Chapter 10 - THE NIGHT THE MANSION TURNED AGAINST ITS MASTERDominic left the restaurant before Samuel finished speaking.
Michael followed him into the parking lot.
"Wait. You can't walk into another trap."
"My brother's family is in danger."
"Then we call the police and coordinate a response."
Dominic stopped.
He knew Michael was right.
For years, Dominic had believed speed and intimidation could solve almost any problem. But his enemies had learned to use his anger against him.
He called Elena.
She answered immediately.
"I'm here."
"Where are you?"
"In the staff kitchen. Two guards are with me. Noah disappeared while I was checking the guest room."
"Did anyone enter?"
"The cameras went black for four minutes."
Dominic contacted the police and requested an emergency response. He also instructed the independent security team to preserve every recording.
Then he received another message.
A location.
The old Moretti ballroom, a property abandoned after his father's death.
MIDNIGHT. NO POLICE.
Dominic refused to obey the second instruction.
He arranged for officers to establish a perimeter while his private security team monitored the building.
When they arrived, the ballroom was dark.
A single lamp illuminated the center of the room.
Noah sat in a chair.
His hands were free.
Dominic approached cautiously.
"Are you hurt?"
Noah shook his head.
"They brought me here in a van. They said you would come."
Dominic checked him quickly.
"Where is Elena?"
"She wasn't with me."
A voice came from the balcony.
"How touching."
Victor Hail stepped into the light.
His face was calm, almost amused.
Dominic looked up.
"Where's Anthony?"
"Busy."
"Then you can answer my questions."
Victor laughed.
"You still think this is about money?"
He descended the stairs.
"Your father built a fortune. Anthony protected it. Raymond expanded it. And you inherited everything without understanding what it cost."
Dominic stood between Victor and Noah.
"You kidnapped a seventeen-year-old."
"Temporary inconvenience."
"You hurt Elena."
Victor's expression changed.
"She should have kept her eyes on her work."
Dominic took a step forward.
Victor raised one hand.
Several men emerged from the shadows.
But before anyone could move, the ballroom's main doors opened.
Police officers entered.
Victor's smile vanished.
He reached for his phone.
Dominic noticed.
"Don't."
Victor looked at him.
Then he did something unexpected.
He threw the phone onto the floor and stepped away from the men behind him.
"I have information," he said.
"About what?"
"Anthony's operation. Raymond Cross. Your mother's location."
Dominic stared at him.
"You're going to tell me everything."
Victor shook his head.
"Not here."
The officers secured the room and separated the men.
Noah was escorted outside.
Dominic called Elena.
"He's safe."
She began crying.
"Thank God."
"Are you all right?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"Dominic, I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I found Maria."
He went still.
"Where?"
"Not physically. I found a message hidden in the maintenance computer. It was addressed to me."
"What did it say?"
Elena took a breath.
"She said she was being held somewhere near the waterfront. She also said she had discovered the identity of the person who ordered your father's murder."
Dominic looked through the ballroom window.
Victor was being placed inside a police vehicle.
"Who?"
Elena's voice trembled.
"She wrote that the person responsible wasn't Anthony."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"Then who?"
Elena hesitated.
"Your father's closest friend."
A photograph appeared on his phone.
It showed three men standing together outside the hospital twelve years earlier.
Anthony.
Raymond.
And a third man.
Dominic recognized him immediately.
Michael Reeves.
His own attorney.
May you like
The man who had handled his family's legal affairs for years.
The man who had just been standing beside him at the restaurant.
Related Stories
