Chapter 13 - Nobody spoke.The face on the screen belonged to Elliot Vale.
Dominic's father.
Dead for twelve years.
Yet there he was.
Older.
Alive.
Sitting behind a desk.
Dominic stepped toward the screen.
“You're dead.”
The man smiled.
“That is what I intended everyone to believe.”
Adrian stood frozen.
Julian's hands trembled.
Arthur lowered his gaze.
Clare looked at him.
“You knew.”
Arthur said nothing.
Dominic turned.
“You knew?”
Arthur finally spoke.
“I knew he was alive.”
Dominic's voice became deadly calm.
“How long?”
“Twelve years.”
Dominic stared at him.
“You let me bury an empty coffin.”
Arthur looked away.
“Your father demanded it.”
Dominic laughed quietly.
“All of you obeyed him.”
“He controlled everything.”
“No.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You chose to.”
The screen flickered.
Elliot Vale spoke.
“Enough.”
Dominic looked back.
“You caused my crash.”
“Yes.”
“You sabotaged my recovery.”
“Yes.”
“You used Arthur, Crane and my doctors.”
“Yes.”
Dominic's fists tightened.
“Why?”
His father smiled.
“Because you became weak.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“You broke my leg.”
“No.”
A pause.
“I tested whether you could survive without it.”
Dominic felt sick.
His father continued.
“Power attracts enemies. I needed to know which of my sons could recognize betrayal.”
Adrian shouted:
“You nearly killed him!”
“That's the point.”
Julian stepped forward.
“You used us.”
“Yes.”
“You erased me.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed mother.”
Elliot's face remained emotionless.
“Yes.”
Julian turned away, tears in his eyes.
Dominic looked at the screen.
“And Ellie?”
His father smiled.
“She is the final heir.”
Clare moved in front of her daughter.
“You stay away from her.”
Elliot's expression sharpened.
“She carries a legal inheritance worth more than the organization.”
Dominic froze.
“What inheritance?”
“A trust established twenty years ago.”
“Why her?”
“Because she is outside the bloodline.”
Dominic frowned.
“Outside?”
“Exactly.”
Elliot leaned toward the camera.
“Which means the council cannot claim her shares under the family succession rules.”
Dominic suddenly understood.
Ellie was immune to the mechanism being used against him.
That was why they needed her.
Not as leverage.
As ownership.
His father continued:
“When you became incapacitated, the trust would shift.”
“To Ellie.”
“Yes.”
“Then who controls it?”
The screen displayed a name.
CLARE ROWAN.
Clare stared.
“No.”
Dominic turned toward her.
She looked horrified.
Elliot smiled.
“Daniel understood.”
“Daniel knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
“Because Daniel intended to steal it.”
Clare's eyes widened.
“You're lying.”
“Perhaps.”
The screen went black.
Dominic turned to Julian.
“You know where Daniel is?”
“Yes.”
“Take me.”
They drove to the old hospital.
The building was abandoned.
The corridors smelled of disinfectant and dust.
They found Daniel in a sealed basement room.
Alive.
Weak.
Chained.
Clare ran to him.
“Daniel!”
He looked at Ellie.
Then Clare.
Then Dominic.
“I told you not to bring her.”
Clare began crying.
“You're alive.”
Daniel nodded.
“I had to disappear.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I needed them to believe it.”
“Who are they?”
Daniel looked at Julian.
Then Adrian.
Then Dominic.
“Everyone.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Tell me the truth.”
Daniel looked at Ellie.
“She isn't your daughter.”
Clare gasped.
Dominic froze.
Daniel continued:
“Her mother was your father's daughter.”
Silence.
Julian whispered:
“That would make Ellie…”
Daniel nodded.
“Half-sister to Dominic.”
Dominic stared at Ellie.
The little girl looked back at him, unaware of the storm around her.
Clare stepped forward.
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Your father ordered the mother erased.”
Clare collapsed into tears.
Dominic could barely speak.
“How did you get her?”
“Her mother gave her to me.”
“Why?”
“To keep her out of Elliot's hands.”
Dominic stared at the child.
The girl he had begun protecting was part of the very family that had caused his destruction.
Then Daniel whispered:
“There's one more thing.”
Dominic looked at him.
“The crash wasn't meant to kill you.”
“What then?”
“They needed you alive.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at the dark hallway.
“Because only you can open your father's final vault.”
Dominic frowned.
“I don't know how.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You already did.”
“When?”
Daniel pointed at the wooden latch in Ellie's hand.
“Your father taught the same mechanism to every child in the family.”
Dominic looked at Ellie.
She clicked the latch.
A hidden panel in the hospital wall opened.
Behind it was a vault.
Inside was one envelope.
One photograph.
And a message.
THE FINAL TEST BEGINS WHEN THE BROTHERS STAND TOGETHER.
May you like
Then the vault door slammed shut.
And someone locked it from the outside.
