Chapter 3
The next morning, Lorenzo brought in outside counsel.
Not Bellini family counsel.
Rachel Sloan had represented several of Lorenzo’s legitimate companies but had never worked for Camille, Nora, or any of Lorenzo’s relatives.
That separation mattered.
Rachel listened to the facts without dramatic reaction.
Then she asked:
“Who employs Nora?”
“Bellini Estate Services.”
“Who supervises her?”
“Technically the estate manager.”
“Who has been authorizing purchases under household cost centers?”
Lorenzo frowned.
“The estate manager.”
“Only him?”
“No.”
“Who else?”
Lorenzo knew where this was going.
“Camille received temporary purchasing authority for wedding-related expenses.”
“How broad?”
He hated the answer.
“Broader than it should have been.”
Rachel requested vendor ledgers.
Purchase orders.
Staff schedules.
Guest lists.
Wedding expenses.
Anything involving uniforms, service supplies, and temporary staff.
Then she asked Nora one question.
“When did Camille first accuse you of making Mia serve?”
Nora thought.
“About seven weeks ago.”
“When did the aprons appear?”
“Six weeks ago.”
“And the chain?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Rachel wrote it down.
Lorenzo looked at her.
“You think that sequence matters.”
“I think sequences usually matter.”
The first documentary clue appeared before lunch.
Three child-sized serving aprons had been purchased from a hospitality-uniform supplier.
The invoice was assigned to Nora’s housekeeping cost center.
Approval initials:
NH.
Nora Hayes.
Except Nora had been on vacation in Maine the day the invoice was approved.
Her flight records confirmed it.
The purchase was submitted through a temporary wedding-planning login issued to Camille’s assistant.
Camille herself had approval rights over that login.
That did not prove Camille entered the initials.
But it proved Nora had not.
Then came the chain.
Not listed as a chain.
It had been purchased from a theatrical-event supplier as a “costume restraint accessory.”
Non-injurious.
Quick release.
Designed for stage use.
Rachel read the description aloud.
Lorenzo’s expression hardened.
“Why would she buy that?”
The invoice category read:
Interactive reception decor.
Nora stared at it.
“I never saw this invoice.”
Rachel asked:
“Did Camille host any themed events?”
“No.”
Lorenzo shook his head.
“Nothing involving restraints.”
Rachel made another note.
Then she turned to Lorenzo.
“Was Mia ever photographed wearing the apron?”
He did not know.
Nora did.
“Yes.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“When?”
“At a luncheon two weeks ago.”
“Who took the photographs?”
“Guests.”
“Did Camille arrange that?”
“I don’t know.”
Rachel asked:
“What was happening?”
Nora remembered clearly.
Mia carried folded napkins across the garden.
Camille laughed and said:
“Nora is determined to turn her into the hardest-working Bellini in the family.”
Several people took pictures because Mia looked cute.
Nora had immediately removed the apron.
At the time, the comment sounded like another dig.
Now it looked different.
May you like
Clue number one was no longer simply the forged initials.
Camille had been attaching Nora’s name to the behavior in front of witnesses.
