Chapter 8 - The wedding dress was hidden in the attic.Clare had kept it wrapped in plastic for three years.
Dominic understood why she had never touched it.
It was the dress she had planned to wear for Daniel.
They had never married.
Then Daniel vanished.
The dress became something she couldn't throw away.
Inside the lining was a sealed envelope.
Dominic opened it.
A photograph fell out.
Daniel.
Alive.
Standing beside a hospital bed.
And lying in that bed was Dominic.
The photograph had been taken ten weeks earlier.
During his rehabilitation.
Dominic stared.
“That can't be possible.”
Adrian took the photograph.
“Look behind you.”
Dominic did.
On the wall was a clock.
A calendar.
A reflection in the glass.
And behind the camera stood a man.
Arthur Voss.
Dominic's eyes hardened.
Arthur had been present.
The photograph was proof.
But there was something stranger.
The date was three days before Dominic's crash.
The photo had been staged.
Adrian said:
“Daniel was trying to warn you.”
Clare whispered:
“Then why did he disappear?”
“He didn't disappear.”
Adrian placed another photograph on the table.
Daniel was being dragged into a car.
By two men.
One of them wore a Vale security uniform.
Vincent looked at Dominic.
“That uniform wasn't from my current team.”
“No,” Adrian said. “It belonged to your father's old security unit.”
Dominic frowned.
“My father?”
Adrian nodded.
“Some of his men were never dismissed.”
Dominic stared.
“Where are they now?”
“One works for Arthur.”
“One?”
“There are three.”
Before Dominic could ask more, the estate alarm sounded.
Vincent rushed to the door.
“Movement at the eastern gate.”
Dominic stood.
“Who?”
Vincent listened to his earpiece.
Then went still.
“Your council members.”
Dominic frowned.
“All six?”
“All six.”
“Why?”
“They're trying to leave.”
Dominic looked at Adrian.
Adrian smiled without humor.
“They know the trap is collapsing.”
The council members were stopped at the gate.
Each protested.
Each demanded legal representation.
Each claimed Dominic was acting irrationally.
Dominic looked at them through the security monitor.
Then he noticed one member.
Gideon Shaw.
He wasn't arguing.
He was smiling.
Dominic zoomed in.
Gideon's wrist.
A silver ring.
The same design.
Dominic's voice dropped.
“Bring him inside.”
Gideon entered the office.
He looked calm.
“You wanted to see me?”
Dominic placed the ring photograph on the desk.
“Where did you get that?”
Gideon glanced down.
“It's my grandfather's.”
“Who gave it to you?”
He smiled.
“My father.”
“Where does your father live?”
Gideon's smile faded.
“He died.”
Dominic leaned closer.
“Everyone around me seems to have dead fathers.”
Silence.
Then Gideon suddenly laughed.
“You really still don't understand.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
Gideon leaned back.
“The vote isn't about controlling the organization.”
“We know.”
“No.”
Gideon's smile returned.
“You think someone wants to replace you.”
He tapped the desk.
“They don't.”
Dominic stared.
“They want you to authorize something.”
“What?”
Gideon looked at Adrian.
Then at Clare.
Then Ellie.
“The transfer.”
Dominic frowned.
“Transfer of what?”
Gideon whispered:
“Ownership.”
Vincent stepped forward.
“Of the company?”
Gideon shook his head.
“Of the Vale estate.”
Dominic froze.
Gideon continued.
“Your medical incapacity is merely the legal trigger.”
“Who receives it?”
Gideon smiled.
“Whoever controls the succession trust.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“That's why Arthur needs Dominic incapacitated.”
Gideon nodded.
“And that's why Arthur isn't the real threat.”
Dominic looked toward the glass wall.
Arthur stood in the corridor.
Watching.
Then Arthur raised one hand.
A cell phone in his palm.
Dominic's phone immediately rang.
He answered.
Arthur spoke.
“Your brother is telling you the truth.”
Dominic stared.
“Then why are you smiling?”
Arthur's voice became almost cheerful.
“Because you still haven't figured out who wrote the trust.”
The call ended.
Dominic looked at Adrian.
Adrian was already pale.
“Our father didn't write it.”
Dominic whispered:
“Then who did?”
A voice came from behind them.
“Me.”
May you like
Everyone turned.
Clare stood in the doorway.
Related Stories
