Jack nods. “I’m guessing they saw a chance to gain a hold over her because Savannah Goldsworthy was also a wealthy woman in her own right. They probably used her daughter and granddaughter as bait, holding their fate over her head, convinced she would sign everything over to them.”
“Nature has a habit of dishing out retribution, and I’m guessing she had an easier way out than most.”
Jack nods. “So, Alice’s inheritance was secure and under Enrico’s control until she was twenty-five. It was enough to use as collateral against the many loans he took out to keep his business going.”
I drain the glass. “So, the debts against the company and the line of creditors means there is no inheritance from his side. The only money the girls have are the trust funds set up by their powerful families.”
“Correct. The Sorcusi mafia will receive nothing when the girls come of age and fulfill the terms of Enrico’s will. I’m guessing Morgan teamed up with Rafael Dimitri to rectify that.”
“So, it was never about the trust funds; she had no claim to them.”
I’m thinking hard as I ponder the problem that goes by the name of Morgan Sorcusi.
“When the trust funds revert to the girls, the collateral vanishes and the bank will foreclose on the loans.”
Jack, as always, has it all figured out and appears to be enjoying himself.
“But the Sorcusi mafia has money of its own. Morgan would just slink off into the shadows and plan the downfall of her next victim.”
“Of course, it goes without saying, but why waste the opportunity of finishing the job?”
He leans forward and lowers his voice.
“I believe she murdered Enrico when she had no further use for him and made him sign the will under duress, leaving it all to her. When she learned of the full nature of his finances and realized nothing was left, she turned to the next three assets she had control of.”
My anger is building as he paints a devastating picture, and I have no reason to doubt his assumption.
“She intended to sell the girls to Raphael and walk away with the proceeds.”
Jack nods. “When they ran away to the convent, they were safe from her. She tracked them down and then let slip the conditions of Enrico’s will into the underworld, guaranteeing that every criminal worth his title would be waiting for the convent door to open. Liam Dettori was one step ahead and placed Ludo on the inside. As you know, he almost succeeded, but there is still one problem left.”
“Tiffany.”
I lean back in my seat, my mind racing because Tiffany is the final piece of the puzzle and, as it happens, the most important one. Her marriage is the key that unlocks billions, and where the older two girls were expendable to a point, she is not.
“So, you conclude Raphael intended to sell Rose and Alice to his usual buyers and split the proceeds with Morgan. Tiffany would be a different proposition, though.”
Jack nods, a thoughtful gleam in his eye.
“Yes. She is the golden goose if you like because the last will and testament of Enrico only stands if she is married and pregnant by the time she turns twenty-five. However, Tiffany Zaferelli’s inheritance supersedes both of her sisters because her grandfather is Walter Van der Hudson, the oil billionaire.”
“Therefore, the other two sisters are not really required for the inheritance to fall on Tiffany.”
“No. They only get theirs if Tiffany fulfills the conditions of the will.”
“But how did the three girl’s inheritances combine? I thought they were all tied up separately by their families.”
“When Enrico took charge of their trust funds, he added a codicil of his own. It was done to protect the three sisters, and it’s not the only thing he did.”
“What?”
I lean forward, sensing Jack’s starring moment, and he grins.
“The sisters were given three keys. Nobody knows what they unlock, and I’m guessing this is Enrico’s final card.”
“The keys we left for Joseph to retrieve when he collects Tiffany.”
Jack nods. “It will be interesting to discover what they unlock.”
