CHAPTER 4 THE CHILD WHO CARRIED HIS BLOOD
For several seconds, Dominic Vale forgot how to breathe.
The entire estate seemed to disappear.
The armed men.
The shattered windows.
The blood on the floor.
Claire's gun.
Nathan's betrayal.
None of it mattered.
There was only one thing left in the world.
Harper.
The little girl stood beside Claire, trembling.
Four years old.
Barefoot.
Her eyes filled with tears.
And she had just said the words that had turned Dominic's entire life upside down.
I think I'm your daughter.
Dominic looked at Mia.
“Is that true?”
Mia's lips trembled.
She couldn't answer.
Dominic's voice became harder.
“Mia.”
She closed her eyes.
Then nodded.
“Yes.”
The word barely escaped her mouth.
Dominic felt as though someone had punched straight through his chest.
He looked at Harper again.
The child had his eyes.
He had noticed it before.
He had simply never allowed himself to think about it.
The same dark eyes.
The same stubborn little frown.
Even the tiny scar above her eyebrow.
A scar Dominic had always assumed came from some childhood accident.
His blood ran cold.
“How?”
Mia began crying.
“I didn't know what to do.”
“You had four years to tell me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“No.”
Mia looked at Claire.
“Of them.”
Claire's face had become unreadable.
Dominic slowly turned toward her.
“You knew.”
Claire didn't respond.
“You knew Harper was my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before you met me.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“You've known for years.”
Claire smiled faintly.
“I've known everything about you for years.”
Dominic stepped forward.
The armed men immediately raised their weapons.
Claire lifted one hand.
“Don't.”
They lowered their guns.
Dominic noticed something.
The men weren't looking at Claire.
They were looking at Nathan.
Nathan was giving them silent signals.
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“So Nathan isn't working for you.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who are these men?”
Claire looked toward the entrance.
“They belong to the man who owns this entire game.”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“Who?”
Before Claire could answer, a voice came from behind the men.
“Me.”
Everyone turned.
An elderly man entered the mansion.
He wore a charcoal suit and carried a silver cane.
His hair was completely white.
His face was thin.
But Dominic recognized him.
His blood froze.
It was impossible.
The man had been dead for seventeen years.
Dominic whispered:
“No…”
Elias stepped backward.
Nathan lowered his weapon.
Claire bowed her head.
The old man smiled.
“Hello, Dominic.”
Dominic stared.
“You're dead.”
The man tapped his cane against the marble floor.
“So everyone believed.”
Dominic's voice became a whisper.
“Father?”
Victor Vale smiled.
“Yes.”
Harper looked at him curiously.
Mia began sobbing.
And Nathan whispered:
“I told you he survived.”
Dominic raised his gun.
Victor didn't move.
“You lied to me.”
Victor nodded.
“I did.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe I was alone.”
“Yes.”
Dominic's finger tightened against the trigger.
“Why?”
Victor looked toward Harper.
“Because I needed you to become strong enough.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Strong enough for what?”
Victor's expression changed.
“To inherit what belongs to you.”
Dominic laughed bitterly.
“My father's empire?”
“No.”
Victor stepped forward.
“Something much larger.”
The old man's eyes moved toward the hidden basement.
“The Vale family was never just a criminal organization.”
Dominic said nothing.
Victor continued.
“For generations, our family controlled information.”
“Money.”
“Politicians.”
“Judges.”
“Police departments.”
“Companies.”
“Governments.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“You built all of that?”
Victor smiled.
“I inherited it.”
“And you want me to inherit it.”
“No.”
Victor looked directly into his son's eyes.
“I want Harper to inherit it.”
Dominic froze.
Harper moved closer to Mia.
Victor continued.
“That's why she was born.”
Dominic's face went blank.
“What did you just say?”
Victor looked at Mia.
“Mia was supposed to disappear after giving birth.”
Dominic's eyes became murderous.
“But she escaped.”
Mia shook her head.
“I didn't escape.”
Victor smiled.
“I allowed her to.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I needed a hiding place.”
“For Harper?”
“For the bloodline.”
Dominic's eyes flicked toward Elias.
“What bloodline?”
Victor's expression darkened.
“Your mother wasn't my first wife.”
Dominic stared.
“I know.”
“No.”
Victor shook his head.
“You know nothing.”
He raised his cane and pointed toward Harper.
“She carries something your mother carried.”
Dominic frowned.
“Genetics?”
Victor laughed.
“Not genetics.”
“Then what?”
“Memory.”
Silence.
Elias suddenly stepped forward.
“Father, stop.”
Victor turned.
“You were always the weak one, Elias.”
Elias's jaw tightened.
Dominic looked between them.
“What memory?”
Victor ignored him.
Instead, he looked at Claire.
“Bring me the key.”
Claire hesitated.
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Now.”
Claire walked forward and handed him the small metal key.
Victor examined it.
Then looked at Dominic.
“Your mother left this for you.”
Dominic shook his head.
“My mother died when I was six.”
“She wasn't your mother.”
Dominic stopped.
“What?”
Victor looked at Mia.
“Tell him.”
Mia shook her head violently.
“No.”
Victor raised his gun.
Mia went silent.
Dominic stepped between them.
“Put the gun down.”
Victor smiled.
“You're finally acting like my son.”
Dominic's eyes remained fixed on him.
“Tell me the truth.”
Victor sighed.
“Your mother was killed because she discovered what Harper's birth meant.”
Dominic's voice cracked.
“What did Harper's birth mean?”
Victor looked at the little girl.
“She wasn't supposed to survive.”
Mia pulled Harper behind her.
Dominic's blood ran cold.
Victor continued.
“Four years ago, three women gave birth in three different hospitals.”
Dominic stared.
“Why?”
“Because we needed to determine which child carried the Vale marker.”
“What marker?”
Victor's eyes gleamed.
“The one that can access the Black Archive.”
Elias looked at Dominic.
“You've heard of it.”
Dominic frowned.
“No.”
“You have.”
Elias pointed toward the underground room.
“Your father showed it to you when you were twelve.”
Dominic's memories suddenly flashed.
A locked room.
His father's study.
A black metal box.
A warning.
Never touch this.
Dominic had forgotten about it.
Or perhaps he had been made to forget.
Victor smiled.
“You're beginning to remember.”
Dominic looked at Harper.
“Why does she matter?”
Victor answered:
“Because the Black Archive can only be opened by one person.”
He pointed toward Harper.
“Her.”
Harper's eyes filled with fear.
Dominic immediately moved toward her.
Victor raised his gun.
“Don't.”
Dominic stopped.
Victor smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
He turned toward the eastern hallway.
“Your entire life has been preparation for this moment.”
Then suddenly…
A gunshot exploded.
Everyone screamed.
Victor staggered.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Dominic spun around.
Nathan was holding a smoking pistol.
Claire stared at him in horror.
Elias shouted:
“Nathan!”
Victor fell to one knee.
Dominic immediately grabbed Harper.
“Stay behind me!”
Another gunshot.
The lights shattered.
Darkness consumed the mansion.
Then a man's voice came through the speakers.
Not Victor.
Not Nathan.
Not Claire.
A voice Dominic had never heard before.
“Good evening, Dominic Vale.”
A pause.
“I've been waiting four years to meet you.”
Dominic looked around.
“Who are you?”
The voice laughed softly.
“The man who ordered Harper's birth.”
Dominic's blood turned to ice.
The voice continued:
“And now that you finally know she's your daughter…”
A pause.
“…I'm coming to take her back.”
Harper suddenly screamed.
Something moved behind Dominic.
A hand grabbed the little girl's shoulder.
Dominic turned.
Too late.
Harper disappeared into the darkness.
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And the last thing Dominic heard before the emergency lights returned was his daughter's terrified voice:
“Daddy!”
