Chapter 7: Helena's Last Offer
The meeting took place in the solicitor's office, not the mansion.
Alessandro had been clear about that.
Helena would not set foot in the Moretti house again until every legal matter was resolved, and possibly not after that.
The solicitor had relayed the condition without comment.
Helena arrived with her own lawyer — a tall, silver-haired man named Carver who had a reputation for making complicated things disappear quietly.
He set a leather portfolio on the conference table and opened it before anyone had finished sitting down.
"My client wishes to resolve this matter privately," Carver said.
"She believes a public proceeding would cause unnecessary harm to all parties, including Mr.
Moretti and his mother."
"That's considerate of her," Alessandro's solicitor said.
Carver continued without acknowledging the tone.
"She is prepared to return full administrative control of the Moretti estate to Mr.
Alessandro Moretti, effective immediately.
She will sign over her co-trustee position, waive any claims to the estate she might otherwise pursue, and provide a full accounting of all Vela Holdings transactions from the past twelve years."
Alessandro looked at Helena.
She was seated beside Carver, hands folded on the table, wearing the same composed expression she had worn at every family dinner, every board meeting, every event where she had stood slightly to the left of the center of things and managed everything from there.
"In exchange for what?" Alessandro said.
Carver turned a page.
"In exchange for Mr.
Moretti's agreement not to pursue criminal charges related to the estate administration.
My client acknowledges certain decisions were made that, in retrospect, caused harm.
She is prepared to make that acknowledgment formally, in writing, as part of a private settlement."
"Certain decisions," Alessandro repeated.
"Alessandro—" Helena said.
"She locked my mother in a basement for three years," Alessandro said.
"She faked her d*ath.
She forged or suppressed my father's will.
She moved estate funds into a private company she controlled.
She threatened my half-brother to keep him away from his own family." He looked at Carver.
"Which of those would you like to describe as a decision made in retrospect?"
Carver's expression did not change.
"My client—"
"I heard the offer." Alessandro leaned back.
"Here is my position.
The estate accounting will be provided regardless of any agreement, because it is legally required.
The co-trustee transfer will happen regardless, because the original will establishes my mother as primary beneficiary and the forged version has no legal standing.
What Helena is actually offering me is her silence and her cooperation in exchange for her freedom."
Helena's hands tightened on the table.
"I kept this family together for thirty years."
"You kept this family controlled for thirty years.
Those are different things."
"Your father asked me—"
"My father is not here." Alessandro's voice stayed level.
"My mother is.
She spent three years on a basement floor while I put white roses on an empty grave.
Whatever my father asked you to do, that is what you chose to do.
And you chose it because the estate was worth more to you with my mother out of the picture."
Helena looked at him.
For a moment, the composure slipped — not into guilt, but into something older and harder.
"You have no idea what it cost me to manage this family.
What I gave up.
What I was owed."
"What you were owed," Alessandro said quietly.
"I was his closest confidant for thirty years.
I managed everything he couldn't manage himself.
And when he d*ed, he left it all to a woman who couldn't—" She stopped.
"Finish the sentence," Alessandro said.
Helena pressed her lips together.
"You thought my mother was weak," Alessandro said.
"You thought she didn't deserve what she had.
So you took it."
Silence.
Carver cleared his throat.
"My client's offer remains on the table.
I'd encourage Mr.
Moretti to consider the benefits of a private resolution, particularly given the family's public profile."
Alessandro looked at his solicitor.
His solicitor opened his own folder.
"The Crown Prosecution Service has already received a preliminary referral.
Given the evidence — the original will, the financial records, the testimony of both Mrs.
Isabella Moretti and Mr.
Samuel Crane — they've indicated they intend to proceed regardless of any civil settlement." He closed the folder.
"The offer, I'm afraid, is somewhat beside the point."
Carver looked at Helena.
Helena looked at Alessandro.
"I want you to know," she said, "that I never hated her.
I want you to understand that."
Alessandro stood up.
"Then you should have treated her like someone you didn't hate," he said.
He picked up his jacket from the back of the chair.
His solicitor followed.
At the door, Alessandro paused.
He turned back to look at Helena one last time — seated at the conference table, her lawyer already leaning in to speak quietly in her ear, the leather portfolio still open in front of her.
May you like
She looked smaller than she ever had inside the mansion.
He left without saying anything else.
