Chapter 18 - THE WOMAN WHO DROVE HER THERE|
Adrian refused to name the person in the clinic.
He said he would only speak in exchange for immunity and control of a portion of the family trust. Dominic rejected both demands.
“You want money?” Dominic asked.
“I want what Father promised me.”
“Father promised you a lie.”
Adrian smiled.
“You sound just like him.”
Dominic turned to the agents.
“Take him in.”
Adrian did not resist.
As they led him away, he called over his shoulder.
“You should ask Marco who drove Laura to the estate that night.”
Dominic stopped.
“Marco is in custody.”
“Then ask him before he dies.”
The warning followed Dominic all the way back to the hospital.
He called the federal detention center. Marco had been transferred to a secure facility after an attempted attack on the transport vehicle. He was alive, but he had requested to speak with Dominic.
Dominic went alone, with agents watching from the observation room.
Marco sat behind the glass.
“You came,” he said.
“Who drove Laura to the tunnel?”
Marco looked down.
“Your mother.”
Dominic stared at him.
“My mother was dead.”
“She was alive when Laura disappeared.”
“That's impossible.”
“Your father arranged it. He kept her in a private residence after the divorce. She knew about Adrian. She knew about the trust. She knew what would happen if Grace inherited the estate.”
Dominic gripped the table.
“Why would she do that to Laura?”
“She thought she was protecting you.”
“Everyone keeps using that word.”
Marco's eyes lifted.
“Your mother believed Laura would make you leave the organization. She thought the child would become a weakness. She arranged the attack at the party, then arranged for Laura to be moved after the hospital.”
Dominic felt sick.
“Did she know about the baby?”
“She gave the order.”
“Where is she?”
Marco looked away.
“She died two years ago.”
Dominic sat back.
His mother had been dead for years, but the damage she had caused was still alive.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid you'd destroy everything.”
“I should have destroyed it years ago.”
Marco's face hardened.
“You think you're different from your father? You think you didn't do the same thing? You chose the organization over your wife that night.”
Dominic had no answer.
Marco leaned closer to the glass.
“You ran to Elena because you thought the case mattered more. Your mother knew you would. She knew exactly which part of you to use.”
Dominic stood.
“Where did she take Laura?”
“Through the east tunnel. She was conscious. She asked for you.”
The room blurred.
Marco continued.
“She asked whether you knew she was pregnant. Your mother told her you had chosen Elena and the organization.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“Stop.”
“Laura believed you had abandoned her before the tunnel door even closed.”
Dominic turned toward the exit.
“Dominic,” Marco called.
He stopped.
“There's one more thing. Your mother kept a recording. She wanted you to hear it after the trust was settled.”
“Where?”
“Her old house.”
Dominic left without another word.
He found the recording in a locked cabinet beneath the staircase of the property where his mother had lived. The tape was labeled with a date three days before the attack.
His mother's voice filled the room.
“Dominic has always been weak where that woman is concerned. If Laura disappears, he will grieve, then he will return to his responsibilities. The child will be raised outside the family. Adrian will remain hidden. The trust will pass to Elena until the organization is stable.”
A second voice asked, “And if Laura refuses?”
His mother answered without hesitation.
“Then she will never leave the tunnel.”
Dominic stopped the recording.
He stood alone in the room where his mother had planned the destruction of his family.
Then he heard a soft sound behind him.
A floorboard creaked.
He turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
She looked at him with tired eyes and a familiar face.
May you like
It was his mother.
Alive.
