Chapter 8 - Blood on Dominic’s HandsMatteo Moretti looked older than Dominic.
Not by much.
But enough to make the family resemblance unmistakable.
Same eyes.
Same sharp jaw.
Same stillness.
Dominic kept his weapon aimed.
“You're dead.”
Matteo smiled.
“That's what Victor wanted everyone to believe.”
“Why?”
“Because dead men don't inherit.”
Norah looked at Salvatore.
The old patriarch's reaction was strange.
No surprise.
Only shame.
“You knew,” Dominic said.
Salvatore nodded.
Matteo walked closer.
“Father knew I survived.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Then why hide?”
“Because you were supposed to become heir.”
“And you?”
“I was supposed to be the insurance.”
Norah frowned.
“Insurance against what?”
Matteo looked at her.
“Against Dominic becoming dangerous.”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“You're saying my father kept you alive in case I rebelled?”
Matteo laughed.
“No.”
He looked toward Salvatore.
“He kept me alive because I was the one person Victor couldn't control.”
Rosa stepped forward.
“You're too late.”
Matteo shook his head.
“You're the one who's too late.”
He dropped a folder on the desk.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Shipping manifests.
Names.
Dates.
Norah flipped through them.
Everything pointed toward Victor.
But one name appeared repeatedly.
Dominic Moretti.
She looked up.
“What is this?”
Matteo's face was grim.
“Victor spent twenty-six years building a file to prove your father ordered murders.”
Dominic went still.
“Most of it was fake.”
“Most?”
Matteo nodded.
“Some of it isn't.”
Norah stared.
“What did he do?”
Matteo looked at Dominic.
“Your father killed three men.”
“Who?”
“Witnesses.”
Dominic said nothing.
Rosa closed her eyes.
“He thought they were about to expose the family.”
Norah felt the room change.
“So Victor wasn't lying about everything.”
“No,” Matteo said.
“That makes him more dangerous.”
“It makes him believable.”
Dominic looked at Matteo.
“What do you want?”
“Your cooperation.”
“For what?”
“To destroy Victor.”
“Why now?”
“Because he has the ledger.”
Dominic's head snapped up.
“The original?”
Matteo nodded.
“Then the mansion is already compromised.”
He pointed toward the files.
“Victor has men inside.”
Frank stepped forward.
“We searched every guard.”
Matteo smiled.
“Not the servants.”
Norah immediately thought of Elena.
Elena stood near the door.
Pale.
Terrified.
Matteo looked directly at her.
“You know who I'm talking about.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Matteo stepped closer.
“You've been carrying messages for Victor for six years.”
Elena started crying.
Dominic raised the gun.
“Is that true?”
“Only because he has my brother.”
Norah stepped between them.
“Put the gun down.”
Dominic hesitated.
Elena reached into her pocket.
Everyone reacted.
She pulled out a small key.
Not a weapon.
A key.
“I didn't want to do this.”
“What is it?” Norah asked.
“The archive.”
Dominic frowned.
“Victor keeps the original records beneath the family cemetery.”
Matteo's eyes narrowed.
“How did you get this?”
Elena looked at Norah.
“He gave it to me.”
“Who?”
Elena whispered:
“Victor.”
The lights suddenly went out.
A scream came from upstairs.
Then another.
Dominic ran.
Norah followed.
They found Salvatore's bedroom door open.
The old patriarch was gone.
His wheelchair lay overturned.
On the floor was a single message written in blood:
COME ALONE, DOMINIC.
May you like
Beneath it:
OR YOUR FATHER DIES AGAIN.
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