The Ledger That Could Destroy the Rossetti Family
"Tomorrow?" Bianca whispered.
The gold wedding ring lay in Enzo Marchetti's palm.
Inside the band, two names had been engraved.
Matteo Bellandi.
Bianca Rossetti.
And beneath them was tomorrow's date.
Bianca stared at the ring as though it might suddenly explain itself.
"Who made that?"
Enzo shook his head.
"We don't know."
Matteo took the ring and examined it beneath the kitchen light.
His expression darkened.
"This isn't a proposal."
Bianca looked at him.
"Then what is it?"
"A warning."
Gabriel Voss stepped closer.
"From Adrian Vale?"
"Possibly."
Matteo turned the ring slowly between his fingers.
"Adrian knows about the marriage proposal. That means someone told him what happened in this kitchen."
Bianca felt her stomach tighten.
Her mother.
Her father.
Livia.
Any one of them could have been listening.
Any one of them could have betrayed her again.
Then she noticed something.
"Wait."
Matteo looked up.
"What?"
"There's another mark inside the ring."
He tilted it toward the light.
Beside the engraved date was a tiny symbol.
A crescent moon.
Bianca stopped breathing.
"Grandpa's mark."
Gabriel leaned closer.
"Are you certain?"
She nodded.
"It's the same mark he used on his bread."
Matteo's expression became unreadable.
"Adrian isn't simply threatening us."
He closed his hand around the ring.
"He's telling us he knows what Alessandro left behind."
Twenty minutes later, Bianca sat at the kitchen table while Gabriel examined the medical report her mother's attorney had submitted.
The document lay beside the gold ring.
Bianca couldn't stop looking at it.
Her name.
Matteo's name.
Tomorrow.
It felt as though someone had reached into a future she hadn't chosen and written it for her.
Gabriel adjusted his glasses.
"I've reviewed the report."
Bianca straightened.
"And?"
"There are serious inconsistencies."
Matteo stood beside the window.
"Such as?"
"The physician's name appears to have been added to an older hospital form. The licensing number doesn't match the hospital's historical records."
Bianca felt a small surge of relief.
"So it's fake?"
"At least part of it appears to be."
She leaned forward.
"What about the statement saying I identified someone responsible for Grandma's death?"
Gabriel hesitated.
"That section is more complicated."
"Why?"
"Because it references a genuine hospital admission."
Bianca's relief disappeared.
She remembered almost nothing about the bakery fire.
Only fragments.
A door.
Smoke.
Someone shouting her name.
And a pair of strong arms lifting her from the floor.
Sometimes she dreamed about it.
In the dream, a woman was crying.
But Bianca could never see her face.
"Was I really there?" she asked.
Gabriel nodded.
"According to the admission records, yes."
Matteo turned away from the window.
"She was."
Bianca looked at him sharply.
"You remember?"
He remained silent.
"Matteo."
His jaw tightened.
"I remember finding you outside the bakery."
Her heart began pounding.
"Outside?"
"Near the back entrance."
"Was Grandma with me?"
Matteo's expression changed.
"No."
Bianca swallowed.
"Then where was she?"
He looked down.
"Inside."
The room became painfully quiet.
Bianca stood.
"Tell me everything."
Matteo didn't move.
"I will."
"Now."
He nodded slowly.
"Twenty years ago, my father was trying to acquire several properties along Mercer Street. Alessandro's bakery stood in the middle of the redevelopment area."
"I know that part."
"Your grandfather refused to sell."
"And your father threatened him."
"Yes."
Bianca folded her arms.
"What happened next?"
Matteo looked at her.
"I was eighteen. My father ordered me to deliver a final offer to Alessandro."
"The night of the fire?"
"Yes."
Bianca felt cold.
"That's why you were outside the bakery."
Matteo nodded.
"The metal container in the video held industrial cleaning solvent. My father wanted Alessandro to believe the building would be condemned if he refused the sale."
Bianca stared.
"You brought something dangerous to Grandpa's bakery?"
"Yes."
His honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
"Did you start the fire?"
"No."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
Matteo accepted the question without flinching.
"You don't."
Bianca's eyes filled.
"Then why should I trust you?"
"Because I'm going to help you find the evidence, even if it proves I was responsible."
She looked away.
For the first time since meeting him, she wanted him to leave.
And that frightened her.
Because some part of her had already begun hoping he would stay.
Enzo entered the kitchen carrying a tablet.
"Boss. We found something."
Matteo turned.
"What?"
"The ring was purchased yesterday from a private jeweler."
Bianca looked up.
"Under whose name?"
Enzo hesitated.
"Serena Rossetti."
Bianca closed her eyes.
Of course.
Her mother.
Again.
Matteo's expression hardened.
"Are you certain?"
"The jeweler confirmed the order. Mrs. Rossetti provided both names and requested the date."
Gabriel frowned.
"Why would she arrange a wedding ring for Bianca and Matteo?"
"Because someone wants this marriage to happen," Matteo said.
Bianca stared at him.
"But Mama wanted you to marry Livia."
"That was before the trust documents appeared."
Gabriel slowly nodded.
"If Bianca becomes Matteo's wife, certain financial relationships between the Rossetti and Bellandi families could become easier to restructure."
Bianca felt sick.
"So they're trying to use me again."
Matteo looked at her.
"Not if I can help it."
She shook her head.
"No."
He stopped.
"Bianca?"
"I don't want anyone deciding my future."
Her voice grew stronger.
"Not my mother. Not my father. Not Adrian Vale."
She looked directly at Matteo.
"And not you."
He held her gaze.
"Then nobody will."
Gabriel's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
Then frowned.
"The trust administrator has sent another file."
Matteo approached.
"What kind?"
"A financial ledger."
Bianca looked up.
"From Grandpa?"
"Apparently."
Gabriel opened the attachment.
A spreadsheet appeared.
Rows of dates.
Account numbers.
Transfers.
Company names.
And handwritten notes that had been scanned into the digital record.
At the top was a title.
Mercer Street Property Acquisition — Confidential.
Matteo's expression changed.
"Where did this come from?"
Gabriel scrolled.
"The trust administrator says Alessandro deposited it in a sealed archive shortly before his death."
Bianca leaned closer.
"What does it mean?"
Gabriel studied the entries.
Then his face went pale.
"It means your grandfather was documenting financial transactions connected to the redevelopment project."
Matteo pointed toward one line.
"That company."
Gabriel read it aloud.
"Vesper Holdings."
The same company now holding part of the Rossetti family's debt.
Bianca felt a chill.
"Twenty years ago?"
Gabriel nodded.
"Apparently."
He scrolled farther.
A series of transfers appeared.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
Four hundred thousand.
One million.
Each payment was connected to a property purchase or business closure.
Then Bianca saw a familiar name.
Vittorio Rossetti.
Her father.
Beside it was a payment of six hundred thousand dollars.
She stared.
"That's the money he took from Grandpa."
Gabriel examined the date.
"No. This was a separate transaction."
Bianca felt her stomach drop.
"Separate?"
"Yes."
Matteo leaned closer.
"What was the payment for?"
Gabriel opened the attached note.
His expression darkened.
"According to Alessandro, Vittorio received the money in exchange for persuading him to sell the bakery."
Bianca shook her head.
"But Grandpa never sold."
"No."
Gabriel scrolled to the next entry.
"And the payment was never returned."
Bianca sat down slowly.
Her father had accepted money to betray his own father.
Then stolen from him again.
And afterward, he had allowed Bianca to believe the bakery failed because Alessandro couldn't manage his finances.
She pressed her hands against her face.
"How much did Grandpa lose because of him?"
Gabriel didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "Possibly everything."
Matteo studied the ledger.
Something was wrong.
The transactions were familiar.
Too familiar.
He recognized several companies his father had used decades earlier.
But one name stood out.
Bellandi Development Group.
Beside it was a handwritten notation.
Unauthorized transfer.
Matteo frowned.
"Gabriel, open the original scan."
The attorney did.
Matteo leaned closer.
The signature at the bottom belonged to his father.
Or appeared to.
But the handwriting was wrong.
He had spent years studying his father's documents.
He knew the difference between his genuine signature and the crude imitations used by associates who believed the Bellandi name could protect them.
"This signature was forged."
Gabriel looked up.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Bianca stared.
"Someone forged your father's signature too?"
Matteo nodded.
"And used his company to move money."
Gabriel scrolled through the entries.
"Then Alessandro may have been investigating a fraud operation involving both families."
Bianca looked toward the window.
"Which means Grandpa wasn't just protecting recipes."
"No," Matteo said.
"He was protecting evidence."
A knock sounded at the kitchen door.
Enzo opened it.
Rosa Alvarez stood outside.
Her face was pale, but her breathing had steadied.
"Bianca?"
Bianca rose immediately.
"Rosa. Is Mateo okay?"
Rosa nodded.
"Mr. Marchetti's people found him. He's safe with our aunt."
Bianca hugged her.
Rosa began crying.
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
"Yes, I do."
She stepped backward and reached into her jacket.
"There's something I need to give you."
She removed a folded receipt.
Bianca frowned.
"What is it?"
"A delivery record."
"From the bakery?"
Rosa nodded.
"Three weeks ago, I was told to deliver a sealed package to a private office downtown."
"Whose office?"
"Adrian Vale's."
Matteo stepped closer.
"What was in the package?"
"I don't know. But the receipt listed it as commercial documents."
Rosa unfolded the paper.
Bianca stared at the signature.
Livia Rossetti.
Her sister.
Rosa swallowed.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"After I made the delivery, Mr. Vale told me to wait outside. I heard him arguing with someone."
"Who?"
Rosa hesitated.
"Your mother."
Bianca felt cold.
"What were they arguing about?"
Rosa looked down.
"Money. And a deadline."
Matteo's eyes narrowed.
"What deadline?"
Rosa swallowed.
"Your wedding."
Bianca stared.
"That doesn't make sense."
Rosa nodded miserably.
"I know."
She looked toward the gold ring on the table.
"But they were talking about marrying you to someone before the trust became active."
Gabriel went still.
"What exactly did they say?"
Rosa closed her eyes.
"Mr. Vale said, 'If Bianca marries the wrong man, we lose control of everything.'"
Matteo's expression darkened.
"And Serena?"
Rosa's voice trembled.
"She said, 'Then make sure she marries the right one.'"
Bianca sat motionless.
For years, her family had told her nobody would ever want to marry her.
Now they were apparently planning her wedding behind her back.
The cruelty of it almost made her laugh.
Gabriel examined the trust documents.
"There may be a marriage-related provision we haven't identified."
Matteo turned.
"Find it."
Gabriel opened the original agreement.
He read silently for several minutes.
Then stopped.
"Here."
Bianca leaned forward.
"What?"
"A beneficiary protection clause."
Gabriel adjusted his glasses.
"If Bianca marries while the trust is under dispute, her spouse may acquire certain limited rights to participate in trust-related litigation."
Bianca frowned.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning a spouse could potentially influence the legal fight over your assets."
Matteo's expression hardened.
"So Adrian wants to control whoever marries her."
Gabriel nodded.
"That would explain the urgency."
Bianca stared at the ring.
"Then why put your name on it?"
Matteo didn't answer.
Because he was beginning to understand.
Someone wanted Bianca to believe he was part of the conspiracy.
Someone wanted her frightened enough to reject him.
Or desperate enough to accept another arrangement.
He looked at the ring again.
The crescent moon.
The engraved date.
Tomorrow.
It wasn't a wedding invitation.
It was a countdown.
Gabriel's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then slowly stood.
"What?"
Bianca looked up.
"Gabriel?"
The attorney's face drained of color.
"That can't be right."
Matteo approached.
"What happened?"
Gabriel lowered the phone.
"The bank has identified another account connected to the trust."
Bianca frowned.
"Another account?"
Gabriel nodded.
"An account opened under Alessandro's name twenty years ago."
"How much is in it?"
Gabriel swallowed.
"Not much."
Bianca felt confused.
"Then why does it matter?"
"Because of the transaction history."
He turned the phone toward Matteo.
"The account received a payment on the morning of the bakery fire."
Matteo stared at the screen.
"From whom?"
Gabriel looked at him.
"Your father."
Bianca felt the room spin.
"How much?"
"Three million dollars."
Silence.
Then Matteo spoke.
"That's impossible."
Gabriel shook his head.
"The bank records appear authentic."
Matteo looked toward the ledger.
"Find the corresponding entry."
Gabriel searched.
Seconds passed.
Then he stopped.
His eyes widened.
"Here."
Bianca leaned closer.
Beside the three-million-dollar transfer was a handwritten note.
Payment received. Agreement fulfilled.
Bianca stared.
"Agreement?"
Gabriel opened the next page.
There was another note.
This one written in her grandfather's handwriting.
Elena knew. She tried to stop it.
Bianca's breath caught.
Her grandmother.
The fire.
The money.
The forged contracts.
Everything seemed connected.
But the connection was still hidden.
Matteo looked at Gabriel.
"Is there anything else?"
The attorney scrolled.
Then froze.
"Yes."
"What?"
"A second ledger."
Bianca stared.
"Where?"
Gabriel looked toward the study.
"Inside the USB drive."
He opened the file.
A password prompt appeared.
Then a message.
Secondary authorization required.
Bianca remembered her grandfather's video.
The second password.
The warning from Livia.
And the voice of her grandmother.
Matteo looked at her.
"Do you know the password?"
Bianca shook her head.
Then stopped.
A memory surfaced.
Her grandmother standing beside the oven.
Her grandfather laughing.
A little girl holding a wooden spoon.
And Elena whispering something in her ear.
The sweetest things are never measured in sugar.
Bianca's heart began pounding.
She moved toward the keyboard.
"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked.
"Something Grandma used to say."
She typed three words.
LITTLE MOON RISES.
The screen flickered.
Then unlocked.
A new folder appeared.
Its title made Matteo go completely still.
THE BELLANDI-ROSSETTI AGREEMENT.
Gabriel opened it.
Inside was a scanned contract.
Signed twenty years earlier.
By Alessandro Rossetti.
By Matteo's father.
And by a third person.
Bianca leaned closer.
The third signature belonged to someone she recognized.
Someone who had spent years telling her that her grandfather was a failure.
Someone who had stolen her recipes, forged her name, and tried to control her inheritance.
But the signature wasn't Vittorio's.
It wasn't Serena's.
It belonged to a woman.
And beside her name was a title Bianca had never seen before.
Original Beneficiary.
Matteo reached for the document.
His face changed.
"Bianca."
She looked at him.
"What?"
He swallowed.
"Your grandmother didn't die in the bakery fire."
Bianca stared.
"That's impossible."
Gabriel slowly turned the page.
A photograph appeared.
Elena Rossetti.
Older than Bianca remembered.
Standing beside a hospital bed.
The photograph was dated only six months earlier.
Bianca stopped breathing.
Then a notification appeared on the computer.
LIVE ACCESS DETECTED.
Someone else had opened the same file.
At that exact moment.
Gabriel stared at the screen.
A location appeared.
A private medical facility outside the city.
And beneath it was a patient name.
Elena Rossetti.
Bianca reached toward the screen.
Before her fingers touched it, a video call request appeared.
The caller ID contained only two words.
LITTLE MOON.
Matteo looked at Bianca.
She looked at him.
Then she pressed ACCEPT.
The screen went black.
A woman's breathing filled the speakers.
And a familiar voice whispered:
May you like
"Bianca, sweetheart... if Matteo Bellandi is standing beside you, don't let him see what's behind me."
The camera began to turn.
