Chapter 13 - The Father in the DarkDominic's world had become a hall of dead people.
His brother.
His mother.
His wife.
Now his father.
Yet Alessandro stood before him breathing.
Older.
Paler.
But alive.
Dominic aimed the gun.
“You died.”
Alessandro smiled.
“So did your mother.”
Dominic's voice shook.
“Where have you been?”
“Watching.”
“Watching what?”
“You become me.”
Dominic fired into the ceiling.
The sound echoed through the vault.
“Don't play games with me.”
Alessandro didn't flinch.
“You think anger makes you free.”
“What makes me free?”
“Destroying the ledger.”
Evelyn raised her weapon.
“Don't listen to him.”
Alessandro smiled.
“You're the investigator.”
“Yes.”
“You still believe evidence matters.”
“It does.”
“No.”
He pointed toward the bookshelves.
“People matter. Fear matters. Loyalty matters.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Did you order Isabelle's murder?”
Alessandro was silent.
That silence was enough.
Dominic stepped closer.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
Isabelle closed her eyes.
Dominic's voice became almost inaudible.
“Why?”
“Because she was going to expose everything.”
“She was my wife.”
“She was a threat.”
“You made me bury her.”
“I made you stronger.”
Dominic's face changed.
“You broke me.”
Alessandro shook his head.
“No. I showed you what you were.”
Dominic looked at the girls.
Olivia was holding Sophie's hand.
Nora stood behind Isabelle.
Alessandro glanced at them.
“You understand now.”
“No.”
“You will.”
He gestured toward the ledger.
“Burn it.”
Dominic stared.
“If you burn that ledger, every secret dies.”
“So do many of your enemies.”
“Exactly.”
“Then what happens?”
“You take control.”
Dominic understood.
The ledger wasn't only evidence.
It was leverage.
Every name represented power.
Every secret represented another person who could be controlled.
That was the legacy his father wanted him to inherit.
Dominic picked up the ledger.
Alessandro smiled.
Then Dominic tore out the first page.
Alessandro's smile vanished.
He tore out another.
Then another.
He dropped the pages into a metal basin.
“I don't want your empire.”
He struck a match.
Alessandro shouted:
“You idiot!”
Dominic dropped the flame.
The ledger caught fire.
Alessandro moved toward him.
Vincent blocked him.
Evelyn raised her gun.
Isabelle pulled the girls behind her.
The vault filled with smoke.
Then every alarm in the mansion activated.
Alessandro looked toward the ceiling.
“You really think destroying one ledger ends this?”
Dominic stared at him.
“No.”
He threw the burning ledger aside.
“It starts it.”
Alessandro smiled again.
“You still don't understand.”
He pulled out a remote.
Pressed one button.
A large screen descended from the ceiling.
The screen showed live footage.
Hospitals.
Banks.
Police stations.
Government buildings.
Everywhere.
Then a single image appeared.
Dominic's daughters.
Captured.
Dominic's face went white.
The footage showed the girls sleeping in another house.
A man stood beside them.
Dominic recognized the location.
The old Romano estate in Italy.
Alessandro said:
“Your daughters were never here.”
Dominic turned toward Isabelle.
“What does that mean?”
She looked horrified.
“Nora.”
“What?”
“Nora has a twin.”
Dominic stared.
A second little girl appeared on the screen.
Same face.
Same age.
Same scar near the eyebrow.
Dominic couldn't breathe.
Alessandro smiled.
“You thought there were three daughters.”
May you like
He looked at Dominic.
“There are four.”
