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Chapter 7
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I Refused the Moretti Name Chapter 10
Six months later, I bought a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights.Only Elena Hart appeared on the deed. I chose the brass nameplate myself, and there wasn't a Moretti crest anywhere on it.My colleagues helped assemble the bookshelves on moving day. Vivian brought champagne, while Maya gave me a lockbox for spare keys. No one picked the curtains for me, and no one tried to fill the empty rooms with gifts that suited somebody else.I chose a deep green sofa, plain white dishes, and curtains heavy enough to block the morning sun. None of those decisions mattered to anyone but me, which was precisely why I enjoyed making them. Freedom wasn't always dramatic. Sometimes it was a receipt with only your own signature at the bottom.One week before my birthday, Mom sent a message.[We'd like to have dinner with you, if you're willing. You choose the time and place.]I replied, [Saturday at six. Don't bring anyone I haven't approved.]They arrived on time. Dad carried white tulips. Luca b
I Refused the Moretti Name Chapter 9
At 4:47 the next afternoon, the Aurora Foundation recovered all three hundred forty thousand dollars.Sofia resigned as executive director, and her jewelry label was severed from the charity. Outside counsel preserved the messages and submitted a remediation notice to the underwriter. The Morettis didn't bury the problem. For the first time, Dad didn't ask me to swap an accurate word for a softer one.When the engagement closed, my family texted before showing up.[Would you be willing to meet us? Twenty minutes, downstairs from your office.]I replied, [Twenty minutes. Downstairs.]Mom brought the sapphire bracelet. She held out the box with both hands. "Your name was engraved inside from the beginning. Giving it away was my decision. Pretending afterward that it couldn't have hurt you was another choice, and both were wrong."I accepted the box. "I heard you."Luca took a key card from his briefcase. "Sofia's studio has been moved out of the west wing. The suite will stay available,
I Refused the Moretti Name Chapter 8
That evening, Sofia came to Alden alone.Reception said she'd been waiting downstairs for almost two hours. When I left work, she was sitting in the lounge of the hotel next door with an untouched club soda.She stood when she saw me. "Give me ten minutes.""If this is about the foundation, call your lawyer.""It's about the courthouse."I checked the time, then slid into a booth by the window.Sofia placed the sapphire bracelet on the table. "I want to return this first. Your name is engraved inside. I shouldn't have kept wearing it.""It doesn't buy anything on the audit.""I know." She laced her fingers together. "I'm trying to admit that I had a choice."I kept quiet and let her fill the silence.She watched the bubbles climb the side of her glass. "I didn't have an asthma attack at court. When I saw the west wing being cleared, I knew all I had to do was say I couldn't breathe. They would take me home."The truth didn't feel like a victory. It only brought back six neat promises o
I Refused the Moretti Name Chapter 7
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
I Refused the Moretti Name Chapter 6
Three days later, I walked into the boardroom at Moretti Holdings on Wall Street.Dad sat at the head of the table. Luca ran group operations, Nico oversaw hotel security, and Mom was honorary chair of the Aurora Foundation. Matteo and Sofia served on the charity's board. For once, the whole family was present, although not one of them mentioned that I'd moved out.Nico lounged in his chair. "We can't get you home for free, but billable hours do the trick."I opened my laptop. "Alden's clock started at nine. That comment is going on the invoice." His smirk disappeared.I projected the review summary. "Aurora raised eight hundred sixty thousand dollars last year. Four hundred ten thousand went to aid programs. One hundred ten thousand was legitimate operating expense. The remaining three hundred forty thousand needs an explanation."Sofia lifted her chin. "The foundation is audited every year.""An audit can confirm that an invoice exists. It doesn't prove the spending was appropriate."
I Refused the Moretti Name Chapter 5
Maya met me at the company apartment in Midtown.It wasn't large, and the furniture came straight from a corporate catalog, but the closet was empty and the sheets were new. A temporary label on the door read ELENA HART in block letters."I didn't want you wandering into the wrong unit." Maya handed me two keys. "Rent comes out of payroll. If anything breaks, you file a maintenance ticket. No favors owed."I stood in front of that paper label for a few seconds. A place didn't become yours because it had more rooms or armed guards outside. Sometimes all it took was an empty closet and your name spelled correctly.Maya opened the refrigerator, found it bare, and ordered Thai food without asking why my entire life fit in one suitcase. She only said, "First night in a new place shouldn't be spent eating crackers over the sink." It was the most practical kindness anyone had shown me all week, and it came without a debt attached.I'd barely unpacked when Dad called."Come back now, and I'll
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