Chapter 4
Alessandro called an emergency meeting the following morning.
Only five people attended.
Daniel Shaw.
His chief financial officer, Michael Grant.
His attorney, Evelyn Price.
His longtime operations director, Thomas Avery.
And Alessandro.
Damien was not invited.
Michael placed a folder on the conference table.
“I found something before you called.”
Wedding expenses had nearly doubled during the previous three months.
Alessandro had expected extravagance.
Bianca had insisted on imported flowers, celebrity catering, custom furniture, and private security.
He had stopped questioning the amounts because arguing about a wedding he barely cared about felt exhausting.
That had been a mistake.
Michael pointed to several vendors.
All legitimate companies.
But some payments exceeded their actual invoices.
“Where did the difference go?”
“Separate consulting charges.”
“To whom?”
Michael turned the page.
Moretti Event Coordination LLC.
Alessandro looked up.
“Bianca?”
“Registered eighteen months ago.”
“How much?”
“Just under seven hundred thousand dollars.”
Thomas whistled quietly.
Evelyn looked at Alessandro.
“Did you authorize her to reimburse herself?”
“No.”
Michael continued.
“The approvals came through Damien.”
Alessandro leaned back.
Seven hundred thousand dollars was not enough to threaten the Rizzano businesses.
It was enough to tell him something was wrong.
He remembered Rosalie’s description of cash envelopes handed to guards.
“Find out where the money went.”
Michael nodded.
Daniel spoke next.
Two of the temporary guards had been located.
Both claimed Damien told them Alessandro planned to reduce his involvement in daily operations after the wedding.
Thomas frowned.
“You never told us that.”
“No.”
“They were told Damien would be handling security decisions.”
Alessandro felt anger rise.
He controlled it.
“What about Ethan Cole?”
“Gone.”
“Real name?”
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
Daniel looked embarrassed.
“The identification passed the contractor’s check.”
“But not ours.”
“No.”
Alessandro stood and walked toward the windows.
Outside, staff were dismantling the wedding tents.
White fabric collapsed against the grass.
By evening, there would be almost no evidence a wedding had been planned.
His phone vibrated.
Bianca.
He rejected the call.
She called again.
Then a message appeared.
WE NEED TO TALK WITHOUT DAMIEN.
Alessandro stared at it.
A second message arrived.
YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING.
Evelyn noticed his expression.
“What?”
He handed her the phone.
She read it.
“Don’t meet her alone.”
Alessandro gave a humorless smile.
“Yesterday I was supposed to marry her.”
“Yesterday you also thought Damien worked for you.”
He looked back toward the field.
May you like
For years Alessandro had believed betrayal announced itself with greed, fear, or disloyalty.
Now he understood it could arrive dressed for a wedding.
