Chapter 9 - The casino had become a war zone.Security guards rushed through hallways.
Guests were being evacuated.
Emergency lights flashed across the marble walls.
Dominic moved quickly.
“Basement exit.”
We followed.
Mason stayed beside me.
I didn't look at him.
I didn't know whether I hated him or still loved him.
Maybe both.
We reached the underground corridor.
Dominic stopped.
“Everyone stays behind me.”
The first gunshot came from the far end.
Dominic returned fire.
Mason dragged me behind a concrete pillar.
Ana crouched beside us.
“Your father knew this would happen.”
I looked at her.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because he spent years preparing.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
She reached into her coat.
She handed me a small envelope.
“This is the last thing he left for you.”
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
A single sentence.
Never trust a man who protects you because he needs you alive.
I looked at Dominic.
He stood at the end of the corridor.
Firing.
Protecting us.
But why?
I couldn't stop thinking about the line.
Maybe my father wasn't talking about Elias.
Maybe he was talking about Dominic.
Mason noticed my expression.
“You don't trust him.”
“I don't know.”
“You shouldn't.”
“What do you know?”
Mason lowered his voice.
“Dominic is hiding something.”
“Everyone is.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“But his secret is bigger than mine.”
Before I could ask more, the corridor lights went out.
A voice echoed through the darkness.
“Claire.”
Elias.
I stepped back.
“Come out.”
Dominic shouted.
“Elias!”
A laugh.
“You still think you can protect her?”
Dominic fired toward the sound.
Nothing.
Then a scream from behind us.
Ana.
I turned.
Two men had grabbed her.
“Mom!”
Dominic chased them.
Mason pulled me in the opposite direction.
“Run!”
“I won't leave her.”
“That's what he wants.”
A door opened.
Mason shoved me inside.
We entered a storage room.
He locked it.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Because Elias knows you'll go after her.”
“She's my mother.”
“And if you die, she dies with you.”
I stared at him.
“How do we get her back?”
Mason looked at me.
“We trade.”
“For what?”
“You.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“That's the problem.”
“What?”
“You are exactly what Elias wants.”
I thought about the trust.
The accounts.
The key.
The fingerprint.
“My father's ledger.”
Mason nodded.
“The ledger contains names.”
“What names?”
“Politicians.”
“Business owners.”
“Police.”
“And mafia.”
I stared.
“How many?”
Mason's answer was quiet.
“Thousands.”
“If Elias gets it…”
“He can blackmail half the city.”
“And if Dominic gets it?”
Mason's expression darkened.
“He can destroy Elias.”
I looked at him.
“Then why would my father trust Dominic?”
“He didn't.”
“What?”
“He trusted him enough to hide the ledger beneath his casino.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does.”
Mason explained.
“Your father knew Dominic would never sell the ledger because it could destroy his own family.”
I stared.
“Then why did he leave the key with me?”
“Because if Dominic ever became corrupt, you could expose him too.”
My blood ran cold.
The door shook.
Someone was outside.
“Claire!”
Dominic.
I opened it.
He stood there alone.
“Where's Ana?”
“Elias has her.”
His eyes darkened.
“We're getting her back.”
Mason stepped out.
“You're going to trade Claire.”
Dominic looked at him.
“No.”
“You don't have another choice.”
“I do.”
Dominic turned to me.
“The vault.”
“What about it?”
“It can be opened without your fingerprint.”
I froze.
“How?”
He looked at Mason.
“His.”
Mason stared.
“No.”
Dominic nodded.
“Elias doesn't know.”
“Why would your system accept my fingerprint?”
“Because you were registered as Claire's spouse in the original security protocol.”
Mason took a step back.
“My fingerprint?”
Dominic nodded.
“Your father planned for that possibility.”
Mason stared at me.
“So the plan always involved me.”
“No.”
Dominic corrected him.
“The plan involved whoever stood beside Claire when the vault opened.”
I looked between them.
“Then what happens when we open it?”
Dominic's expression changed.
“We find out who your father really trusted.”
We reached the hidden vault.
The scanner activated.
My hand.
Then Mason's.
The steel door opened.
Inside was a single table.
On it sat a laptop.
The screen turned on.
A video started automatically.
My father appeared.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Beside him stood Dominic.
And a young Elias.
My father looked into the camera.
“Claire, there's something you must know.”
He paused.
“You were never my only child.”
My entire body froze.
My father continued.
“You have a brother.”
The video ended.
Mason stared at me.
Dominic closed his eyes.
May you like
And from the ceiling speakers came Elias's voice.
“Your brother is alive.”
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