Chapter 6 - The ringing continued.Nobody moved.
It came from beneath the floor.
Slow.
Persistent.
Like someone deliberately wanted us to hear it.
Dominic looked at Victor.
“Find it.”
Victor nodded.
He disappeared through the private exit.
I stared at Dominic.
“You heard that.”
“Yes.”
“Someone planted that recording here.”
“Yes.”
“How did they get into your office?”
Dominic didn't answer.
Mason did.
“Because somebody inside the casino works for Elias.”
Dominic's eyes snapped toward him.
“You're certain?”
“I saw the payment records.”
“Name.”
Mason hesitated.
Dominic grabbed his collar.
“Name.”
Mason whispered it.
“Victor.”
The room went silent.
I looked toward the door.
“Your general manager?”
Mason nodded.
“He's been feeding Elias information for eight months.”
Dominic released him.
“No.”
Mason laughed.
“You still trust the people closest to you.”
A gunshot echoed from the hallway.
Then silence.
Dominic's face became unreadable.
“Stay here.”
He left.
Mason looked at me.
“You need to go.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor isn't the only one.”
I frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“The casino is compromised.”
“By how many people?”
Mason shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then the ringing stopped.
A minute later, Dominic returned.
Alone.
I searched his face.
“Where's Victor?”
“Dead.”
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
“He tried to shoot me.”
Mason didn't look surprised.
“He was working for Elias.”
Dominic walked toward the desk.
He looked at me.
“Where is the key?”
I held it tightly.
“Here.”
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Claire.”
“My father gave it to me.”
“You don't know what you're holding.”
“Neither do you.”
The air between us changed.
Dominic stared at me.
Then he slowly nodded.
“Good.”
He reached into his pocket.
“Then keep it.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You need to learn something.”
“What?”
“In this world, trust is expensive.”
He pointed toward Mason.
“And you've already spent too much.”
Mason looked away.
Dominic turned toward the private elevator.
“We're leaving.”
“Where?”
“Your childhood home.”
I froze.
“My mother sold it.”
“No.”
He pressed the button.
“It was never sold.”
Twenty minutes later, we were outside the old house.
Nothing had changed.
The white paint.
The stone pathway.
The oak tree.
The mailbox my father built himself.
I hadn't seen the place in years.
I stood in the driveway.
“This is impossible.”
Dominic entered the house.
Mason followed.
I came last.
The house smelled exactly as I remembered.
Dust.
Wood.
Old books.
My father's study was at the back.
I walked inside.
Everything had been covered with sheets.
The shelves remained.
The desk remained.
His chair remained.
I touched it.
I remembered sitting there as a child.
My father would pretend I was his assistant.
He would hand me blank pages and tell me they contained the most important numbers in the world.
I smiled despite myself.
Then I noticed something.
A tiny scratch on the floor beside the desk.
I knelt.
The wood panel moved.
There was a keyhole.
I pulled out my father's key.
It fit perfectly.
Click.
A section of the wall opened.
Behind it was a narrow staircase.
Mason whispered.
“Oh my God.”
Dominic looked at me.
“This was hidden for twenty years.”
We descended.
At the bottom was a steel door.
No handle.
Only a fingerprint scanner.
I stared.
“How do we open this?”
Dominic looked at me.
“Try.”
I placed my finger against the scanner.
Red.
Denied.
Mason stepped forward.
“Try again.”
I did.
Green.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with shelves.
Boxes.
Computer drives.
Documents.
Photographs.
And one enormous safe.
On top of the safe was a note.
My name was written across it.
I picked it up.
The handwriting was my father's.
Claire, if you are reading this, they have finally found you.
My hands trembled.
I opened the letter.
Do not trust Dominic.
I slowly looked up.
Dominic was standing across the room.
His face gave nothing away.
Mason read the letter over my shoulder.
“Interesting.”
I continued.
Dominic will tell you he tried to protect me. That is only partly true.
My heart pounded.
Another line.
He did protect you.
Then:
But he is also the reason Elias knows you exist.
I stopped breathing.
Dominic closed his eyes.
I looked at him.
“You told Elias about me?”
“No.”
The final line of the letter appeared beneath my father's signature.
The man you should fear most is the one who saved you.
A sound came from behind the steel door.
Someone was entering the room.
Dominic reached for his gun.
Mason turned.
I stepped backward.
Then a woman's voice came from the darkness.
“Claire?”
I froze.
The voice was trembling.
Familiar.
Impossible.
“Claire, it's me.”
I dropped the letter.
A woman stepped into the light.
Older.
Scarred.
One hand trembling.
But those eyes.
Those were the eyes from the photograph.
My throat closed.
May you like
The woman whispered:
“I'm your mother.”
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