Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT THE WAREHOUSE BURNED|
Dominic did not raise his voice.
That frightened Robert more than shouting would have.
“Explain the photograph,” Dominic said.
Robert stared at the image.
“I helped Anthony disappear.”
“Did you kill someone to do it?”
“No.”
“Then whose body was in the coffin?”
Robert's hands trembled.
“A man who had already died. He was identified through records Anthony arranged to alter.”
Dominic felt sick.
His father had stood beside an empty coffin while his family mourned a man who was alive somewhere in the city.
“Why would you help him?”
“Your father believed Anthony would testify against the Circle. He thought the disappearance would give him time to gather evidence.”
“And Anthony used that time to build a criminal network.”
“Yes.”
Dominic paced toward the window.
“Did you know Emily was in danger?”
Robert looked away.
“I knew the Circle wanted her to surrender the key.”
“That's not what I asked.”
A long silence followed.
“Yes,” Robert whispered.
Dominic turned.
“You knew?”
“I didn't know they intended to kill her.”
“But you knew they were threatening her.”
Robert's eyes filled with tears.
“Your father asked me to move her somewhere safe. I arranged transportation. The driver was supposed to take her to a protected location.”
“And she died on the highway.”
“Yes.”
“Was the driver working for Anthony?”
“I never found out.”
Dominic struck the wall with his palm.
“Six years of lies. Two years of believing Emily's death was an accident. And you stood beside me at her funeral.”
Robert didn't defend himself.
He simply looked old.
“I thought the past would remain buried.”
“The past took my wife.”
The words came out quietly.
Then Dominic added, “And now it has taken my daughter.”
Robert lifted his head.
“I can help you find Rose.”
Dominic stared at him.
“You will give every document, every name, and every account to the authorities. You will also tell them what you did.”
Robert nodded.
“And if I refuse?”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Then you'll discover how little patience I have left for men who hide behind the word protection.”
Before Robert could answer, Marcus entered with a new report.
“We found the original warehouse records. The fire was started at 11:42 p.m. But the emergency call came from a phone registered to a woman named Claire Donovan.”
Dominic froze.
“Claire?”
Marcus nodded.
“There's more. The phone was used again two days later, after the warehouse fire. The signal came from a motel outside Milwaukee.”
“Was Claire alive?”
“According to the records, yes.”
Dominic looked at Robert.
“You told me Claire disappeared.”
“She did.”
“But she survived the fire.”
Robert nodded slowly.
“I never knew she was involved in the escape.”
Dominic grabbed his coat.
“We're going to Milwaukee.”
The motel had been demolished years earlier, replaced by a convenience store and a parking lot. An elderly clerk who worked nearby remembered a woman who had stayed there under a false name.
“She had a baby with her,” the clerk said. “A little boy. She looked exhausted. A man came to visit her one night.”
“What did he look like?”
“Tall. Gray hair. Expensive clothes.”
Dominic showed him a photograph of his father.
The clerk shook his head.
“No. The man was younger.”
He pointed to a photograph of Anthony.
“That one.”
Dominic's stomach tightened.
Anthony had visited Claire after the warehouse fire.
The clerk continued.
“The woman left the next morning. She gave me an envelope and asked me to keep it safe in case anyone came looking for the boy.”
He retrieved a sealed envelope from a small metal box.
Inside was a letter written by Claire.
If Dominic ever learns the truth, tell him his father tried to save the children. Anthony wanted them separated because together they could expose him.
A second page contained a list of names.
One belonged to Serena.
Another belonged to Victor Sloane.
The third was unfamiliar.
Dr. Samuel Bennett.
Dominic stared at the name.
May you like
Bennett was Emily's maiden name.
And the doctor had signed Rose's birth certificate.
