Chapter 3 - THE CLAUSE IN THE FAMILY TRUST
Carlo DeSantis arrived at 11:06 p.m.
He looked insulted by the hour.
Seventy-two.
Silver hair.
Camel coat.
The kind of man who had spent four decades believing inconvenience was a lower-class condition.
He entered Luca’s office and immediately saw Maya, Nina Shah, Rizzo, and outside counsel.
His expression changed.
“Maya.”
She stood.
“Mr. DeSantis.”
“You look pale.”
Luca almost laughed.
Even now.
Politeness as weapon.
“Sit,” Luca said.
Carlo looked at him.
“That tone is unnecessary.”
“Sit.”
Maya’s eyes moved toward Luca.
He caught it.
Control.
Fine.
He corrected:
“Please.”
Carlo noticed that too.
Interesting.
He sat.
Luca placed the Halcyon authorization record on the desk.
“Explain.”
Carlo read.
No visible reaction.
“Old insurance connector.”
“You approved it.”
“Yes.”
“What did it send?”
“Exposure data.”
“Names?”
“No.”
“Schedules?”
“Risk windows.”
“Locations?”
“Coded.”
“Who could decode?”
Carlo looked at Maya.
Then away.
That was answer enough.
“David Collins.”
Silence.
Maya’s face tightened.
Carlo leaned back.
“He designed the tokenization.”
She stared.
“My father told me he audited it.”
“He did.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“He was hired to audit. Then he proposed improvements.”
Maya’s jaw tightened.
“Did he know it could identify Luca’s exact movements?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
Luca watched.
Carlo was either excellent or truthful.
Possibly both.
“Why is the connector still active?”
Carlo frowned.
“It shouldn’t be.”
“Who should have shut it down?”
“Risk operations after we changed insurers.”
“We did not change insurers.”
Carlo looked at him.
“What?”
“Halcyon still covers executive policies.”
“No.”
Silence.
Carlo’s face changed for real.
Luca stared.
“You didn’t know.”
Carlo stood.
“This is impossible.”
Rizzo said:
“Policy renewals have run through a captive broker since five years ago.”
“Which broker?”
“Marrow Risk Partners.”
Carlo swore.
Maya asked:
“Who owns Marrow?”
Rizzo looked at the corporate registry data.
“Thirty percent Halcyon.”
Of course.
Insurance structure disguised continuation.
Carlo sat again.
“Your father changed this after I stepped down.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“Vittorio.”
“Yes.”
Another dead man.
Always.
Maya said:
“My father died four years ago. Vittorio died seven.”
Everyone looked.
Right.
David found the feed after Vittorio died.
So who kept it alive?
Luca leaned forward.
“Succession clause.”
Carlo’s face closed.
There.
“You know.”
Carlo looked at him.
“Yes.”
“What happens if I’m deemed unfit?”
Silence.
Outside counsel opened a family trust document.
Luca had read it.
May you like
Not in years.
Family control agreement.
