Chapter 3 - The Account No One Was Supposed to See
The barbecue ended in less than ten minutes.
Nobody finished eating.
Dante told the guests to leave.
Patricia refused.
“This is my home too.”
“No.”
Dante stood at the patio doors.
“It’s mine.”
Her mouth fell open.
“You would throw your mother out?”
“You’re staying in the guesthouse tonight. Tomorrow, you leave the property.”
Patricia laughed.
“You think one piece of paper gives you the right—”
“One piece?”
Michael placed his laptop on the dining table.
“I found six.”
Silence.
Dante looked at him.
Six loans.
Three tied to Romano Foods.
Two secured against properties Dante inherited from Lorenzo.
One against Dante’s personal investment portfolio.
Total exposure:
$11.6 million.
Dante stared at the numbers.
“This can’t be real.”
Michael looked miserable.
“I verified four already.”
“How?”
“Public filings and internal statements.”
Patricia folded her arms.
“Every dollar was used for family purposes.”
Dante looked up.
“What family purpose requires eleven million dollars?”
No answer.
Vanessa stood near the doorway.
Her hands trembled.
Dante noticed.
“Vanessa.”
She shook her head.
“Don’t.”
“You know.”
“No.”
“Look at me.”
She did.
And Dante knew immediately.
“What did Mom pay for?”
Vanessa’s eyes filled.
Patricia snapped:
“Go home.”
Dante ignored her.
“Vanessa.”
His sister began crying.
“I thought she was going to fix it.”
“Fix what?”
“My husband’s company.”
Dante froze.
Vanessa’s husband, Eric Calloway, owned a luxury construction company.
Or at least everyone thought he did.
“You’re telling me she borrowed eleven million dollars for Eric?”
“No.”
Vanessa covered her face.
“Not all of it.”
Patricia exploded.
“Enough!”
Dante slammed his palm against the table.
“No. Not enough.”
The room fell silent.
“You forged my signature.”
He pointed at Michael’s laptop.
“You put liens on Dad’s company.”
Then toward the backyard where Leo’s discarded toy truck still sat in the grass.
“And when my son found the paper, you attacked him.”
Patricia’s eyes hardened.
“You don’t understand what was at stake.”
“Then make me understand.”
Vanessa whispered:
“Eric lost everything.”
Dante turned.
“What?”
“His company collapsed last year.”
“That’s impossible.”
“He hid it.”
Eric had taken on several large developments.
Interest rates rose.
Two investors withdrew.
A lawsuit froze another project.
By the time Vanessa discovered the truth, Eric owed lenders almost nine million dollars.
“He said we’d lose the house,” Vanessa whispered.
Dante stared.
“So Mom stole from me.”
“I didn’t know she was forging anything.”
“But you took the money.”
“I was scared.”
Dante’s face hardened.
“You came here every Sunday.”
Vanessa cried harder.
“You held Leo. You ate at my table.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And you knew Mom was putting my house at risk?”
“I didn’t know about this house.”
Patricia suddenly stepped forward.
“I made the decisions.”
Dante looked at her.
“At least she admits it.”
“I protected your sister.”
“By destroying me?”
“You have money.”
The words landed differently than Patricia intended.
Dante stared at her.
“You have money.”
She said it again.
“You own the company. You own this house. You own the vineyards. You could absorb it.”
Dante almost smiled.
“Without knowing?”
“You would have said no.”
“Yes.”
Patricia’s eyes flashed.
“Exactly.”
That was her justification.
Not desperation.
Entitlement.
She believed Dante’s refusal would have been selfish.
Therefore she had removed his ability to refuse.
Dante closed Michael’s laptop.
“Tomorrow morning, I’m calling the bank.”
Patricia’s expression changed.
“No.”
“I’m calling every lender.”
“You cannot do that.”
“Watch me.”
She stepped toward him.
“If you expose this, Vanessa loses everything.”
Dante looked at his sister.
Vanessa lowered her head.
“That’s not my responsibility.”
Patricia’s voice sharpened.
“It will destroy this family.”
“No.”
Dante held up the folded page Leo had found.
“This already did.”
Then Michael spoke quietly.
“There’s another account.”
Dante looked at him.
Michael swallowed.
“It isn’t in the company.”
“Whose name?”
Michael’s eyes moved toward the hallway.
Toward Leo’s nursery upstairs.
“Leo’s.”
Dante’s face went blank.
May you like
Patricia stopped breathing.
And that was when Dante knew the money stolen from him was only the beginning.
