Chapter 8 - THE BROTHER NO ONE MENTIONED|
Dominic's first instinct was to reject the claim.
His father had never mentioned another son. His mother had never hinted at a secret child. Even Robert, who knew every scandal attached to the Vitale name, had never suggested such a thing.
“You're lying,” Dominic said.
Anthony shrugged.
“That's what your father told himself about everything he couldn't control.”
“Who is this supposed brother?”
Anthony glanced at Rose.
“Ask the child.”
Dominic's blood ran cold.
Rose had been quiet since the revelation. She stood behind him, clutching the blue key, her eyes fixed on Anthony's face.
“Rose,” Dominic said gently. “Do you know what he's talking about?”
She nodded.
“Mommy showed me a picture.”
“What picture?”
“Of a baby boy.”
Anthony smiled triumphantly.
Dominic turned to her.
“Where did you see it?”
“In Mommy's room. Inside the little blue book.”
Dominic remembered the eastern sitting room. Emily had kept a collection of old photographs in a small blue album, but after her death, he had locked most of her personal belongings away.
He had never examined every page.
“Did your mother tell you who the baby was?”
Rose shook her head.
“She said he was family, but some people wanted him to disappear.”
Anthony laughed.
“Your father was always good at hiding his mistakes.”
Dominic looked at his uncle.
“Where is he?”
“Alive, last I heard.”
“Where?”
“If I knew, I wouldn't be standing here negotiating with you.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“You kidnapped my niece to make me find a man you can't locate?”
“I kidnapped her because she's the only person who may know where the key was hidden. The rest is a fortunate complication.”
A faint metallic click sounded behind Dominic.
Marcus's voice came through his earpiece.
“Boss, we've got movement on the west side. Three vehicles approaching.”
Anthony smiled.
“You brought friends.”
Dominic shifted Rose behind a concrete pillar.
“Marcus, get her out. Now.”
“Copy.”
Before the security team could reach them, the lights went out.
Gunfire cracked across the warehouse.
Dominic pulled Rose to the floor and covered her with his body. The sound of breaking glass and shouting filled the building.
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
He spun, ready to strike, but recognized Marcus's face in the emergency light.
“Move!”
They rushed through a side corridor while the security team covered their retreat. Outside, the rain had become a downpour.
Marcus guided Rose into an armored vehicle.
Dominic turned back toward the warehouse.
Anthony was gone.
On the drive home, Rose fell asleep against Dominic's chest. Her small fingers remained wrapped around the blue key.
He watched the city lights slide across the window.
“Boss,” Marcus said quietly, “we need to talk about the brother.”
Dominic didn't look up.
“Go on.”
“I checked the old hospital records. Your father paid for private medical care for a newborn boy around the time of the warehouse fire.”
Dominic's head lifted.
“Who was the mother?”
“An employee named Claire Donovan. She disappeared shortly after the child was born.”
“Did she have any connection to Anthony?”
“Possibly. Her name appears in an old company ledger.”
Dominic looked at Rose.
“Can you trace the child?”
“The records were altered. But one document survived. It lists a temporary guardian.”
“Who?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Elias Whitmore.”
Dominic's stomach tightened.
Serena's father had cared for the missing child.
That meant Serena might know more than she had admitted.
When they reached the mansion, Dominic placed Rose in bed and waited until she was sleeping peacefully. Then he went straight to the music room.
The blue album sat inside Emily's old desk.
He opened it carefully.
Most of the photographs showed ordinary family moments: Emily laughing in a garden, Rose as a baby, Dominic holding his daughter for the first time.
Near the back was a photograph of a newborn boy.
On the reverse, Emily had written:
For the child who deserves a name, even if the world denies him one.
Beneath it was a hospital bracelet.
The name printed on it was almost illegible, but Dominic could make out the first name.
NOAH.
Then he noticed a second photograph tucked behind the album's cover.
It showed a young woman holding the baby beside a hospital window.
Dominic recognized the woman.
Claire Donovan.
May you like
And the man standing beside her, his hand resting protectively on her shoulder, was not Anthony.
It was Dominic's father.
