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Chapter 4

Autor: Jasmine Flower
The annual wine dinner took place in early April.

By then, Sofia had served notice revoking my personal authorizations and was reviewing the estate lease. Camilla hadn't called. Finance still hadn't produced the statements.

The invitation, however, arrived on time.

Dinner was at the first winery. Rain had darkened the terrace, and the vines beyond it shone green in the evening light. The guests included winery managers, longtime clients of the Bellini family, and representatives from other families.

Usually, my aunt or I offered the first toast.

After my father's death, she had stood beside me and introduced me as his heir. When Camilla took over operations years later, my aunt had introduced her as the woman entrusted to manage the wineries.

This year's program listed only Camilla and Luca.

My table stood near the terrace. Aunt Elena waved from the front, but before we could speak, the host called Camilla to the stage.

She wore a dark evening gown. Luca stood beside her while photographs of the eleven wineries moved across the screen behind them.

“Thank you for your continued support,” Camilla said, raising her glass. “Luca and I will be leading our new partnerships together. Please speak directly to us about supply arrangements and expansion.”

The sales director was first to stand and toast her. Several buyers followed.

My aunt applauded. She didn't look at the program or ask why I wasn't beside them.

I set the card down.

After the speech, guests gathered around the stage. I was walking toward the terrace to call Sofia when Camilla stopped me.

“Vera. A moment. We need to tell you something.”

Luca took a white envelope from his briefcase. Several managers paused nearby.

“You missed last week's shareholders' meeting. The board has decided to suspend your dividends and retain the funds in the business.”

“I wasn't notified of a meeting.”

“Administration handles notices. Ask them. But we've made provision for your expenses.”

When I didn't take the envelope, he laid it on a tall table and pushed it toward me.

“That's your monthly allowance from now on, Vera. Learn to budget. You can't keep depending on Camilla.”

The flap was open. I could see the cash.

“Three thousand dollars. Administration will arrange monthly payments. The apartment's already paid for. This is enough to live on.”

Camilla nodded.

“Luca's only trying to help.”

I pushed the envelope back.

“Then explain this to me: why do you get to decide whether I receive my own dividends?”

Luca glanced at the people watching. His smile faded.

“As I said, it's a board decision.”

“Send me the resolution and minutes, including the reason for suspending payment.”

“Not tonight,” Camilla said. “You've never run a company. Expansion costs money. Everyone else is contributing. You could make a concession.”

“You asked for my shares. I refused. Now you've decided to withhold my income instead?”

“Those are separate issues.”

“Since I refused to sign, I've lost my office, my driver, and my card. Now the dividends. Tell me how I'm supposed to see them as separate.”

Her mouth tightened. The managers looked away.

Luca picked up the envelope and tried to slip it into my jacket pocket. I covered the pocket and stepped back.

“I don't want it. I want my dividends, not an allowance you decide to give me.”

He checked his watch.

“We have a video conference at headquarters. Get yourself a taxi. If you have questions, speak to administration tomorrow.”

They stopped beside my aunt on their way out. Camilla leaned close and said something. Aunt Elena looked toward me, worried.

I didn't go over to explain myself again.

Outside, I sent Sofia a message and called her.

“They've confirmed the dividend suspension. They're still refusing the accounts. Serve the notice withdrawing use of the executive floor. I'm coming to headquarters. Bring anything else I need to sign.”

“I'll meet you in the lobby.”

Half an hour later, Sofia checked my signatures and handed the notice to the building manager. He acknowledged it and went to make arrangements.

The elevator from the parking garage opened as we finished.

Luca was on his phone. Camilla stopped when she saw us.

“What are you doing here?”

I put my copies in my bag.

“My lawyer will explain.”

Her expression cooled. Luca ended his call.

“The clients are waiting. We can deal with this afterward.”

We took the same elevator upstairs.

Camilla walked straight to the executive suite and pressed her black-and-gold card against the reader.

A tone sounded.

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  • They Called Me a Freeloader in My Own Empire   Chapter 10

    By early summer, I could sit beneath the olive tree again.The sign for Camilla's club had been removed and stored with the other disputed fittings. Sofia wanted everything documented until the property proceedings were settled. I was happy not to see it from the courtyard.The curtains were back in my father's study. Several paintings had been recovered from a contractor's storage room. One cup was missing.The broken carving stood on my desk, repaired badly enough that the seam remained visible.I hadn't restored the house to prove nothing had happened. I wanted somewhere I could come home to without asking permission.My aunt stayed at her country house. I visited on Sundays when I could. We talked about her health and the vineyard outside her terrace. Sometimes we talked about Camilla.When Elena started explaining why she had signed, I reminded her that I already knew.She was learning to stop there.The company survived the transition. That wasn't the same as recovering everythin

  • They Called Me a Freeloader in My Own Empire   Chapter 9

    Camilla called the next morning.For several seconds after I answered, neither of us spoke.Then she said, “I can return some of the money.”“How much?”“I need time.”“Send the proposal to Sofia.”“Vera, please. Twelve years should count for something.”“They do. That's why this hurts.”She breathed in sharply.I remembered her teaching me to read a balance sheet. She had never seemed impatient when I asked the same question twice. At nineteen, I had thought she was proof that the family could run a legitimate business without everyone speaking in threats.“I trusted you,” I said.“I earned more than a salary.”“You could have asked for equity. You could have negotiated. Instead, you tried to make refusing impossible.”“Luca thought—”“You signed the payments.”The line went quiet.Finally, she asked whether I would withdraw my complaint if she cooperated.“I can't promise that. And I won't hide the records.”She ended the call.Luca tried a different approach. His lawyer sent a state

  • They Called Me a Freeloader in My Own Empire   Chapter 8

    My aunt asked to speak to me alone.We stayed in the warehouse office after everyone else left. Outside, forklifts moved pallets of bottles toward the loading bays. Whatever happened upstairs, orders still had to go out.“I signed the lease,” she said. “I knew you hadn't agreed.”For once, she offered no explanation first.“Why?”“Camilla said you were being difficult. That you would come around once you saw the plans.”“And you believed her.”“Yes.”I looked at the woman who had sat beside my hospital bed, argued with my teachers, and kept my father's men from dividing his estate before he was buried.She had protected me fiercely when I was a child. Somehow, she had never learned that protecting an adult required listening to her.“I thought keeping the family together mattered more than an argument about a house,” she said.“It wasn't just a house. They were deciding whether I could say no.”Her eyes filled.“I know.”“I need you to give Sofia everything. Every message. Every docume

  • They Called Me a Freeloader in My Own Empire   Chapter 7

    We moved the emergency board meeting to the warehouse office.Sofia had made sure it was properly called. Notices went to every shareholder and director, and copies were retained. I wasn't going to answer an invented meeting with another one.Camilla arrived with a lawyer. Luca arrived late and alone.My aunt came with Matteo. She had asked him to bring her before anyone could persuade her to stay home.On the table lay the accountant's preliminary findings, the Moretti documents, and a proposed interim management plan.Camilla didn't open any of them.“You can remove me,” she said. “You can't replace my relationships. The buyers answer my calls.”“Some of them do,” I said. “We'll have to earn their confidence.”“And the port? Do you think those containers move because your name is on a title deed?”“No. They move because people do their jobs and contracts are honored. Which is why I need to know what else you've promised.”Luca leaned forward.“Bellini Reserve has a three-million-doll

  • They Called Me a Freeloader in My Own Empire   Chapter 6

    Matteo stayed between the visitor and the corridor.“Mr. Moretti wasn't invited onto this floor.”“He was invited by Mrs. Moreau.”Camilla's married name sounded unfamiliar in the man's mouth. She had introduced Luca to us as someone who understood international finance. She hadn't mentioned whose money he had managed before hers.“Tell Dario there's been a misunderstanding,” Luca said.The visitor ignored him and looked at me.“Miss Bellini?”“Yes.”He held out a sealed envelope. Matteo checked it before passing it to Sofia.Inside was a demand for confirmation of a five-million-dollar advance. The estate club and exclusive wine supply had been offered as part of the security package.My signature appeared on the attached consent.I had never seen it before.“That's not mine.”Luca said nothing.Camilla stared at the page for too long.Sofia asked the visitor for a contact number. She would respond after reviewing the documents. He wanted an answer that night.“He'll have an answer fr

  • They Called Me a Freeloader in My Own Empire   Chapter 5

    Camilla tried the card again.Luca reached past her with his own. The light stayed red.“Call security,” he said.“They're already here.”Matteo Rinaldi stood beside the elevator. He had guarded my father before he ran security for the building. Two members of his team waited behind him, hands visible, jackets unbuttoned.Luca looked at them, then at me.“You've shut down the company over an allowance?”“I've withdrawn permission to use this floor. The wineries are still operating. So are the offices downstairs.”Sofia gave Camilla a copy of the notice.“The records in this suite are being preserved. You'll be given supervised access to collect personal belongings. Nothing else leaves without being logged.”“You can't freeze our entire business,” Camilla said.“We haven't,” Sofia replied. “Don't confuse your office with the business.”Luca took out his phone and called the systems manager, Giulia Ferri. When she arrived, he pointed at the door.“Restore the cards.”Giulia checked the b

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