Chapter 13
The Bellandi audit spread beyond Serena.
Victor had expected that.
He still disliked it.
Old family-office practices were loose.
Relatives approved personal expenses through assistants.
Vendor conflicts had not always been disclosed.
One cousin’s catering company had received work without competitive bids.
A senior household employee had allowed temporary access credentials to remain active for months.
Victor himself had verbally approved large expenses that should have been documented.
None equaled Serena’s deliberate scheme.
All made Serena’s scheme easier.
So Victor changed the system.
No spouse, fiancée, sibling, cousin, or capo gained purchasing authority through social status.
Written limits.
Individual logins.
Related-party disclosure.
Dual approval above specified thresholds.
Independent audit rights.
Temporary permissions expired automatically.
One older relative complained:
“We survived forty years without treating cousins like strangers.”
Victor answered:
“We also survived forty years with people signing things they weren’t authorized to sign.”
The argument ended.
Lily’s recovery was quieter.
Her hair grew.
For several months she refused salon chairs.
No one forced her.
Nora trimmed only the ends while Lily stood in the bathroom at home.
Then Lily decided she did not want anyone cutting it at all.
Victor agreed.
Six months later she surprised him.
“I want it even.”
He looked at her.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
They visited a child-friendly salon recommended by her therapist.
Lily sat in Victor’s lap for the first five minutes.
Then she told him:
“You’re squishing me.”
He moved.
The stylist showed Lily every tool before using it.
No clippers.
Only scissors.
Lily chose the length.
When it was finished, she looked in the mirror.
“Looks like me.”
Victor felt something tighten in his throat.
“That’s generally the goal.”
She rolled her eyes despite being only five.
A promising development.
The wedding photographs never existed.
The photographer returned every disputed payment connected to unperformed services after the contracts were reconciled.
Victor kept one image from that day.
Not from the bridal suite.
A photograph taken that morning of Lily eating cereal in her flower-girl dress because she refused to change clothes before breakfast.
Hair untouched.
Milk on her chin.
May you like
Victor framed it in his office.
No perfect wedding image had ever looked better.
