Chapter 5 - The Man Behind the Locked Door
Caleb Shaw did not deny that Edward Shaw was his brother.
He denied everything else.
“I haven’t spoken to him in eight months.”
Anna sat across from him in Matteo’s private conference room.
Matteo stood near the window.
Daniel remained beside the door.
Caleb looked exhausted now.
Not guilty.
Exhausted.
Anna had spent enough years interviewing executives during crises to understand the difference.
“Why didn’t you tell Matteo your brother worked for Portwell?” she asked.
Caleb rubbed his forehead.
“Because Edward started there after the negotiations began.”
“Still relevant.”
“I know.”
“Then why hide it?”
Caleb looked toward Matteo.
“Because you would have removed me from the deal.”
“Yes,” Matteo said.
“Exactly.”
“That would have been appropriate.”
Caleb laughed bitterly.
“I spent nine years building my career here. I wasn’t going to lose responsibility because my younger brother made a bad employment decision.”
Anna slid the report toward him.
“The device used to interrupt the yacht cameras connected to Edward’s laptop.”
Caleb stared.
“What?”
“Three twelve Sunday morning.”
His face changed.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Edward was on the yacht.”
Silence.
Matteo moved away from the window.
“What did you say?”
Caleb swallowed.
“He contacted me Saturday afternoon. Said he needed to speak privately.”
“About what?”
“Our father.”
Anna looked at Matteo.
Caleb continued.
“Dad’s health has been failing. Edward and I disagree about his care. He said he was coming to the marina.”
“You let a Portwell employee aboard my yacht without authorization?”
“I met him in the service lounge. Ten minutes.”
“When?”
“Around eight.”
“Did he leave?”
“I thought so.”
Daniel’s expression darkened.
“I have no record of him leaving.”
Caleb looked stunned.
Anna understood.
Edward had stayed hidden aboard the vessel.
Perhaps not alone.
Matteo asked, “Did he have your access card?”
Caleb closed his eyes.
“He hugged me when he arrived.”
Anna looked at Daniel.
Card-cloning device.
Close range.
Caleb whispered, “He copied it.”
Matteo said nothing.
Caleb stood abruptly.
“I didn’t know.”
Daniel stepped forward, but Matteo raised a hand.
Caleb’s voice cracked.
“I recommended Portwell because Edward told me the company had stable financing and long-term plans. He said this deal would protect jobs. I believed him.”
Anna watched him carefully.
“Did you share internal numbers?”
“No.”
“Did Edward ever use your laptop?”
Caleb hesitated.
Once.
Everyone in the room understood.
“When?” Matteo asked.
“Three weeks ago. We had dinner. Mine was on the table.”
Matteo looked toward Anna.
That could explain the leaked projections.
Caleb sat down again.
“He used me.”
The anger in his voice sounded genuine now.
Anna almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“You also helped him,” she said. “Even if you didn’t realize it.”
Caleb nodded.
“I know.”
Matteo walked toward the table.
“Where is Edward now?”
Caleb looked at his phone.
“He hasn’t answered since yesterday.”
Daniel stepped outside to make calls.
Anna stood.
“So Edward copied Caleb’s card, remained on the yacht, disabled cameras, stole the ring, replaced my key card, photographed us, leaked everything, and planted evidence in Caleb’s briefcase.”
Matteo nodded slowly.
“There is one problem.”
“What?”
“How did he get into the bedroom?”
Anna frowned.
“Caleb’s card?”
“Staff credentials do not open my private suite.”
“What does?”
“My card. Daniel’s emergency card. Family access.”
Anna stared.
“So someone else helped him.”
“Yes.”
They returned to the yacht that afternoon.
The Aurelia remained docked under private security.
Anna didn’t particularly want to step aboard again.
But she needed answers.
The bedroom looked exactly as it had Sunday morning.
Same bed.
Same windows.
Same quiet luxury.
Without Matteo’s family standing in the doorway, it seemed almost ordinary.
Anna stood near the mattress.
“It’s strange.”
“What?”
“Yesterday morning feels like a month ago.”
Matteo walked toward the office.
“You regret taking this contract yet?”
“I regretted it on day three.”
“What happened day three?”
“You told me my media strategy was unnecessarily cautious.”
“It was.”
“You were wrong.”
“I changed my mind later.”
“You never told me.”
“I’m telling you now.”
Anna turned.
“Mark the date.”
They smiled.
The tension between them had changed over forty-eight hours.
What began as irritation had become something more difficult.
Trust, perhaps.
Or something dangerously close.
Anna pushed the thought away.
“This is still a fake engagement.”
Matteo leaned against the desk.
“I didn’t say otherwise.”
“You looked like you were about to.”
“No.”
“You were thinking something.”
“I frequently think.”
“Debatable.”
He laughed.
It was the first time Anna had heard Matteo De Luca laugh without restraint.
The sound surprised her.
So did how much she liked it.
Daniel entered before either could say more.
“We found something.”
He carried a small tablet.
“An exterior camera on a neighboring yacht recorded the Aurelia’s starboard side.”
Matteo straightened.
“At three in the morning?”
“Yes.”
The footage was grainy but clear enough.
At 3:08, a figure crossed an exterior service walkway.
Male.
Tall.
Edward Shaw, according to a facial match.
At 3:10 he entered through the side access door.
At 3:24, another figure appeared inside Matteo’s corridor.
A woman.
Anna leaned toward the screen.
The image was partially obscured.
Dark coat.
Hair tied back.
Matteo froze.
Anna looked at him.
“You recognize her.”
He did not answer.
The woman turned slightly toward the camera.
Anna recognized her too.
“Sofia?”
“No,” Matteo said.
The woman was older.
Aunt Francesca.
Anna stared.
“That can’t be.”
They called Francesca immediately.
Her reaction was not what Anna expected.
She began crying.
Not hysterically.
Quietly.
Ashamed.
“I didn’t know what he was doing.”
They met in Teresa’s apartment.
Francesca sat between her sister and mother.
“I thought it was a joke.”
Matteo stood across from her.
“What joke?”
“Edward said Caleb wanted to surprise you.”
Anna frowned.
“With a burglary?”
Francesca shook her head.
“He told me Caleb was planning a family prank. He asked to borrow my guest access card because he needed to leave something outside Matteo’s room.”
“Why would you agree?”
Francesca looked embarrassed.
“Because he said it had to do with Anna.”
Matteo’s expression hardened.
Francesca continued quickly.
“He said Matteo had bought a ring but was too stubborn to propose, and Caleb wanted to leave it where Anna would find it.”
Anna closed her eyes.
“That is a terrible prank.”
“Yes.”
“So you gave him the card?”
“For fifteen minutes.”
Teresa looked horrified.
“Francesca.”
“I know.”
Nonna Elena smacked her daughter lightly on the arm.
“You are fifty-eight years old.”
“I know, Mama.”
“And still foolish.”
“I know.”
Anna almost smiled despite everything.
Francesca wiped her eyes.
“I had no idea Edward was working with Portwell. I didn’t even know he was aboard.”
Matteo’s anger slowly cooled.
She had made a foolish mistake, but she had not understood the consequences.
“Where did you meet him?” Anna asked.
“At the aft stairwell.”
“When?”
“About three.”
“What was he carrying?”
Francesca thought.
“A small black bag.”
The ring.
The cloning device.
Possibly the camera.
Matteo looked toward Daniel.
“Do we know where Edward is?”
Daniel nodded.
“Hotel downtown.”
“Authorities?”
“Already contacted regarding unauthorized access and theft.”
Anna exhaled.
The nightmare might finally be ending.
But Matteo still looked troubled.
“What?” she asked.
“Edward had motive.”
“Portwell.”
“Yes.”
“He had access.”
“Yes.”
“He had the equipment.”
“Yes.”
“He planted the ring.”
“Yes.”
“So what’s missing?”
Matteo looked at Caleb.
“Why Anna?”
Caleb frowned.
“What?”
“Edward could have created a scandal using anyone. Why target Anna specifically?”
Anna had wondered the same thing.
Caleb slowly shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Then his eyes changed.
He remembered something.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Three weeks ago, Edward asked me about her.”
Anna felt cold.
“What did he ask?”
Caleb thought.
“He wanted to know why Matteo kept rejecting the deal. I said Anna’s analysis had raised concerns.”
Matteo’s jaw tightened.
Caleb continued.
“He asked if you trusted her.”
“What did you say?”
“That Matteo trusted almost nobody.”
Anna looked toward Matteo.
Caleb added quietly, “But that he seemed to trust Anna.”
Nobody spoke.
Anna’s pulse increased.
Matteo looked away.
Sofia, standing near the doorway, slowly smiled.
“This is becoming much more interesting.”
“Not now, Sofia,” Matteo said.
“Oh, definitely now.”
Anna ignored her.
“Edward chose me because he thought damaging my credibility would influence you.”
Matteo nodded.
“That appears to be the reason.”
But Anna understood something deeper.
Edward had noticed what she and Matteo had refused to acknowledge.
The reason the fake engagement worked so easily.
The reason the family believed it immediately.
The reason their photographs looked convincing.
There had already been something between them.
Something neither had named.
Daniel’s phone rang.
He answered.
After a brief conversation, he looked at Matteo.
“Edward is in custody for questioning.”
Francesca exhaled with relief.
Daniel continued.
“He admitted entering the yacht.”
Anna’s heart jumped.
“And the ring?”
“He admitted planting it.”
The room went silent.
It was over.
Or it should have felt over.
Instead Anna looked at Matteo and felt strangely sad.
Because if the mystery was solved, the fake engagement ended too.
Matteo apparently had the same thought.
His eyes stayed on hers.
Sofia looked between them.
Then whispered to Nonna Elena, not quietly enough, “They look disappointed.”
Anna turned away.
Matteo cleared his throat.
“I’ll make a statement tomorrow.”
Anna nodded.
“Good.”
“Explaining everything.”
“Good.”
“And ending the engagement rumor.”
A pause.
“Good,” Anna said again.
This time the word did not sound convincing.
Matteo heard it.
May you like
So did everyone else.
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