Chapter 14 - The Night Dominic Evans Chose FamilyThe medical facility stood on the edge of the harbor, surrounded by rusted fencing and abandoned shipping containers.
Dominic's men took positions along the perimeter.
Marco stood beside him in the rain.
“There's a main entrance, two loading bays, and a service tunnel connecting the basement to the old drainage system.”
“Where's Ellie?”
“Second floor, according to the last transmission we intercepted.”
“And Elena?”
“Same building.”
Dominic checked his weapon.
“Get them out first.”
Marco nodded.
“What about Victor?”
Dominic looked toward the building.
“I'm done letting him choose what matters.”
They moved at 12:18 a.m.
The first guard never saw them approach. Two more were intercepted near the loading bay. Marco's team entered through the service corridor while Dominic headed for the stairs.
He heard shouting on the second floor.
A door slammed.
Then a small voice cried out.
“Don't touch my mommy!”
Dominic ran.
He reached the corridor just as a guard dragged Elena toward the stairwell. She fought desperately, but her strength was fading.
Dominic struck the guard aside and caught Elena before she fell.
“Where is Ellie?”
Elena grabbed his jacket.
“Lower room. Victor took her downstairs. He's going to leave with her through the tunnel.”
Dominic helped Elena toward Marco's team.
“Get her somewhere safe.”
Then he descended.
The lower corridor was dark and damp. Pipes ran along the ceiling, and water dripped through cracks in the concrete.
At the far end stood Victor.
Ellie was beside him, her small hand trapped in his grip.
Victor held a gun in his other hand.
“Stop there, brother.”
Dominic halted.
“Let her go.”
Victor smiled.
“Still giving orders. It must be exhausting, believing the whole world will obey you.”
“I'm not here for the world.”
Dominic looked at Ellie.
“I'm here for my daughter.”
Ellie's eyes widened.
Victor's smile vanished.
“You know.”
Dominic nodded.
“Yes.”
“And now you understand what she represents.”
“She represents nothing you have the right to claim.”
Victor tightened his grip.
“She represents everything you took from me.”
Dominic stared at the man who shared his face.
“You think I stole your life. I didn't even know you existed.”
“You had Father's name.”
“I didn't choose that.”
“You had his love.”
“I didn't know about you.”
“You had the empire.”
Dominic's voice softened.
“You could have had a family.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“Family? You mean the woman who lied to you? The sister who hid your daughter? The child whose birth was falsified?”
Dominic did not look away.
“They were protecting her from you.”
“They were protecting her from the truth.”
“What truth?”
Victor pointed the gun toward Ellie.
“That our father built this empire on blood. That the men we called allies bought their positions through murder and blackmail. That the family everyone worshipped was a lie.”
Dominic nodded slowly.
“I know.”
Victor faltered.
“What?”
“I found the ledger. I heard the recording. I've seen the payments. I know what Father did, and I know what you helped him do.”
For the first time, Victor looked uncertain.
Dominic took one careful step forward.
“The difference between us is that I intend to end it.”
“You'd destroy everything?”
“If it means Ellie can grow up without being hunted, yes.”
Victor shook his head.
“You'd throw away your entire empire for a child you met yesterday?”
Dominic looked at Ellie.
She was trembling, but she was watching him.
“Yesterday, she asked me to help her ride a bicycle. She didn't ask for my money. She didn't ask for my name. She asked me to be there.”
His voice broke slightly.
“So that's what I'm going to do.”
Victor stared at him.
Then he looked at Ellie.
“Tell him, sweetheart. Tell him who you want to go with.”
Ellie took a shaky breath.
She looked at Victor.
“You told me you were my family.”
“I am.”
“You said he didn't want me.”
Victor said nothing.
“But he came.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“He came every time.”
For several seconds, Victor seemed unable to move.
Then he raised his gun.
Dominic lunged.
The shot exploded through the corridor. Concrete shattered beside Dominic's shoulder, and Ellie screamed.
Marco burst through the stairwell door.
Victor staggered backward, losing his grip on the child.
Dominic caught Ellie and pulled her against his chest.
“I've got you!”
She clung to him, sobbing.
“Daddy!”
He held her tightly as Marco disarmed Victor and forced him to his knees.
Victor struggled, but the fight had gone out of him.
Dominic looked down at his brother.
“You wanted me to understand what it felt like to lose everything.”
Victor stared back.
“You will. When the authorities find the ledger, your empire is finished.”
Dominic glanced toward Marco.
“The evidence has already been delivered.”
Victor's face went pale.
“You wouldn't.”
“I did.”
Dominic had sent copies of the ledger, the recordings, and the medical records to federal investigators before entering the building. He had also arranged for the financial accounts connected to the scheme to be frozen.
He was not going to protect his empire at the cost of his daughter.
Victor looked at Ellie.
Then he began to laugh.
“You think this ends here?”
Dominic stood, carrying Ellie in his arms.
“No.”
He turned toward the stairs.
“It ends when the people you hurt get to live without being afraid of you.”
As Marco led Victor away, a final message came over the radio.
The building's security system had detected a fire in the basement.
Someone had activated the emergency destruction mechanism.
Dominic looked down the corridor.
Flames flickered behind a steel door.
Victor had tried to destroy the evidence one last time.
Dominic tightened his hold on Ellie.
He had saved his daughter.
May you like
But Elena was still missing from the evacuation team.
And as the building began to shake, he realized there was one last person he had promised to bring home.
