Chapter 4 - For several seconds, I couldn't move.“You?”
Dominic didn't deny it.
“Yes.”
“What do you mean you were sent to me?”
“I was seventeen.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Twenty-two years ago, your father was working with three people.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
“Elias?”
“And another man named Rafael Costantini.”
I frowned.
“Costantini?”
“My uncle.”
I stared at him.
“Your family was involved in organized crime.”
Dominic's expression remained calm.
“That depends on who tells the story.”
“Tell me your version.”
He sat down.
“My father ran legal businesses.”
“Legal?”
“Mostly.”
That answer chilled me.
“Your father helped him move money,” Dominic continued. “He created legitimate records for illegitimate transactions.”
“My father was a criminal?”
“Your father was trying to survive.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“He eventually tried to leave.”
“And Elias?”
“Elias wanted him dead.”
My throat tightened.
“Did Elias kill my father?”
Dominic didn't answer.
He looked away.
That was enough.
I stood.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You were there when he died?”
“Yes.”
I slapped my hand against the desk.
“You knew for years?”
“I didn't know how much of the truth had reached you.”
“You could have told me.”
“And what would you have done?”
“Gone to the police.”
“You think the police would have protected you?”
His voice finally sharpened.
“They couldn't even protect the evidence your father left behind.”
I stared.
“What evidence?”
Dominic opened a locked drawer.
Inside was a small metal key.
He placed it on the desk.
“This belonged to your father.”
I recognized it immediately.
My father used to carry it on a chain around his neck.
I reached for it.
“He told me never to lose this.”
“What did it open?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic looked at me.
“Neither did I.”
“Then why do you have it?”
“Because your father gave it to me the night before he died.”
My heart pounded.
“What did he tell you?”
Dominic's voice became almost a whisper.
“He said, 'When she's old enough, keep her away from us.'”
I looked at the key.
“What changed?”
“You met Mason.”
I looked up.
Dominic's eyes were dark.
“Mason wasn't chosen randomly.”
“Elias selected him.”
“Yes.”
“To marry me.”
“Yes.”
“To get the trust.”
“Yes.”
“But the trust only activates if I marry him.”
Dominic nodded.
“And if you married him, the account would freeze.”
“Then what does Elias gain?”
Dominic's answer came slowly.
“Control.”
I frowned.
“Control of what?”
“Your father's ledger.”
I froze.
“My father had a ledger?”
“A physical record of every transaction.”
“Why would he leave something like that?”
“Because it could destroy Elias.”
My fingers tightened around the key.
“Where is it?”
“We don't know.”
The room went silent.
Then Victor entered.
“Sir.”
Dominic looked up.
“What?”
“We found the warehouse.”
“What warehouse?”
“The one Mason used.”
Dominic stood.
Victor continued.
“Police are already there.”
“That fast?”
“There was a fire.”
My stomach dropped.
“Is Mason there?”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
“What was inside?”
Victor hesitated.
“Three hard drives.”
“Anything else?”
“A photograph.”
He placed it on the desk.
It showed me.
Walking into the casino six months earlier.
Then another.
Me leaving my apartment.
Then another.
Me sleeping.
My blood ran cold.
“How long have they been watching me?”
Victor didn't answer.
Dominic stared at the photographs.
Then he looked at me.
“Longer than Mason.”
I swallowed.
“Who took these?”
Before he could answer, the lights went out.
The entire office fell into darkness.
A second later, emergency lights flashed red.
Victor drew a weapon.
Dominic moved in front of me.
“Stay behind me.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
One.
Two.
Three.
Someone stopped outside the door.
Then came a soft knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Nobody moved.
Dominic raised his weapon.
“Who is it?”
A man's voice answered.
“Claire?”
I knew that voice.
Mason.
I stepped forward.
Dominic caught my arm.
“No.”
Mason spoke again.
“Claire, please.”
Dominic whispered.
“It's a trap.”
The door opened.
Mason stood there.
Blood covered his shirt.
His hands were shaking.
He looked at me.
“I didn't steal your money.”
He held out a small brown envelope.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Dominic aimed his weapon.
“Put it down.”
Mason ignored him.
“Claire, your father left you something.”
He dropped the envelope.
A photograph slid across the floor.
I picked it up.
My father was standing in front of a bank.
Beside him was a young woman.
I didn't know her.
Mason whispered:
“She gave birth to you.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Mason looked directly at me.
“Your mother isn't your biological mother.”
Dominic went completely still.
May you like
Mason smiled sadly.
“And Elias knows where your real mother is.”
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