Chapter 5
The vibrant atmosphere of the wedding had been thoroughly annihilated, replaced by the grim, tense efficiency of a cartel interrogation. The bright floral centerpieces were shoved aside, their white petals scattering across the floor as Rafe slammed a sleek, silver laptop onto the center of the bridal table.
Vivia stood quietly behind Nico, her small hands gripping the back of his tailored suit jacket. Her rosy cheeks were stained with dried tears, but she watched the screen with wide, unblinking eyes. Nico reached back, gently resting his hand on her head, offering silent comfort even as his own world unraveled.
"Boot it up," Nico ordered.
Rafe opened the laptop and inserted the black USB drive. A moment later, a bright folder appeared on the screen, illuminating the fair, tense faces of the men standing around the table. The folder was simply titled: For Nico.
"Open it," Nico commanded.
"Nico, I am begging you, as your flesh and blood!" Marcella sobbed, crawling forward until her hands touched his polished leather shoes. "Don't do this in front of them! Don't ruin my life! I will leave the country! I will annul the marriage! Just let me go!"
"If you are innocent, Marcella, you have nothing to fear from a dead woman's files," Nico said, looking down at her with absolute disgust. "But you are shaking like a cornered rat."
Rafe double-clicked the folder. A series of high-resolution scanned documents and audio files populated the bright screen. Rafe clicked on the first document. It was a bank ledger, highlighting a massive offshore transfer.
"Look at this, Boss," Rafe said, leaning closer to the screen, his American accent sharp with disbelief. "This is a routing number for a shell corporation in the Cayman Islands. Three million dollars. Transferred exactly two days before Elena’s car went off the bridge."
"Trace the origin account," Nico demanded, his voice a low, lethal growl.
Rafe tapped the keyboard. The screen refreshed, displaying the origin details of the massive payout. The name at the top of the ledger was crystal clear.
"The funds originated from the Bellandi Family Trust," Rafe read aloud, his eyes widening. "Authorized by the secondary signatory. Marcella Bellandi."
A collective gasp echoed through the remaining guests. The betrayal was staggering.
"I can explain the money!" Marcella screamed, pushing herself up onto her knees. "It was for the wedding! It was an early dowry payment! Leo’s family demanded a gesture of good faith to secure the alliance!"
"Three million dollars for a dowry?" Nico asked softly, slowly turning his head to look at Leo Vance, who was currently sweating profusely under the gaze of two armed bodyguards. "Is that true, Leo? Did your father demand a three-million-dollar bribe to marry my sister?"
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"No!" Leo shouted, his fair skin turning a deep, panicked red. "We never asked for a dime! The alliance was supposed to be based on territory sharing, not cash! I swear to God, Nico, I have never seen that routing number in my life!"
"So if the money didn't go to your new husband," Nico said, turning his lethal gaze back to Marcella, "who exactly did you pay three million dollars to, two days before my wife was murdered?"
