Chapter 4 - THE PEOPLE WHO NEVER COMPLAINED
Julia interviewed the household staff without Alessandro present.
That condition offended him more than he expected.
Then he understood why it was necessary.
People who depended on him for wages and housing were unlikely to speak freely while he sat across from them.
Even if he promised otherwise.
Especially if his last name was Moretti.
The first interviews produced little.
Everything was fine.
Mrs. Vella was demanding but fair.
Mr. Bassi in the estate office handled payroll.
Nobody knew about missing money.
Then a groundskeeper asked whether cooperation could cost him his cottage.
Julia guaranteed temporary housing protection during the investigation.
He talked for forty minutes.
After that, others followed.
Deductions for damaged linens.
Deductions for lateness.
Lost bonus money nobody could explain.
Staff told that medical appointments required unpaid days even when paid leave appeared on official payroll statements.
Workers discouraged from using insurance because “claims make premiums go up.”
Most disturbing was not the money.
It was the language.
The boss doesn't like complainers.
Mr. Moretti expects loyalty.
This house takes care of people who take care of the house.
Alessandro heard those phrases in Julia's summary.
Every one sounded plausible.
That was the problem.
He had never personally said most of them.
But he could imagine why people believed he had.
Years earlier, after discovering a senior employee stealing jewelry, Alessandro had told Dominic Bassi, his estate manager:
“I don't want household problems on my desk. Handle them.”
Dominic had.
Apparently for fourteen years.
“What exactly does that mean?” Julia asked.
“It meant I didn't want to hear about broken washing machines and schedule arguments.”
“Did your employees know that?”
Alessandro had no answer.
Sophia woke fully on the third hospital day.
She asked to speak with Julia first.
Not Alessandro.
He respected that.
It took effort.
Two hours later Julia entered the hallway carrying a notebook.
“Sophia says Francesca collected what she called loyalty deductions.”
“For what?”
“Depends who she was talking to. Housing maintenance. Uniform replacement. Emergency fund.”
“Did employees authorize them?”
“Some believed they had no choice.”
“How much?”
“We're still calculating.”
“Did Sophia know where the money went?”
“She thought she did.”
That caught him.
“What does that mean?”
Julia sat beside him.
“Sophia began comparing her pay stub to what actually entered her account. Then she asked two other employees.”
“And?”
“Same discrepancy.”
“She complained.”
“To Francesca first.”
“What happened?”
“Her schedule got worse.”
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
“She then wrote to Dominic Bassi.”
“And?”
“No response.”
Then Sophia prepared copies.
Bank statements.
Schedules.
Photographs of handwritten deduction ledgers.
She put them in an envelope.
Francesca learned about it.
The morning Sophia became seriously ill, Francesca entered the cottage and demanded the envelope.
“Did she hurt Sophia?”
“No evidence of that.”
“Did she take it?”
“Sophia doesn't know. She was feverish.”
Alessandro stood.
“Where is Dominic?”
“At the estate.”
“Bring him here.”
Julia shook her head.
“No.”
He turned.
“This is my house.”
“And this is exactly the problem.”
That stopped him.
Julia continued:
“You keep responding as though the solution to abused power is using more power, only this time in the correct direction.”
Alessandro stared at her.
“What do you suggest?”
“We follow the records.”
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For most of his adult life, people had told Alessandro Moretti that problems were solved by decisive men.
For the first time, he began wondering how many problems had survived precisely because nobody in his house was allowed to be indecisive long enough to ask questions.
