Chapter 16 - THE RECORD BENEATH THE ALTAR|
Laura felt an arm lock around her shoulders.
She drove her heel backward and struck the attacker's shin. The grip loosened. She twisted, stumbled, and heard Dominic shout her name.
A second gunshot cracked through the chapel.
The man holding her fell.
Dominic reached her in seconds, but he did not grab her.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, breathing hard.
“Who was that?”
He looked at the man on the floor.
“Thomas Reeve.”
Thomas groaned, trying to reach for the weapon beside him. An agent kicked it away and secured his hands.
Across the chapel, Catherine was crouched behind the altar. Elena had found her and was holding the document case.
“Don't open it,” Catherine shouted.
Elena froze.
“Why?”
“Because it's not the original.”
Dominic approached.
“What did you do?”
Catherine began to cry.
“I was paid to keep the records hidden. I never wanted anyone hurt.”
“You worked for Dr. Bell.”
“I worked for your father.”
Dominic stopped.
“My father died twelve years ago.”
“He left instructions. He knew the trust would become a problem.”
“What instructions?”
Catherine looked at Laura.
“He wanted the child removed from the family until the inheritance could be transferred.”
Laura felt her stomach tighten.
“Why?”
“Because your daughter was the only person who could challenge the control of the estate.”
Dominic turned toward the altar.
“Where are the real records?”
Catherine pointed to a loose stone beneath the steps.
An agent removed it and found a small metal box. Inside were medical files, the original trust, and a cassette recorder.
Dominic opened the first file.
The birth record confirmed Grace's identity. The second file contained a list of medications administered to Laura during captivity.
Laura read the dates.
One dose every night for months.
“What are these?”
The physician who had accompanied them leaned over the page.
“Sedatives. Some of these were administered at levels that could cause memory problems and physical weakness.”
Laura stared at Catherine.
“You knew?”
Catherine shook her head.
“I only filed the records.”
“Who gave them to me?”
“Dr. Bell.”
Dominic picked up the cassette recorder.
“What's on this?”
Catherine looked terrified.
“Your father's final instructions.”
He pressed play.
A man's voice filled the chapel.
“If Dominic refuses to preserve the organization, the trust must pass to Elena Vital. The child is to be kept outside the family until the transfer is complete. Laura Bennett is a liability. She has seen the ledger and cannot be allowed to speak.”
The recording continued.
“Marco will manage the arrangements. Elena will cooperate. Dr. Bell will ensure the child is placed with a suitable guardian. The mother must remain alive until the papers are signed.”
Dominic stopped the recording.
His father had not merely left behind a criminal empire.
He had designed the machinery that had destroyed his family.
Elena stood motionless.
“I didn't know about that recording.”
Laura looked at her.
“But you knew enough to cooperate.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my child was being transferred.”
“I thought it was temporary.”
“You always thought something was temporary.”
Elena lowered her eyes.
Dominic placed the cassette in an evidence bag.
“Everything goes to the agents.”
Catherine suddenly spoke.
“There's one more thing.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
“The trust was never the only reason they took Grace.”
“Then what?”
Catherine looked at Laura.
“Your daughter was born with a rare blood marker. Your father believed it could prove that another branch of the family was still alive.”
Dominic frowned.
“What branch?”
“Your father's firstborn son.”
The chapel fell silent.
Dominic had grown up believing he was his father's only child. His mother had never mentioned another son.
Catherine swallowed.
“He was declared dead when he was a baby. But there was a second birth record.”
Dominic stared at the metal box.
“Where is he?”
Catherine shook her head.
“I don't know. The last document says he was raised under another name.”
Laura looked at the evidence.
Three years of captivity had been built on a lie, but the lie had roots older than her marriage.
Then Dominic's phone rang.
A federal agent answered it and listened.
His face changed.
“Sir, the man in custody just made a call from the transport vehicle.”
Dominic took the phone.
“To whom?”
The agent looked at him.
“To someone claiming to be your brother.”
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And the voice on the line said:
“Hello, Dominic. I've been waiting for you to find the child.”
