Chapter 6 - SERENA'S REAL NAME|
Dominic barely slept.
By dawn, his security team had traced Serena's car to an abandoned parking garage on the South Side. The vehicle was empty, the driver's door open, and the keys still in the ignition.
There was no sign of Serena.
Marcus placed a printed photograph on the desk.
“We found this in the trunk.”
It showed Serena standing beside a younger man outside a public library. The man had dark hair, a crooked smile, and the same green eyes she possessed.
Dominic recognized him from the necklace.
“Her brother?”
“Possibly. His name is Daniel Vale. He disappeared eighteen months ago.”
“Any criminal record?”
“Nothing serious. He worked as a financial analyst before he vanished.”
Dominic studied the photograph.
“Find him.”
Marcus hesitated.
“There's a complication.”
“There's always a complication.”
“Daniel Vale was employed by a company that handled accounts for Victor Sloane.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
The same Victor who had allegedly recruited Serena. The same financier whose name appeared in records connected to the Black Wolf Circle.
“Then we start with Sloane.”
Marcus shook his head.
“His offices are already being watched by federal investigators. If we approach him directly, he may disappear.”
Dominic looked toward the window.
“Then we find out what he fears losing.”
An hour later, Robert returned with an update from an old contact in the court system. Victor Sloane had requested an emergency hearing to freeze several accounts belonging to the Vitale family.
The request was unusual.
The timing was worse.
Dominic's businesses had been under scrutiny for years, but no one had previously attempted to seize control of their financial assets so quickly.
“Anthony is using the investigation to weaken us,” Marcus said.
“Or someone wants me distracted while they move the money.”
Robert placed another document on the desk.
“There's a company registered in Delaware under the name Rose Bennett Holdings.”
Dominic frowned.
“Rose is five.”
“Exactly. The company was registered six months ago using forged documents. It controls several accounts worth approximately twelve million dollars.”
“Who created it?”
“The paperwork lists Emily Bennett as the original trustee.”
Dominic stared at the page.
“Emily has been dead for two years.”
“Which means the company was created using stolen identity records.”
“And Rose is the beneficiary.”
Robert nodded.
Dominic understood the danger now. If the accounts were connected to illegal money, someone could use the child's name to make her appear responsible for crimes she could not possibly understand.
It would destroy her future before she was old enough to defend herself.
“Who has access to the accounts?”
Robert hesitated.
“Three authorized signatories. You, Victor Sloane, and Serena Vale.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“Why would my name be on a company I never approved?”
“Someone forged your signature too.”
Marcus swore under his breath.
Dominic stood.
“Find every document connected to that company. I want the original filings, the bank records, and the names of anyone who handled the paperwork.”
Robert nodded.
“There's another problem. The company was scheduled to transfer its remaining funds tonight.”
“Where?”
“To an offshore account controlled by a holding company in the Cayman Islands.”
Dominic looked at Marcus.
“Can you stop it?”
“Not without legal intervention.”
“Then get the legal intervention.”
Robert gathered his papers.
“Dominic, there's something you should know about Serena. Her real name isn't Serena Vale.”
Dominic turned.
“Then what is it?”
“Serena Whitmore. She changed her name after her father was convicted of financial fraud.”
“Her father?”
“Elias Whitmore. He worked for your father before the warehouse fire.”
The room fell silent.
Robert continued.
“Elias disappeared shortly after Anthony's supposed death. His daughter resurfaced years later under a different name.”
Dominic remembered Serena's stories about growing up alone, about losing her parents, about learning to survive without anyone's help.
How much of it had been true?
He looked again at the photograph of her and Daniel.
“Where is Elias now?”
Robert shook his head.
“No one knows.”
Dominic's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A message contained a photograph of Rose sitting on a wooden chair. Her face was frightened, but she appeared unharmed.
Below the image were seven words.
SHE KNOWS WHERE HER MOTHER HID IT.
Another message arrived.
MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE.
Dominic stared at the screen.
Marcus immediately shook his head.
“Absolutely not.”
Dominic slipped the phone into his pocket.
“I didn't say I was going.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I'm thinking about getting Rose home.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Then let us help you.”
Dominic looked at the photograph again.
Rose had one hand tucked beneath her thigh.
Something blue was visible between her fingers.
A ribbon.
Dominic enlarged the image.
The ribbon was attached to a small brass object.
The blue key.
May you like
Rose had found it.
And whoever had taken her had no idea she was already holding the one thing they wanted most.
