Chapter 4 - Unearthing the Ledger
The restructuring of the Moretti household began at dawn the next morning. By 8:00 AM sharp, a crew of specialized contractors stood outside the kitchen service entrance with heavy-duty saws, sledgehammers, and drills. The deafening roar of masonry being chipped away echoed through the back corridors, but for the first time in years, the noise didn't feel like industrial chaos—it felt like progress.
I stood by the kitchen island, drinking my black coffee, watching the old marble threshold get pulverized into dust. The jagged white stone that had caused Lily so much grief was hauled away in chunks, replaced piece by piece with a sleek, warm-toned oak ramp that sloped gently and seamlessly into the kitchen floor.
"Looks solid, boss," contractor lead Marco said, wiping sweat from his brow as he tested the grade with his boot. "Heated coils underneath, too. Won't ever freeze or collect moisture. Wheelchairs, braces, strollers—anything can roll right through here without catching an edge."
"Good work, Marco," I said, tossing him a set of keys. "Bill the corporate account. Not the household ledger."
As the contractors cleared their tools and began cleaning up the dust, Norah walked into the kitchen carrying a thick stack of cardboard boxes. Her expression was grim.
"Mr. Moretti, you asked me to secure Evelyn's private office and review all physical archives dating back through her tenure," Norah said, setting the boxes down on the dining table. "I found some things you need to see. Things that go far beyond a simple $8,400 embezzlement scheme."
I set my coffee cup down. "Elaborate."
"It wasn't just the marble fund," Norah explained, opening the top folder and laying out a series of handwritten receipts and bank statements. "Evelyn was running a systematic skimming operation across every vendor contract associated with the estate. Groceries, dry cleaning, security equipment maintenance, wine imports... she was padding every single invoice by 15 to 20 percent and routing the difference through dummy corporations."
I scanned the papers. The numbers quickly escalated from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars over the past three years.
"She wasn't just stealing from my household account," I muttered, my jaw tightening. "She was using my estate as a laundering pipeline."
"There's more," Norah continued, her voice dropping to a cautious whisper. She pulled out a sealed manila envelope labeled Confidential - Internal HR. "This was locked in Evelyn's personal desk drawer, hidden behind a false bottom. It contains personnel files of former staff members who were fired or forced to resign abruptly over the last five years."
I took the envelope and pulled out the contents. They were termination letters, resignation forms, and in some cases, police reports involving domestic staff who had tried to report workplace safety violations or budget irregularities—just like Norah had attempted to do.
"She wasn't just embezzling," I realized, the pieces clicking together with terrifying clarity. "She was running a miniature empire within my house. Anyone who questioned her authority or threatened her extraction scheme was pushed out, discredited, or intimidated into silence using my name as leverage."
"She made everyone believe that you didn't care about the staff, Mr. Moretti," Norah said quietly. "She told people that you viewed employees as disposable assets, so that no one would ever dare bring a complaint or a request directly to your attention."
A cold, dark fury settled deep in my chest. In my world, betrayal by an underling was dangerous, but subverting my name to terrorize innocent people inside my own home crossed a line that could not be forgiven.
"Where is Evelyn now?" I asked.
"She’s currently staying at a boutique hotel downtown while she figures out her next move," Norah replied. "She hasn't left the city yet."
May you like
I picked up my phone from the counter and dialed a direct extension.
"Vance," I said when my head of external security answered on the second ring. "I need you to pull up Evelyn Crane's current location. Bring her back to the estate. We have some unfinished business regarding corporate compliance."
