Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD|
Dominic read the sentence again.
The woman who had been pretending to be dead.
Emily was dead. Claire Donovan had disappeared. Serena's mother had reportedly died when Serena was a teenager.
There was only one person who fit the description.
“Elias Whitmore's wife,” Marcus said.
Dominic looked up.
“Tell me.”
“Official records say she died in a house fire seventeen years ago. But I found a discrepancy. No body was recovered, and the death certificate was issued using a statement from Elias himself.”
“Name?”
“Margaret Whitmore.”
Dominic's mind raced.
If Margaret was alive, she might know why Noah had been hidden, why Emily had died, and who had been moving the pieces behind the scenes.
“Find her.”
Marcus nodded.
They returned to Chicago before midnight.
Dominic placed Rose under the protection of two guards he trusted personally. He instructed Mrs. Alvarez to keep the child away from the music room until the investigation was over.
Rose looked disappointed.
“But that's where Mommy hid the key.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“Then why can't I go there?”
“Because someone might be watching.”
She studied his face.
“Are you scared?”
Dominic considered lying.
Then he crouched beside her bed.
“Yes.”
Rose blinked.
“Of the bad men?”
“Of losing you.”
She threw her arms around him.
“You won't.”
He held her close, wishing promises were as powerful as she believed.
The next morning, Marcus found Margaret Whitmore living under a different name in a small apartment near Lake Michigan. She was seventy years old, thin, and almost completely blind in one eye.
When Dominic entered her living room, she looked at him for several seconds.
Then she began to cry.
“You have your father's eyes.”
Dominic remained standing.
“Are you Margaret Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
“Did you fake your death?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“Because my husband was going to kill me.”
“Elias?”
Margaret's mouth tightened.
“Elias was a weak man who mistook cruelty for strength. Anthony offered him money and power. Elias accepted. When he discovered what Anthony intended to do with the children, he tried to withdraw.”
“Which children?”
“Noah. And another.”
Dominic felt his stomach tighten.
“Another child?”
Margaret nodded.
“Emily was pregnant when she died.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Dominic stared at her.
“That's impossible. Rose was her only child.”
Margaret looked away.
“Emily lost a baby before Rose was born. She was pregnant again, but she hadn't told you yet.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“What happened to that child?”
“I don't know. Emily was trying to get the baby out of the city. She believed someone had discovered her pregnancy.”
“Who?”
Margaret began to tremble.
“Anthony.”
Dominic took a step closer.
“Did he cause the accident?”
“I never saw proof. But I heard Elias tell Anthony that the problem had been taken care of.”
Dominic's hands curled into fists.
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
“Because the police officer who took my statement disappeared two days later. I was told that if I spoke again, my children would die.”
“Your children?”
“Serena and Daniel.”
Dominic went still.
Margaret reached for a glass of water, but her hand shook so badly that Dominic steadied it.
“Serena was never supposed to enter your life. Anthony recruited her because he believed you would trust a beautiful woman more readily than a stranger.”
“Did she know about Rose?”
“She knew Rose was important. She didn't know why.”
“Does she know you're alive?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“Then tell me where Anthony is getting his information.”
Margaret stared at him.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
She gripped his wrist with surprising strength.
“Ask who has been signing your father's name.”
Dominic's phone vibrated.
Marcus had sent a photograph from the mansion's security system.
The image showed a man entering the private study at 3:17 that morning.
The man's face was hidden by a cap, but his right hand was clearly visible.
A black wolf ring gleamed beneath the light.
Dominic enlarged the image.
The intruder was wearing Dominic's father's signet ring on his left hand.
May you like
And the face reflected in the study's glass cabinet belonged to someone Dominic had trusted for fifteen years.
Robert Hale.
