Chapter 7 - Sofia’s Hidden File
The case shifted.
Not because Carmine suddenly became safe.
He already was.
Because the full recordings showed what Helena removed.
Provocation.
Context.
No threats toward Leo.
No violence against the child.
The trustee suspended consideration of Beaumont Fiduciary immediately.
Julian panicked.
Marco disappeared.
Helena’s deal began collapsing.
Then one of Sofia’s old cloud folders resurfaced.
Found through a company archive.
Carmine opened it alone first.
Then called Rebecca.
Then me—well, in the version of events I later learned, Bianca was present too.
One folder:
LEO.
Inside:
Photos.
Medical records.
Letters.
Then:
MARCO.
Carmine’s hands shook.
Sofia had been documenting him before she died.
One email draft:
Marco keeps pushing Carmine to sign merger authority without explaining the trust consequences.
Another:
Vittorio is right. If Leo owns the blocking interest, Marco can’t bully Carmine into giving it away.
Then:
Helena has been around the office more often lately.
Carmine stopped.
This was dated before Sofia died.
Before Helena supposedly “met” Carmine at a charity gala months later.
He stared.
Helena had known Marco before she knew Carmine.
Maybe much earlier.
Rebecca traced corporate event photos.
There she was.
Helena standing beside Julian.
Marco nearby.
Two years before Sofia’s death.
Carmine called Helena.
“Did you know Marco before me?”
Silence.
“Answer.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
His stomach dropped.
“You told me you met him through me.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“He asked me not to mention it.”
There.
Then another Sofia message.
Marco introduced a woman named Helena Beaumont today. Something feels off. She asked too many questions about Vittorio’s estate plans.
Carmine sat down.
Helena had been circling the family before Sofia died.
Not necessarily romantically.
Not necessarily as part of a crime.
But interested.
Connected.
Watching.
Then Sofia wrote:
If anything happens to me, do not let Marco or anyone from Beaumont near Leo’s trust.
Carmine stopped breathing.
That line changed everything.
Not because it proved murder.
It didn’t.
Sofia died from a documented aneurysm.
Natural.
No foul play.
But she had already identified the same network now attacking Leo.
Marco.
Beaumont.
Helena.
Years earlier.
Helena’s tears meant little when Carmine confronted her.
“You knew Sofia?”
“Barely.”
“You asked her about Dad’s estate.”
“I was curious.”
“Why?”
“Julian wanted information.”
“So you were helping them before you met me.”
“No.”
“You just said Julian asked.”
Helena broke.
“Yes.”
“How much did he pay you then?”
“Nothing.”
“What did you get?”
“Access.”
Silence.
Helena had wanted entry into wealth.
Parties.
Contacts.
Status.
Marco provided it.
She gathered information.
Then Sofia died.
Months later, Helena met grieving Carmine “by chance.”
Except it wasn’t chance.
Marco arranged the gala invitation.
Rebecca found the email.
Make sure Helena is seated near Carmine. He needs someone who isn’t connected to Sofia.
Carmine stared.
Helena had not wandered into his grief.
She had been placed there.
Maybe she later loved him.
Maybe some of it became real.
But the beginning was engineered.
Then Carmine asked:
“Did you marry me for Marco?”
Helena whispered:
“No.”
“Did he encourage it?”
“Yes.”
“Did Julian?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell either of them about Leo’s routines?”
Silence.
“Yes.”
That was enough.
Then Rebecca found one final Sofia file.
A scanned letter from Vittorio.
He had written to Sofia:
If Marco ever attempts to control Leo’s interests through Carmine’s future spouse, the merger option must automatically terminate.
Automatic termination.
The very tactic Marco used to gain control—
could destroy the merger entirely.
Rebecca stared.
“If this clause is enforceable under the current structure…”
Carmine finished:
“Marco loses everything.”
Not just voting control.
May you like
The merger itself.
And the $20 million payday.
