Chapter 7 - Marina’s Marriage Made Helena More Dangerous
Helena had opposed the marriage from the beginning.
Everyone assumed it was class prejudice.
Marina came from an ordinary family.
No inherited wealth.
No society connections.
No prestigious surname.
Helena called her “sweet but unsuitable.”
Damiano ignored her and married Marina anyway.
What nobody knew was that Helena had another reason to keep Marina out of the family.
Proximity.
Once Marina lived inside Bellini homes, attended family meetings, and gained access to old storage, the chance increased that she would stumble across Carlo’s trust records.
So Helena worked constantly to make Marina feel like a guest.
Not family.
She assigned her pointless household obligations.
Criticized the way she dressed.
Excluded her from financial discussions.
Insisted certain archives were “Bellini business.”
And whenever Marina wandered too close to the old warehouse records—
Helena redirected her.
Until one month earlier.
A retired family accountant sent Marina a birthday card.
Inside he wrote:
Carlo would be pleased to see how his original beneficiary grew into the family after all.
Marina did not understand.
Helena did.
She intercepted the card before Damiano saw it.
But from that moment, she knew the old records had become dangerous.
She started searching.
When she could not find the missing blue folder herself—
May you like
she forced Marina to help search for the evidence of her own stolen money.
---
