Chapter 4 - The Investigation
By dawn, the east wing of the Moretti estate was a charred skeleton of black ash and melted glass. Fire investigators swarmed the property, quickly determining that the electrical fire had been deliberately accelerated with industrial solvent poured behind the baseboards.
Arson.
Dante sat in his temporary office in the guest house, the smell of smoke still clinging to his clothes. He hadn't slept. His knuckles were raw and bruised from where he had pounded on Elena’s door the night before.
The door opened softly, and Marcus Vance, Dante’s lead legal counsel and head of private security, stepped inside.
“We pulled the security logs from the east wing corridors,” Marcus said, laying a hardcopy dossier on the mahogany desk. “And we recovered Vanessa’s personal laptop from her suite before the fire crews sealed the wing.”
Dante didn't look up from his coffee. “And?”
“Vanessa didn't just plant the empty jewelry box in Grace’s cart,” Marcus said grimly. “She hired a third-party contractor to disable the east wing smoke detectors twenty-four hours before the party.”
Dante’s head snapped up. His dark eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “She tried to burn the house down?”
“She thought the fire would destroy the west wing records room where your mother keeps the original family trust documents,” Marcus corrected. “With the trust burned and Elena gone, Vanessa’s prenuptial agreement would have automatically transferred twenty-five percent of Moretti Holdings directly to her control—with zero oversight.”
The silence in the room was absolute.
Vanessa Laurent wasn't just a snob; she was a criminal who had calculated the murder of Dante’s mother for a corporate payout.
“Where is she?” Dante asked, his voice chillingly quiet.
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“Waiting in the main salon,” Marcus replied. “She thinks you called her here to discuss wedding arrangements.”
Dante stood up slowly, smoothing the lapels of his black suit. “Let’s go talk to my fiancée.”
