I Refused the Moretti Name Chapter 07
Sofia didn’t have an attack.
She studied the contract for a long time before admitting that the license copy had passed through her hands.” The insurer needed documents for everyone. I put it back when I was finished.”
Luca turned to the CFO. “Who hired Crestwell Consulting?”
“Grace, Miss Sofia’s executive assistant.”
Grace was escorted into the boardroom thirty minutes later. One look at the signature turned her face gray.
“I made the document,” she said.
Sofia shot to her feet. “Why would you use Elena’s name?”
Grace’s voice shook, but she kept talking. “You said the jewelry company couldn’t appear anywhere in the foundation’s payment chain. You told me to find someone who looked independent. Ms. Hart works in risk, and she’s connected to the Morettis, so I thought she’d pass review.”
Luca ordered the messages projected on the screen. One from Sofia read, [My name can’t touch the Crestwell invoice.] Another said, [Use someone no one will question.] Grace had replied with my name, and Sofia’s answer was a thumbs–up.
“I never told you to forge a signature.”
“You told me to keep your hands clean.” Grace raised her phone. “The messages are all here.”
Mom’s water glass rattled against its coaster. Luca told Grace to hand the phone to outside counsel and ordered IT to preserve every account before anyone could delete a thing.
Sofia finally looked scared. “Those messages need context. I was trying to stop the brand and the charity from getting mixed together.”
“You wanted them separate on paper while the foundation paid the bill.” I closed the contract. “Grace chose whose identity to steal. That doesn’t erase your part in the scheme.”
Dad’s expression hardened. “Leave the records. The family attorney will take care of this.”
“Alden will issue a formal report.”
“Do you have to put the Moretti name in the papers?”
“When you canceled my card, you said I had no claim to Moretti resources. Now that I’ve found a problem in the Moretti books, you want me to remember I’m family. Which page says the rules only apply when they hurt me?”
He had no answer.
Sofia tore the sapphire bracelet from her wrist and dropped it on the table. “Take it. Take everything you came back for. The suite, the bracelet, this project. Are you happy now?”
I pushed the bracelet back. “I moved out. Your studio is still in the west wing, and you’ve been wearing that bracelet for ten years. I haven’t taken your family. I’m reviewing accounts you approved.”
“Since you came back, everyone has reminded me that you’re the real Moretti daughter.”
“I’ve never asked anyone to send you away.”
She bit her lip until tears spilled over. “But as long as you’re here, I have to wonder whether they’ll decide I’m extra.”
For the first time, I could see the fear beneath her calculations. It didn’t make the calculations disappear.
“Being afraid explains why you did it,” I said. “It doesn’t pick up the tab.”
Sofia wiped her face with the heel of her hand. “You make everything sound simple.”
“The feelings aren’t simple. The decision is. You can be sick, scared, adopted, and loved, and still be responsible for signing off on money that wasn’t yours. Those facts don’t cancel one another.”
I packed my laptop and gave them the deadline. “By five tomorrow, recover all three hundred forty thousand dollars, suspend Sofia’s authority at the foundation, and deliver the complete message archive to outside counsel. Otherwise, the report goes straight to the underwriter and the New York charities bureau.”
Dad frowned. “You can’t give us one more day?”
“No.”
“Not even for family?”
“A rule that only applies to outsiders isn’t a rule. It’s cover.”
I left the room before anyone could offer me another room, another piece of jewelry, or another promise designed to expire the moment Sofia cried.
