Chapter 5 - AUNT TERESA
Teresa Bellini hated Dominic.
That fact required no investigation.
She had told him directly at Gabriel’s funeral.
“You killed him long before the crash.”
Then walked out of the family church.
Dominic had not seen her since.
Now she had taken Gabriel’s ten-year-old son from school.
Michael immediately wanted to activate private security.
Dominic said:
“Police first.”
Michael nodded.
Growth.
Laura reported Ethan missing.
School cooperated.
Vehicle records showed Teresa driving north.
No sign of force.
Ethan entered willingly.
That mattered.
Why?
Laura knew.
“Veronica introduced them.”
Dominic stared.
“What?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t know who Teresa was.”
Of course.
Veronica had been building connections behind everyone.
Laura explained:
Veronica told Ethan Teresa was his grandmother’s sister.
Family.
Someone who knew Gabriel.
Ethan became curious.
Teresa spoke with him by video several times.
Then school pickup.
Why now?
Because the gala exposed the DNA report.
Veronica’s plan cracked.
Someone moved Ethan before Dominic could reach him.
Dominic called Veronica.
First time since the gala.
She answered immediately.
“Finally.”
“Where is Ethan?”
Silence.
“Veronica.”
“I don’t know.”
“Teresa took him.”
That surprised her.
Dominic heard it.
“You didn’t send her.”
“No.”
“Did you introduce them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She knows Gabriel.”
“You turned my nephew over to a woman who hates me.”
“He wanted truth.”
Dominic’s hand tightened.
“He’s ten.”
“So?”
“So children do not exist to resolve adult grudges.”
Veronica laughed bitterly.
“Interesting coming from a Bellini.”
That landed.
Dominic continued:
“Where would Teresa go?”
“No idea.”
“Try.”
Silence.
Then:
“Gabriel had a cabin.”
Dominic frowned.
“No.”
“He did.”
“Where?”
“Lake Placid.”
Dominic looked at Michael.
Search already running.
Veronica continued:
“Teresa told Ethan Gabriel spent summers there.”
Dominic had never known.
Again.
His brother had whole rooms in his life Dominic never entered.
Police located Teresa’s vehicle near the cabin by nightfall.
Dominic did not storm in.
He waited for local officers.
Laura joined by phone.
Teresa answered the door herself.
No weapon.
No hostage drama.
Ethan sat at a kitchen table eating cereal.
He looked terrified when police entered.
Not of Teresa.
Of Dominic’s name.
That hurt.
Teresa was detained briefly while authorities sorted custody and school removal.
Ethan returned to Laura.
No criminal abduction charge immediately because Teresa claimed Laura had verbally permitted family contact, though not removal.
The facts were messy.
Dominic arrived only after Laura agreed he could.
Ethan refused to meet him.
“That’s fine,” Dominic said.
Laura looked surprised.
“He thinks you hate him.”
“I know.”
“You don’t want to correct it?”
“I do.”
“Then?”
Dominic looked toward the room where Ethan sat.
“He’s had enough adults telling him what to believe.”
Laura softened.
Good answer.
Teresa agreed to speak with Dominic in the police-station interview room.
Seventeen years apart.
No hug.
No smile.
She looked older.
Still sharp.
“You look like your father.”
Dominic sat.
“You took Gabriel’s son.”
“I took him somewhere he could see his father’s things.”
“You removed him from school without guardian permission.”
“I made a mistake.”
Immediate.
That surprised him.
“Why?”
“Because Veronica called.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“When?”
“After the gala.”
“What did she say?”
“That you found the DNA report.”
“And?”
“That you’d move against Ethan.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“Of course.”
Teresa’s face tightened.
“She said you would challenge Gabriel’s trust.”
“I didn’t know it existed.”
Teresa went still.
That changed everything.
“She lied.”
“Yes.”
Teresa looked away.
Dominic asked:
“What did Gabriel tell you before he died?”
Silence.
“Teresa.”
“He was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“Of the whole machine.”
Dominic accepted that.
“What else?”
“He wanted Ethan out.”
“Out of what?”
“The Bellini succession.”
Dominic frowned.
“He wasn’t even born.”
“Exactly.”
Teresa leaned closer.
“Gabriel knew Father had drafted a codicil.”
Dominic stopped.
Their father.
Salvatore Bellini.
Dead fifteen years.
“What codicil?”
“If Gabriel had a son…”
She paused.
“…the family voting structure changed.”
Dominic stared.
There it was.
Not just Gabriel’s personal trust.
The main Bellini structure.
A hidden clause.
May you like
Potentially favoring a male descendant.
And Veronica had found it before Dominic did.
