Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the PortraitDominic moved toward the library with the gun raised.
Grace kept the girls behind her.
“Stay here.”
“No,” Grace said.
He looked over his shoulder.
She was already moving.
“Those children know something you don't,” she whispered.
Dominic hated hearing the truth from a housekeeper.
He hated it even more because she was right.
The library door stood open.
Moonlight spilled across the carpet.
Nothing moved.
Dominic swept the room.
Bookshelves.
Desk.
Fireplace.
Portrait.
Empty chair.
Then he noticed the window.
Open.
Curtains moving in the wind.
He approached it.
The window latch was freshly scratched.
Someone had climbed in.
Someone who had known exactly where to enter.
Dominic turned toward the portrait.
He lifted it from its hooks.
Behind the frame was a narrow compartment.
Empty.
Only a rectangle of dust remained where something had once been stored.
“The book,” Sophie whispered behind him.
Dominic spun.
“How did you get in here?”
Sophie looked at Grace.
Grace crouched beside her.
“Your mother brought them here once.”
“When?”
“Three days before she died.”
Dominic stared.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because they were terrified.”
“Of what?”
Grace's eyes went toward the hallway.
“Of someone who worked for you.”
That answer hit harder than any bullet.
Dominic's organization had dozens of men.
Drivers.
Security.
Accountants.
Fixers.
People who obeyed him because they were paid to.
People who obeyed him because they were afraid to do otherwise.
One of them had murdered Isabelle.
One of them might have spent fourteen months living under Dominic's roof.
He stepped toward Grace.
“Name.”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“You don't give me conditions.”
Grace met his gaze.
“Then you will kill the wrong man.”
Silence.
Dominic almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead he asked, “What do you know?”
Grace reached into her pocket and removed a tiny brass key.
She placed it in his palm.
“Your wife gave this to me.”
Dominic stared at it.
“Where is the lock?”
Grace walked to the far bookshelf.
She pulled a book.
Nothing happened.
Another.
Still nothing.
Then she turned one with a faded blue cover.
A section of the shelf clicked.
A drawer opened.
Inside was a black ledger.
Dominic's heart sank.
He recognized the handwriting.
Isabelle's.
He opened the book.
Names.
Dates.
Bank transfers.
Initials.
Locations.
Several pages were marked with red circles.
One name appeared over and over.
VINCENT VALE.
Dominic's face went still.
Vincent Vale had been one of his most trusted lieutenants for ten years.
He had stood beside Dominic at funerals.
At weddings.
At business meetings.
He had held Dominic's daughters when they were babies.
Dominic turned another page.
There it was.
A payment made forty-eight hours before Isabelle's death.
Recipient: V.V.
Amount: two million dollars.
Purpose: Preschool surveillance.
Dominic felt the room tilt.
“He was watching my wife.”
Grace nodded.
“But that's not the worst part.”
She turned the page.
A handwritten note appeared beneath the transaction.
If she finds the original ledger, remove the children too.
Dominic's blood turned cold.
“What original ledger?”
Grace looked at him.
“The one Isabelle discovered.”
A floorboard creaked behind them.
Dominic turned instantly.
Nothing.
Then Olivia screamed.
“Daddy!”
Dominic ran.
A shadow moved across the upstairs balcony.
He fired one shot.
The figure vanished.
Dominic rushed through the hall.
He reached the balcony.
Empty.
Below him, Grace was holding Nora.
Sophie pointed toward the foyer.
A small silver object lay on the floor.
Dominic walked downstairs.
It was a watch.
Silver.
Still warm.
He picked it up.
On the back were engraved initials.
V.V.
Grace came down the stairs.
Dominic stared at the watch.
“Vincent is here.”
Grace shook her head.
“No.”
Dominic looked at her.
“He wanted you to think he was.”
Before Dominic could answer, his phone rang.
Vincent.
Dominic answered.
“Where are you?”
Vincent's voice sounded relaxed.
“Your question is interesting.”
“Where are you?”
A pause.
Then Vincent said:
“Standing outside your house.”
Dominic looked toward the windows.
“Then come inside.”
Vincent laughed softly.
“I already did.”
The call ended.
May you like
Every light in the mansion flickered back on.
And the girls began screaming.
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