Chapter 5 - Nobody spoke.The emergency lights washed the room in red.
Mason stood in the doorway, breathing hard.
My eyes were still fixed on the photograph.
My father.
A woman I'd never seen.
And a handwritten date.
The date matched my birth.
I looked at Dominic.
“Is this true?”
He didn't answer.
“Mason said my mother isn't my biological mother.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“I don't know.”
“That's a lie.”
He looked at me.
“I know the woman in that photograph.”
My heart hammered.
“Who is she?”
“Ana Moretti.”
“Who?”
“Your father's former partner.”
“Mistress?”
“No.”
Dominic paused.
“The woman he planned to run away with.”
My knees felt weak.
“You're saying my father was going to leave my mother?”
“He wasn't your mother.”
I looked at the photograph again.
The woman's face was gentle.
She looked nothing like the mother who raised me.
But something about her eyes felt familiar.
“What happened to her?”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“She disappeared twenty years ago.”
Mason laughed bitterly.
“No.”
Dominic looked at him.
“She was murdered.”
Silence.
Mason's eyes remained on me.
“And Elias knows where her body is.”
My stomach twisted.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw the files.”
“What files?”
“The same files he used to control me.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Why help her now?”
Mason's face hardened.
“Because I realized what he intended to do.”
“What?”
Mason looked at me.
“He didn't want your money.”
I frowned.
“He wanted the account.”
“What account?”
“The account holding your father's ledger.”
Dominic's face changed.
Mason continued.
“The eighty-six thousand dollars is only the beginning.”
He reached into his pocket.
“There's another account.”
He handed Dominic a tiny memory card.
“Four hundred million dollars.”
My breath stopped.
“No.”
Dominic looked at the card.
“Where is it?”
“Offshore.”
“Whose?”
Mason looked at me.
“Claire's.”
I laughed nervously.
“You're insane.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Your father created it the same year you were born.”
I stared at Dominic.
“Did you know?”
He didn't answer.
That hurt more than a yes.
“You knew.”
“I knew there was money.”
“How much?”
“Not four hundred million.”
“Then how much?”
Dominic's voice was quiet.
“Unknown.”
Mason smiled.
“That means you never found it.”
Dominic stared at him.
“You think you understand this.”
“I understand enough to know Elias is coming tonight.”
My blood ran cold.
“What do you mean?”
“He knows Claire is here.”
A distant explosion shook the building.
The floor trembled.
Victor immediately looked toward the window.
“Sir.”
Dominic moved.
“Get everyone out.”
“What's happening?”
“Elias.”
The casino erupted.
People screamed on the gaming floor.
Security alarms blared.
Glass shattered somewhere below.
Dominic grabbed my hand.
“We're leaving.”
“No.”
I pulled back.
“My father."
“Claire.”
“You said his ledger could destroy Elias.”
“Yes.”
“Then I need it.”
“You don't know where it is.”
Mason stepped closer.
“I do.”
Dominic turned.
Mason reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I found this in your father's old office.”
He unfolded it.
A simple drawing.
A floor plan.
My childhood home.
I stared.
“That house was sold years ago.”
“It wasn't.”
“What?”
Mason pointed to a room.
“Your father's study.”
“There was nothing behind the wall.”
Mason smiled.
“There was.”
Dominic grabbed the paper.
“What is this?”
Mason looked at him.
“The key.”
He pointed at my hand.
“Your father didn't give you that key to protect the ledger.”
He stared at me.
“He gave you the key because only you could open the door.”
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Someone was approaching.
Dominic raised his weapon.
“We don't have time.”
Mason backed away.
“I'll lead them.”
“No.”
Dominic grabbed his arm.
“You're coming.”
Mason looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because you're still useful.”
I almost laughed.
This was insane.
My ex.
A mafia boss.
A missing mother.
A hidden ledger.
Hundreds of millions.
And an unknown man coming to kill us.
Then the office doors exploded inward.
Three armed men rushed in.
Dominic pushed me behind the desk.
Gunshots ripped through the room.
Glass shattered.
Victor returned fire.
Mason tackled one attacker.
I crouched behind the marble desk.
Then I saw something under the desk.
A small black device.
A red light blinking.
Recording.
Someone had planted a microphone inside Dominic's office.
I reached for it.
A voice came through the tiny speaker.
Elias.
“Claire.”
I froze.
“I know you're listening.”
My hands shook.
“You have something that belongs to me.”
The speaker crackled.
“Bring me your father's key.”
A pause.
“Or by sunrise, I'll show you exactly how your real mother died.”
The device went silent.
Dominic looked at me.
“Don't listen to him.”
But I was already standing.
I held up the key.
“I want to see my mother.”
Dominic stared.
“Claire, she's dead.”
May you like
“Then I want to see what he has.”
And somewhere beneath the casino, a phone began ringing.
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