CHAPTER 3: THE SECRET HIDDEN INSIDE THE VALE BLOODLINE
Dominic Vale remained inside his office long after the phone call ended.
The room was silent.
Completely silent.
The kind of silence that came before something broke.
Outside the tall windows, the Hudson Valley was covered in darkness.
The estate lights reflected against the glass.
The security teams moved through the property.
Employees whispered in the hallways.
Doctors treated Mia downstairs.
Harper refused to leave her mother’s side.
And Nathan Cross was still being watched.
But Dominic heard none of it.
Because one voice kept repeating inside his mind.
Elena.
After twelve years.
One phone call had destroyed everything he believed.
Dominic picked up the old photograph from his desk.
The same photograph that had been sent to him.
Elena standing beside him.
Young.
Smiling.
Alive.
Before everything changed.
Before the accident.
Before the funeral.
Before Dominic buried a part of himself he never admitted existed.
He had spent twelve years believing he lost her.
Believing the world had taken the only person who ever saw him as a man instead of a weapon.
And now someone was telling him she had been alive all along.
A knock came at the door.
Dominic immediately put the photograph away.
“Come in.”
Daniel entered.
His expression was serious.
“We finished reviewing the security footage.”
Dominic looked up.
“And?”
Daniel placed several files on the desk.
“Nathan was not alone.”
Dominic said nothing.
Daniel continued.
“There are gaps in the cameras.”
“Someone inside the estate disabled them.”
“Someone with administrative access.”
Dominic leaned back.
“How many people have that access?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Three.”
“Me.”
“Marcus.”
“And Nathan.”
The room became colder.
Dominic looked toward the window.
For years, he had trusted Nathan with his life.
Now every memory felt different.
Every conversation.
Every decision.
Every moment Nathan told him to be careful.
Dominic wondered if those warnings had been protection.
Or preparation.
“What about Claire?”
Daniel opened another file.
“Claire entered the basement at 11:43 p.m.”
“She stayed there for twenty-one minutes.”
“She left alone.”
Dominic looked at him.
“And Nathan?”
Daniel took a breath.
“He entered four minutes later.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“So they were working together.”
“Possibly.”
Daniel replied.
“But there is something else.”
“What?”
Daniel placed another image on the desk.
It was a photograph from the security camera.
A close-up of Claire’s hand.
She was holding something.
A small silver object.
Dominic stared.
A pendant.
A bird-shaped pendant.
The same pendant Mia wore around her neck.
The one Harper gave her.
“Where did she get that?”
Daniel shook his head.
“We don’t know.”
Dominic stood.
“Find out.”
Daniel nodded.
Then paused.
“Boss.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Something else came from the footage.”
“What?”
Daniel hesitated.
“The person who sent you that picture of Elena.”
“We traced the message.”
Dominic waited.
“It came from inside this house.”
The words hit harder than expected.
Inside.
Again.
Someone inside his home had been controlling everything.
Dominic walked toward the office door.
“Where is Nathan?”
“Still in the lower hall.”
“Take me to him.”
The hallway was colder than before.
Nathan stood near the fireplace.
Two guards watched him.
When Dominic approached, Nathan immediately turned.
“Dom.”
His voice sounded tired.
Not angry.
Almost hurt.
“I know what this looks like.”
Dominic stopped several feet away.
“Do you?”
Nathan looked at him.
“You think I betrayed you.”
Dominic remained silent.
Nathan gave a bitter smile.
“After seventeen years.”
“After everything.”
“You think I would do this?”
Dominic studied him.
That was the problem.
Nathan was good.
Very good.
He knew exactly how to sound like a wounded friend.
Exactly how to make people question themselves.
But Dominic had survived because he learned something important.
The best liars always mixed truth with deception.
“Why were you in the basement?”
Nathan looked away.
A mistake.
A tiny mistake.
But Dominic caught it.
“Answer me.”
Nathan exhaled.
“I followed Claire.”
“Why?”
“Because I suspected something was wrong.”
Dominic stared.
“And you never told me?”
Nathan’s silence lasted too long.
“Why?”
Nathan finally spoke.
“Because I thought I could handle it.”
Dominic laughed once.
A cold laugh.
“You thought you could handle someone imprisoning my employee?”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
Nathan looked toward the staircase.
Then lowered his voice.
“From the truth about your father.”
Dominic froze.
Again.
His father.
The same secret Mia mentioned.
The same secret Elena’s message seemed connected to.
“What do you know about my father?”
Nathan did not answer immediately.
And Dominic understood.
Nathan knew something.
Something he had hidden for years.
“Tell me.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“When your father died, everyone believed his empire was clean.”
“But it wasn’t.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“My father was a businessman.”
Nathan looked at him.
“He was more than that.”
The words felt like a door opening.
A door Dominic never knew existed.
“Your father had enemies.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You don’t.”
“He had enemies who were not outside the family.”
Dominic stared.
“What does that mean?”
Nathan stepped closer.
“Your father discovered someone inside the Vale organization was stealing from him.”
“Someone close.”
“Someone he trusted.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Nathan looked directly at him.
Before answering.
The lights suddenly went out.
Every light inside the mansion disappeared.
The guards immediately reached for their weapons.
Emergency alarms activated.
A second later.
A sound came from the speakers.
A woman’s voice.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Dominic.”
Everyone froze.
Because it was Elena.
The entire estate heard her voice.
“Nobody move.”
“Because if you open that office door…”
“You will find something your father spent his entire life hiding.”
Dominic stepped toward the speaker.
“Elena.”
No response.
Only her voice continued.
“Your father did not die because of an accident.”
Silence.
Then:
“He was murdered.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
Nathan looked down.
Because he already knew.
The voice continued.
“And the person responsible…”
A pause.
Long enough to feel like a threat.
“Is someone you still call family.”
The lights suddenly returned.
Everyone looked around.
Dominic immediately turned toward Nathan.
But Nathan was not looking at him.
He was looking at the floor.
Because beside his shoe was something that had not been there before.
A small envelope.
With Dominic’s name written on it.
Dominic picked it up.
Inside was one piece of paper.
One sentence.
And the handwriting belonged to his father.
THE MAN WHO SAVED YOUR LIFE IS THE MAN WHO TOOK MINE.
Dominic slowly looked up.
At Nathan Cross.
The man who saved him seventeen years ago.
May you like
The man who had been beside him ever since.
The man who might have destroyed his family.
