Chapter 5 - Vanessa closed the door behind her.For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
The second key hung from her fingers.
Dominic stood outside in the hall, ordering security to lock down the mansion.
I kept my eyes on her.
“Where did you get it?”
She wiped her face.
“Daniel gave it to me.”
“When?”
“The night before he died.”
“Why?”
“He knew someone inside Moretti Enterprises was planning to kill him.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
That honesty unsettled me.
Vanessa looked at the metal case.
“He told me never to open it unless his daughter came back.”
My chest tightened.
“You knew I'd come back?”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“He believed you would.”
Dominic entered.
He saw the key.
His face hardened.
“You had it all this time.”
“I didn't know what it opened.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“Of everyone.”
She looked at me.
“Especially him.”
Dominic stopped.
“Who?”
Vanessa's eyes shifted toward the hallway.
“Elias.”
The name hung there.
Then the lights flickered.
Dominic immediately reached for his weapon.
The mansion lost power.
Emergency lights glowed red.
I felt something change.
The atmosphere.
The movement outside.
Someone was coming.
Dominic said, “Stay behind me.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Avery.”
“I've spent eight years hiding behind people.”
I stepped beside him.
“I'm done.”
The office door burst open.
Two armed men entered.
The first rushed Dominic.
The second came toward me.
He expected a scared delivery driver.
He got a fighter.
I caught his wrist.
Twisted.
He screamed.
His weapon fell.
I drove my shoulder into his chest.
He hit the desk.
The second man struck Dominic.
They collided against the wall.
I grabbed the fallen weapon and kicked it away.
Then I saw something on the man's wrist.
A black tattoo.
Three vertical lines.
My father's old notebook contained a symbol exactly like it.
I froze.
The attacker noticed.
“You recognize it.”
I stared at him.
“Where did you get that?”
He smiled.
“Ask your father.”
Then he slammed his head into the desk before Dominic could restrain him.
Dead.
Suicide.
Dominic cursed.
“That's what they've been doing.”
“What?”
“Cleaning their own people.”
Vanessa opened the metal case.
Inside was a USB drive.
And a handwritten letter.
She handed me the letter.
I unfolded it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My father's.
Avery,
If you're reading this, I failed to keep you away from this world.
The truth is simple.
I wasn't killed because I discovered a criminal operation.
I was killed because I discovered who was protecting it.
I stared at the page.
My hands trembled.
Dominic read over my shoulder.
The letter continued.
There is one person I trusted completely.
One person who knows where the ledger is hidden.
But I cannot write his name.
Because if this letter is found, he will already be watching you.
My eyes moved lower.
Find the place where we first trained.
Beneath the floor.
Three knocks.
Then silence.
The last line made my heart stop.
Do not trust Dominic Moretti until he tells you what happened to your father's final payment.
I slowly lowered the letter.
Dominic's face was unreadable.
“What final payment?”
He didn't answer.
“Dominic.”
Nothing.
“You knew.”
“I knew Daniel was paid.”
“By whom?”
He looked away.
My voice became hard.
“You knew my father took money.”
“No.”
“You just said he was paid.”
“He was.”
“For what?”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“Protection.”
“Whose?”
He didn't answer.
I took a step toward him.
“What happened?”
Before he could respond, every phone in the mansion began ringing simultaneously.
One after another.
Security.
Staff.
Guests who hadn't yet left.
All of them.
Dominic pulled his phone from his pocket.
A video had been sent.
He opened it.
My mother appeared on screen.
Sitting in a chair.
Alive.
Her hands tied.
A masked man stood behind her.
My blood went cold.
The voice on the recording was calm.
“Bring Avery to the old Carter gym.”
Dominic stared at the screen.
The message continued.
“Bring the second key.”
Then the masked man leaned toward my mother.
“And come without Dominic.”
The video ended.
I looked at Dominic.
He immediately said, “You're not going.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“My mother is there.”
“They want you.”
“I know.”
“They want the key.”
“I know.”
“And they want me out.”
I looked at him.
“Exactly.”
Dominic realized it at the same moment.
“They don't want you there,” I said.
“They're afraid of what I'll find if you go alone.”
He looked at the letter.
Then at the key.
Then at me.
“What did your father teach you about traps?”
I answered:
“They work best when the victim thinks they're choosing the path.”
Dominic stared for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
“Good.”
He walked toward the weapons room.
I followed.
“Where are you going?”
“To break their trap.”
I stopped him.
“No.”
He turned.
“I go alone.”
He stared.
“You're serious.”
“Yes.”
“You think I won't follow?”
“I know you will.”
I handed him the second key.
He looked down.
Then back at me.
“For the first time tonight,” I said, “I want them to think they're in control.”
Dominic's smile disappeared.
Because he finally understood.
May you like
I wasn't trying to survive anymore.
I was hunting.
Related Stories
