Chapter 15 - FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A LIE"She doesn't get to turn you into the villain."
Matteo spoke with an anger I hadn't heard from him before.
I sat across from Lena in the penthouse study, staring at the banking documents.
The transfer confirmation showed my name.
My address.
A large payment.
And an account I insisted wasn't mine.
Lena studied the paperwork carefully.
"First, we verify the bank records. Then we determine whether someone opened an account using your identity or created a false confirmation."
I nodded.
"Can we prove it?"
"We can investigate it. And we shouldn't assume a document is authentic just because it looks official."
Matteo leaned forward.
"Tell me what you need."
Lena held up one hand.
"Matteo, this is Maya's legal matter. She needs independent representation."
He paused.
Then nodded.
"Of course."
I looked at Lena.
"How much will that cost?"
She hesitated.
Matteo immediately spoke.
"I'll cover it."
I shook my head.
"I don't want anyone saying I was paid to support you."
He looked hurt.
Then seemed to understand.
Lena offered to refer me to an attorney who could explain my options and help arrange appropriate funding without compromising the independence of my testimony.
I accepted.
For the first time, I understood how carefully Marianne had designed the trap.
If I accepted money, she could call me dishonest.
If I refused help, I could be overwhelmed by legal expenses.
If I left Leah, I would confirm the little girl's fear that every caregiver disappeared.
And if I stayed, Marianne would accuse me of interfering.
There was no painless choice.
Only the choice I could live with.
That afternoon, my mother called.
"Maya, someone tried to access my old bank account."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"The bank's fraud department contacted me. They wanted to verify an application associated with my information."
I stood.
"Did you approve anything?"
"No."
"Mom, please don't sign anything or give anyone information over the phone. Call the bank back using the number on your statement."
"I already did."
I exhaled.
"Good."
She paused.
"Is this connected to those people?"
"I don't know yet."
But I was afraid it was.
A few hours later, my attorney contacted the bank's fraud team.
The investigation was still preliminary.
But the supposedly completed fifty-thousand-dollar transfer had not been verified as a legitimate payment to me.
The account information contained inconsistencies.
The application records were being preserved.
Someone had attempted to construct evidence.
Whether they'd succeeded was another question.
That night, I found myself sitting alone in the kitchen.
The penthouse was quiet.
Leah had gone to bed.
Matteo was meeting with his lawyers.
Marisol had finished cleaning.
I stared at my phone, thinking about my mother's words.
Don't make yourself responsible for saving everyone.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe I was becoming so involved in the Duca family's problems that I'd forgotten my own future.
Before this job, I'd wanted to finish my degree in early childhood education.
I'd taken evening classes for two years.
Then Mom got sick.
I stopped.
Work became everything.
Bills became everything.
There was no room left for dreams.
I opened an old email from the community college where I'd been enrolled.
My unfinished program waited there like a door I'd never had the courage to reopen.
"Thinking about school?"
I looked up.
Matteo stood in the kitchen entrance.
I quickly lowered my phone.
"It's nothing."
He smiled faintly.
"That's usually what people say when it's something."
I hesitated.
"I used to study child development."
"Used to?"
"I couldn't afford to continue."
He pulled out a chair, leaving a respectful distance between us.
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Very much."
"Then why not go back?"
I laughed.
"Because tuition doesn't pay itself, Mr. Duca."
He smiled.
"Fair point."
I looked down.
"And my mother still needs help."
He nodded.
Then said something that surprised me.
"You know, Elise once told me that the worst thing wealth can do is convince people that everyone else's dreams are negotiable."
I looked up.
"She said that?"
"Often."
He stared at the table.
"She hated the way people treated domestic employees."
I smiled faintly.
"She sounds like someone I would have liked."
Matteo's expression softened.
"You would have."
We sat in silence for a moment.
Then he said, "I don't want this situation to cost you your future."
I studied him.
"Neither do I."
He nodded.
"Good."
For the first time, he didn't try to solve my problems by offering a check.
He simply listened.
The next morning, something unexpected happened.
A woman named June Park contacted Lena's office.
She had been the Duca Family Foundation's finance director until six months earlier.
She wanted to speak.
Lena arranged a meeting at her law firm.
June arrived carrying a small briefcase.
She looked nervous.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
"I've been afraid to come forward," she admitted.
Lena nodded.
"Start wherever you're comfortable."
June removed several folders.
"I resigned because Marianne kept overruling compliance recommendations."
Matteo's expression tightened.
"What recommendations?"
"Independent review of outside contracts. Related-party disclosures. Better documentation of foundation grants."
She opened the first folder.
"Bright Harbor was receiving payments that didn't match the services described in its contracts."
Lena examined the invoices.
June continued.
"Some payments went to companies that shared officers or addresses with other contractors."
Matteo leaned forward.
"Did you report this?"
"Internally."
"To whom?"
"Marianne."
He closed his eyes.
June lowered her voice.
"She told me I misunderstood the structure."
I looked at her.
"Why didn't you go to someone else?"
Her eyes filled.
"Because I thought I would lose my career."
I understood.
She continued.
"Then I learned about the guardianship case."
Her hands began trembling again.
"And I realized the financial records might explain why someone wanted control over Leah's trust."
Matteo looked up.
"What did you find?"
June opened the final folder.
Inside was a transaction schedule.
At the top was the name of the private investment partnership that had tried to purchase the family's properties.
Below it were projected distributions.
Consulting fees.
Management fees.
Performance incentives.
Several beneficiaries were listed through corporate entities.
One of those entities was connected to Marianne.
Another was connected to Celeste Voss.
I stared at the figures.
The money was enormous.
And beside a projected payment to Marianne's company was a condition.
Payable upon finalization of family control transition.
Lena's expression darkened.
"This could establish a financial incentive tied to the guardianship plan."
June nodded.
"That's why I came."
Matteo sat back slowly.
His face was pale.
He stared at the woman who had risked her career to bring the documents.
"Thank you."
June shook her head.
"I should have spoken sooner."
He looked toward the files.
"So should I."
But before the meeting ended, June removed one last document.
"This wasn't in the foundation's files," she said.
Lena frowned.
"Where did it come from?"
"Elise gave it to me before she died."
Matteo froze.
"My wife?"
June nodded.
"She asked me to keep it if anything ever happened to her."
She placed a sealed envelope on the table.
May you like
Across the front, in Elise's handwriting, were five words.
For Matteo. When he is ready.
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