Page 126

“How is you quitting and taking your mother out of that house confusing?”

“I just— Wait. How did you know about my mother?”

“Eli told me.”

My face scrunches up. “Eli? You talked to Eli?”

“He caught me after court today,” she says. “We talked.”

“You…talked.”

“Trust me,” she snorts. “I found it just as bizarre of an experience.”

“I don’t understand.” I shake my head. “Did he…he didn’t threaten her, did he? Because I swear to God, I will—”

“No, no, no!” She waves her hands back and forth. “He didn’t. I promise. He just— Well, you see—” She exhales sharply, thrusting the folder out to give to me. “Here. This is for you.”

“What?” I take it from her, frowning down at it. “What is it?”

“Documents detailing the transfer of Bianca’s trust from Italy to America the year she came of age.”

I look at her and then back at the envelope, furrowing my brow. “I don’t understand.”

“Look at the signature of the lawyer who handled the transfer,” she says.

I’m still frowning as I pull documents from the folder, shuffling through them until I see the signature she’s referencing. A cold sort of shock passes over me, and I gape up at her. “Is this really…?”

“Alexander’s signature? Yes. And if you go through the rest of the documents, and hell, the financial records for the next several years, you can trace a clear pattern of withdrawals made by Lorenzo that were possible becauseAlexanderfalsified documents naming him as a co-beneficiary. I compared the signature on those documents to Bianca’s. They don’t match.”

“You mean…?”

She nods. “Alexander must have forged it. Or Lorenzo. Regardless, they’re both complicit in stealing from her for years while Lorenzo built his business.”

“But what did Alexander gain from this?”

“As far as I can tell, a giant payout. I checked bank records we had copies of for the trial. Lorenzo deposited a huge sum of money into Alexander’s account a month after all this went down.”

“Jesus.”

I stare down at the documents in my hands, still in slight disbelief that I’m really holding evidence that can prove Alexander is as much a snake as I’ve always believed him to be. That I might be holding what I need to make sure that my mother never suffers at the hands of Alexander Hart ever again.

“Wow, I…wow.”

She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a flash drive and handing that over too. “Oh, and this is from Eli. Apparently, he broke into Alexander’s office and copied whatever he could get his hands on off his laptop. I guess it’s his way of extending an olive branch.”

“I feel like I’m in the twilight zone.”

“Yeah, I know it’s a lot. He actually told me to tell your mother he was sorry.”

“I think he should tell her that himself,” I scoff.

She gives me a small smile. “I agree.”

“Dani, I…thank you.” My voice sounds too thick, and I have to breathe deep through my nostrils. “Seriously. I can’t believe you did this.”

“You can’t?”

Her eyes are softer now, her smile just a little more sad. “No, I can. I really can.”