another meeting.”
Nicholas almost smiled.
“This one matters.”
“You don't know that.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But if someone inside Marino Atlantic is still working for him, thousands of employees may be at risk.”
Avery hated when he had a good reason.
The meeting was arranged under law-enforcement supervision.
Not private.
Not truly.
Italian police would monitor from nearby.
Marco would accompany Nicholas.
Avery was specifically told not to go.
So naturally she went to Italy.
Not to the meeting.
She went with Sofia to Verona.
“You realize Nicholas will be furious,” Sofia said on the plane.
“He's always furious.”
“No. He looks furious. There is a difference.”
Avery smiled.
“Whose side are you on?”
“Mine.”
They visited Bianca's grave.
Avery had never been there.
The cemetery overlooked hills washed in autumn gold.
Sofia touched the stone.
“He hasn't come here in years.”
“Why?”
“Because Nicholas thinks grief is something you defeat by refusing to visit it.”
Avery looked down at Bianca's name.
“She sounds like she would've disliked that.”
Sofia laughed.
“She would've told him he was being dramatic.”
At the villa, Whitaker met Nicholas beneath an open terrace overlooking Lake Como.
He had aged in one week.
No immaculate confidence.
No boardroom smile.
Just fear dressed in cashmere.
Nicholas sat opposite him.
Police listened remotely.
“You killed my mother.”
Whitaker looked toward the water.
“I made a decision.”
“That is an impressive phrase for murder.”
“I never intended the car to crash.”
Nicholas went still.
Whitaker continued.
“The mechanic was supposed to create a failure. Frighten her.”
“You sabotaged her brakes.”
“I was told the car would become difficult to control at low speed.”
Nicholas's voice became ice.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
For once, Whitaker looked honest.
“I expect you to understand that men spend twenty years rewriting their worst decision until they can sleep.”
Nicholas stared.
“Why did you do it?”
“Because Bianca was going to destroy everything.”
“Your crimes.”
“My life.”
“She was my mother.”
“And she was about to expose men who would've destroyed your entire family.”
“Don't pretend you protected me.”
Whitaker looked toward him.
“I did, afterward.”
Nicholas almost laughed.
“You planted Grant.”
“To control Luca.”
“You created Luca.”
“I managed him.”
“You used him.”
“Yes.”
Whitaker exhaled.
“Until he became uncontrollable.”
Nicholas leaned forward.
“Who else is inside Marino Atlantic?”
Whitaker smiled faintly.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The question worth coming for.”
“Name.”
“First guarantee Sofia remains untouched by prosecution.”
Nicholas's eyes narrowed.
“My mother?”
“Your mother signed documents twenty years ago without knowing what they were.”
Nicholas stared.
Whitaker continued.
“I can make prosecutors think she knew.”
“You bastard.”
“Exactly.”
Nicholas stood.
“Meeting over.”
Whitaker panicked.
“Sit down.”
“No.”
“The person inside your company is planning another attack.”
Nicholas stopped.
“When?”
Whitaker smiled sadly.
“Already started.”
Nicholas's phone rang.
Avery.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“Verona.”
His eyes closed.
“What did I tell you?”
“Later.”
Her voice changed.
“Nicholas, the Bianca Initiative accounts are being emptied.”
He froze.
“What?”
“We got alerts through the outreach office. Someone is sending emergency grants to hundreds of fake recipients.”
Nicholas looked at Whitaker.
Whitaker smiled.
“There.”
Nicholas's voice hardened.
“Who?”
Whitaker said one name.
“Charles Whitaker cannot transfer money without help from someone who controls internal compliance.”
Nicholas stopped.
Only two people had that level of authority.
One was in custody.
Grant Keller.
The other was the woman who had signed off on every reform after Grant's arrest.
Elena Rossi.
Marino Atlantic's chief compliance officer.
A woman Nicholas had trusted for twelve years.
Avery was already calling New York.
Then Whitaker leaned forward.
“You should ask Avery something.”
Nicholas looked at him.
“What?”
“Who recommended Elena for the wellness division oversight committee?”
Nicholas knew.
Avery.
But Avery had done it based on internal recommendations.
Whitaker's smile widened.
“Your waitress brought my last piece directly into the room.”
Nicholas's face changed.
Whitaker laughed softly.
“Now tell me, Nicholas—”
May you like
“Do you still think she notices everything?”
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