Chapter 10 - The Search
The search lasted eleven hours.
Investigators carried boxes from the Russo mansion until after midnight.
Computers.
Bank statements.
Phones.
Old corporate files.
Inside Viola’s locked office, they found a shred bin filled with recently destroyed documents.
Most were unreadable.
One wasn’t.
A half-page survived.
At the top:
LUCA PROTECTIVE TRUST.
Below it appeared a handwritten note.
Need E signature before annual meeting.
Elena.
Matteo stared at the evidence photograph.
“She planned the party around the signature.”
Samuel nodded.
“The annual shareholder meeting is Monday.”
“What happens Monday?”
“Luca’s trust votes its fifty-one percent.”
Elena understood.
“If we hadn’t discovered the trust…”
“Viola would have presented the delegation agreement.”
“With Matteo’s forged signature and mine.”
“Yes.”
“She would control Luca’s vote.”
“Yes.”
And with that vote, Viola could block a forensic audit.
Keep Carlo as executive vice chairman.
Replace directors loyal to Alessandro.
Possibly bury the missing millions permanently.
The courtyard confrontation had not been spontaneous.
The party was pressure.
The champagne.
The witnesses.
The agreement.
Carlo taking Luca.
Viola believed Elena would panic and sign.
She had calculated everything except Matteo arriving early.
Elena sat quietly.
“I keep thinking about her face.”
Matteo looked at her.
“When?”
“When Carlo held Luca.”
Her voice trembled.
“She wasn’t scared.”
Matteo reached for her hand.
“She thought she was in control.”
“That’s worse.”
“Yes.”
Investigators found one more thing.
A text from Viola to Carlo sent eleven minutes before the confrontation.
If she refuses again, scare her.
Carlo replied:
How far?
Viola’s answer:
Far enough that she signs.
Matteo closed his eyes.
No misunderstanding.
No exaggeration.
No impulsive family fight.
A plan.
The next morning, arrest warrants were requested.
Carlo disappeared.
His phone went dark.
His apartment was empty.
May you like
His passport was missing.
And the Russo family jet had requested clearance for departure.
