All Chapters of My Husband's Adopted Sister Is Pregnant: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Three years ago, when I decided to donate to the Moretti Foundation, Adrian took me to see the rehabilitation center's construction site.My mother had chosen the location herself, drawn up the budget, and sketched the initial design of the activity room. She never lived to see the groundbreaking.The fence had just gone up that day, and workers were on site. Adrian pointed at the blueprints and said that once the activity room was finished, it would carry my mother's name."She would have loved it."Standing in the sun, I thought of all the roads my mother had walked scouting that site. I told him I would go home and discuss the gift agreement with Daniel.Now, going over the money again, Daniel found that there had been genuine construction spending at the start. Later, several large payments on the books went to Moretti-affiliated companies, labeled as site leasing, equipment deposits, and operations consulting."Did the equipment arrive?" I asked."The inventory list says delivered

My mother's secretary was named Nora Ellis.She brought an old document folder. On the seal, in my mother's handwriting: West side project. Pending verification.I knew that handwriting. My mother wrote fast, and the last stroke always dragged to the right. When I was little and she traveled for work, she left notes on the refrigerator. After dinner I would peel them off and press them into my books.Nora set the folder in front of Daniel."After Ms. Bennett's accident, I tried to reach Peter Walsh, the auditor. His old office said he had left town. What's in this folder is the material I was responsible for collecting. I've kept it all these years.""After the accident, did you see the documents my mother had on her?" I asked."No. What she carried out the door that day was a separate manila envelope."She opened the folder.Inside were photocopies of the guarantee materials, records of early joint projects between the Bennetts and the Morettis, and a photocopy of an authorization let

Vanessa came to see me before Adrian did.She waited in the hospital's underground parking garage, no documents in hand, no one with her."Sister-in-law, I hear you found Peter Walsh."I stopped. "Who told you?""Adrian comes home these days and doesn't say a word." She smiled. "Even when you were digging into the medication, he wasn't this bothered."She reached for my car door. I blocked her hand."Vanessa, don't touch my car.""So careful now." She looked at me. "If your mother had been this careful back then—""Don't use her to provoke me."I held my keys and didn't take a step toward her.The smile faded a little from Vanessa's face. She was clearly waiting for me to explode. When I didn't, she had to carry the conversation herself."Your mother chased Moretti over documents back then. Adrian even spoke up for her.""Did you see it yourself?""People in the family said so.""Which people? When?""You really do sound like a lawyer now.""What do you want from me?""The divorce," sh

This time, Victor still refused to admit he had followed my mother.Daniel laid the garage registration, the usage request, and the emergency call record from that year in front of him. Victor stared at the pages for a long time."I was on the west side," he said. "I don't remember whether I got on the viaduct.""Did you place the emergency call?" Daniel asked."I saw an accident and called it in. Anyone would."I asked, "Why were you on that road?""Meeting a client.""My mother?"He gripped the back of the chair and didn't answer.Daniel put one of the documents away. "You don't have to answer here. We'll be turning the records over to the investigators."But Victor sat back down."Mrs. Lucia sent me to find Ms. Bennett," he said quietly. "She was carrying disputed material and said she was going to show it to an auditor. Mrs. Lucia wanted her brought back to the company first so the documents could be talked through.""Did you catch up to her?" I asked."No. I got on the viaduct and

Elena Russo had left Moretti.The first time Daniel contacted her, she said too much time had passed and she couldn't remember. The second time, she said she was willing to give a formal statement, but she would not meet me privately."Then we do it her way," I said.Daniel and I organized what we had found into separate bundles. The photocopied materials showing my mother's challenge to the authorization. The signing photo Nora had kept. Peter's account. Victor's vehicle records. And the original accident survey file.Submitting materials for review didn't mean every question had an answer.While we waited for Elena's formal interview, the rehabilitation center accounts moved first.The preliminary review found that several Moretti-affiliated companies had taken project payments. Some had delivered partial services that didn't match their contracts. For others, the equipment and the site were nowhere to be found. The money would have to be examined and clawed back, and how much could