جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

My aunt didn't answer that night. She called back the following morning while I was waiting in my office on the top floor.The finance department still hadn't sent a single statement.On the video call, Aunt Elena sat on the terrace of her country house. New leaves covered the vines behind her. She had a shawl around her shoulders and asked whether I'd eaten breakfast.“Coffee doesn't count,” she added.She had raised me after my father's death and guided the family through its hardest years. Poor health had gradually forced her to step back. Camilla had taken over more of the wineries' day-to-day business.I hoped I could at least explain the agreement to her.“Aunt Elena, about yesterday's meeting—”“Camilla told me.” She set down her cup. “You're unhappy with the changes, and you want to bring in an outside lawyer.”“Did she show you the agreement?”“She said the core team would receive some shares. They've worked hard. We can't give them nothing.”I photographed page three and sent

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 photogra

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

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

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