Chapter 13 - The Last Vale Brother
“Elias!”
Dominic’s shout vanished beneath sirens.
Elias fired again.
The bullet struck the concrete beside Rafael.
Vincent returned fire.
Elias disappeared behind a column.
Dominic stared.
His uncle.
The man who claimed he wanted Michael’s remains found.
The man who brought them the truth.
Or a version of it.
Rafael dropped the detonator.
Clare kicked it away.
Dominic limped toward him.
“Why is Elias shooting at you?”
Rafael laughed through the pain.
“Because he knows what’s under there.”
Dominic looked at the broken foundation.
“What?”
“Not just my father.”
Dominic froze.
Rafael looked toward the cavity.
“Open it.”
Police and bomb technicians flooded the site.
Vincent took charge of security.
Elias was trapped in the parking structure.
Dominic didn’t care yet.
He wanted the ground opened.
Forensic teams entered the cracked cavity after bomb technicians cleared it.
At 12:41 p.m., they found human remains.
One skeleton.
Then another.
Then a third.
Clare stood beside Dominic.
Her face was empty.
“How many?”
The forensic supervisor looked grim.
“At least seven.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
Leonard hadn’t buried one man.
He had buried a history.
Arthur sat in an ambulance with a cut above his eye.
Lydia beside him.
Rafael was under armed medical supervision.
Alive.
Vincent approached.
“They got Elias.”
Dominic turned.
His uncle was led across the site in handcuffs.
Dominic walked toward him.
“You lied to me.”
Elias laughed softly.
“About which part?”
“Why shoot Rafael?”
“Because he was going to destroy everything.”
“The evidence?”
“The Vale name.”
Dominic stared at him.
“There it is.”
Elias’s face hardened.
“You think public confession makes you noble?”
“No.”
“It makes you weak.”
Dominic almost smiled.
“My father used to say that.”
“And Leonard built everything you have.”
“He built some of it on dead men.”
Elias leaned closer.
“And you enjoyed the profit.”
That struck.
Because it was true.
Dominic had inherited companies cleaned up by time and lawyers.
He had told himself legitimate success erased dirty beginnings.
It didn’t.
“What happened to Michael?”
Elias looked toward Clare.
Then smiled faintly.
Clare stiffened.
Dominic stepped between them.
“Answer me.”
“Michael wasn’t exposing Leonard.”
Rafael shouted from the ambulance.
“Don’t listen to him!”
Elias laughed.
“Ask your brother, Clare. Ask what his father really did.”
Clare looked at Rafael.
Rafael went silent.
Elias continued.
“Michael was stealing from Leonard.”
“You already said that story was false.”
“Partly.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
Elias enjoyed this.
Enjoyed controlling the final piece.
“Michael and I were taking money,” Elias said. “Millions.”
Clare stared.
“Why?”
“To escape.”
“From Leonard?”
“From all of it.”
Elias looked at Dominic.
“But Michael became greedy.”
Rafael yelled, “Liar!”
Elias ignored him.
“He threatened to expose everyone unless he got more.”
Dominic asked, “So my father killed him.”
“No.”
Elias smiled.
“I told Leonard where Michael would be.”
Silence.
Dominic stared.
“You betrayed him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Michael planned to take Margaret and disappear.”
Clare looked confused.
“So?”
Elias’s smile vanished.
“Margaret was mine.”
Dominic stopped.
Clare stared at him.
“What?”
Elias’s voice became cold.
“Before Michael.”
Clare’s hand shook.
“You loved my mother?”
“I did.”
“And she chose him.”
Elias looked away.
“That was her mistake.”
The entire conspiracy became uglier.
Not loyalty.
Not business.
Jealousy.
Elias had betrayed Michael to Leonard.
Then spent decades hiding his role.
Rafael pointed at him.
“He’s the one who bought North Coast.”
Vincent looked at Dominic.
Elias didn’t deny it.
“You said you sold it.”
“I sold it to a trust.”
“Your trust?”
Elias smiled.
“You’re learning.”
Dominic felt rage rise.
“So this entire takeover leads back to you.”
“Not all of it.”
Elias looked toward Rafael.
“He created the crash. Lydia manipulated Arthur. Angela sabotaged the brace.”
Then Elias looked at Dominic.
“But I provided the opportunity.”
“Why?”
“To control what came out.”
Dominic stared.
“You wanted Arthur in charge.”
“Arthur is predictable.”
“And me?”
“You ask questions.”
Elias smiled.
“Just like your father.”
Dominic hated the comparison.
Elias continued.
“The original plan was simple. Cripple you. Remove you. Transfer Halsted. Recover Michael quietly. Destroy whatever records remained.”
“Then Rafael changed the plan.”
“He wanted theater.”
Rafael laughed.
“I wanted the truth.”
Elias turned toward him.
“You wanted revenge.”
Rafael’s face twisted.
“Maybe both.”
Dominic looked around the destroyed site.
At Clare.
At Arthur.
At Lydia.
At Rafael bleeding beneath police guard.
At seven bodies emerging from beneath his family property.
Everyone had lied.
Everyone had justified something.
Fear.
Revenge.
Loyalty.
Love.
Dominic finally understood the only useful difference.
Who was willing to stop.
Elias wasn’t.
A detective approached.
“We need Mr. Vale for a statement.”
Before Dominic could answer, Vincent’s phone rang.
He listened.
Then went pale.
“Dom.”
“What now?”
May you like
Vincent looked at Clare.
“Ellie’s security convoy was attacked.”
