Chapter 10 - I stared at the blank screen.“My brother?”
Dominic didn't move.
Mason looked at him.
“You knew.”
Dominic slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
My voice cracked.
“How long?”
“Since before you were born.”
“Who is he?”
“I don't know where he is.”
“You're lying.”
“I am not.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the last people who searched for him died.”
My stomach twisted.
Elias's voice returned over the speaker.
“I can tell you where he is.”
I looked upward.
“Show yourself.”
“Not yet.”
The speakers crackled.
“First, I want the ledger.”
Dominic shouted.
“You'll never get it.”
“I don't need the ledger.”
Elias laughed.
“I need Claire to open it.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“You can't control her.”
“Can't I?”
The vault door locked.
Every exit slammed shut.
A gas began hissing from the vents.
Mason swore.
“Gas!”
Dominic searched the room.
“Emergency valve.”
“Where?”
“Behind the server.”
Mason ran.
I grabbed my shirt and covered my mouth.
Dominic smashed the emergency panel.
Nothing.
“It's disabled.”
Mason looked at him.
“Then we're dead.”
Dominic turned toward me.
“No.”
He pointed to the desk.
“Your father built this room.”
“What?”
“There has to be another exit.”
I searched.
Nothing.
Then I remembered.
My father used to tell me that the safest rooms always had two doors.
I looked beneath the table.
A small latch.
I pulled it.
A panel opened.
A tunnel.
Dominic smiled.
“Of course.”
We crawled inside.
Behind us, the vault filled with white gas.
The tunnel was narrow.
Cold.
Dark.
After several minutes, we emerged beneath an abandoned warehouse.
Mason looked around.
“Where are we?”
Dominic answered.
“Three blocks from the casino.”
I looked at him.
“How did your casino connect to this?”
He shook his head.
“It didn't.”
“What?”
“This tunnel is older than the casino.”
Mason stared.
“Then who built it?”
Dominic looked at me.
“Your father.”
A phone rang.
This time it wasn't beneath us.
It came from the warehouse office.
Dominic approached carefully.
He picked up the receiver.
No voice.
Just an audio recording.
My mother's voice.
“Claire.”
I froze.
“Come to the old train station.”
A pause.
“Bring the key.”
Then another voice.
My brother.
“Come alone.”
The recording ended.
Mason whispered.
“This is a trap.”
“I know.”
Dominic looked at me.
“You're not going.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“My mother is alive.”
“So is your brother.”
“You heard them.”
“I also heard Elias.”
I looked at him.
“What would you do?”
Dominic didn't hesitate.
“I would burn the entire city before giving him you.”
I stared.
Mason looked away.
The words hurt for reasons I didn't understand.
We returned to the casino through a hidden entrance.
Dominic called his remaining security team.
“Lock down the city.”
Mason interrupted.
“That won't work.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Explain.”
“Elias doesn't need to enter the city.”
“What?”
“He already owns people inside it.”
Mason took out his phone.
He showed us a list.
Politicians.
Police commanders.
Judges.
Bankers.
Casino employees.
Dozens of names.
Some had photographs.
Some had amounts beside them.
Some had dates.
I recognized one.
My mother's doctor.
I stared.
“What is he doing on the list?”
Mason swallowed.
“He signed the death certificate.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Your mother was officially declared dead twenty years ago.”
I shook my head.
“Then how is she alive?”
Mason pointed to another name.
A private investigator.
“She disappeared.”
“Who helped her?”
He pointed to the final name.
Dominic.
I turned.
“You helped my mother disappear?”
Dominic looked exhausted.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Elias wanted her dead.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if you knew, you'd search for her.”
“And Elias would find her.”
“Yes.”
I stared.
For the first time, Dominic's secrets made sense.
Not all of them.
But enough.
Then I saw another name on Mason's list.
Claire Bennett.
Next to it was a number.
$400,000,000
Below it:
TRANSFER STATUS: PENDING
I stared.
“What does pending mean?”
Mason's face turned pale.
“It means the account is waiting for one final authorization.”
“What authorization?”
He looked at me.
“Your death.”
I froze.
Dominic reached for my hand.
“No.”
Mason continued.
“Once Claire is legally declared dead, the trust transfers automatically.”
I whispered:
“That was Mason's plan.”
“No.”
Mason looked toward the casino windows.
“That was Elias's plan.”
A phone rang behind us.
Dominic answered.
A man's voice whispered:
“You're too late.”
Then a second voice came through.
My mother's.
“Claire…”
The call cut out.
I looked at Dominic.
“What did she say?”
May you like
He stared at the phone.
“She said she was already dead.”
Related Stories
