Chapter 10 - THE MAN BESIDE HIM
Dominic was in surgery.
I sat across from Stellan with my mother’s journal between us.
“Don’t.”
His voice was hard.
“I haven’t said anything.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“The journal says his name.”
“Dominic was sixteen when your mother died.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“He couldn’t have killed her.”
“Then why would she write it?”
“I don’t know.”
We opened the journal.
Most pages were ordinary.
Bills.
Recipes.
My school schedule.
Little notes about me.
Selene needs new shoes.
Selene hates peas.
Selene lied about breaking lamp. Very bad liar.
I cried anyway.
Stellan sat beside me.
He didn’t touch me.
That somehow made it worse.
Then we found the last pages.
Names.
Dates.
Transactions.
Silas Cross.
Marek Voss.
Nathan Hale.
I pointed.
“Who is Nathan?”
Stellan’s face changed.
“Dominic’s father.”
The truth unfolded quickly after that.
Nathan Hale had been Silas Cross’s lawyer.
His fixer.
His most trusted friend.
My mother discovered Nathan was secretly moving money to Marek.
She planned to expose him.
Three days later, she died.
“Dominic isn’t the traitor,” I whispered.
“His father was.”
“Then why write Dominic?”
Stellan turned the page.
There was one final line.
DOMINIC SAW EVERYTHING.
We looked at each other.
Dominic woke after noon.
Stellan questioned him privately.
I walked in anyway.
Dominic was pale.
His shoulder wrapped.
His smile was weak.
“I assume this isn’t a social call.”
I placed the journal on his bed.
His face emptied.
“Where did you get that?”
“You’ve seen it.”
He looked away.
Stellan’s voice became quiet.
“What did you see?”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“My father killed Elena Vale.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“How?” I asked.
“He cut her brake line.”
My chest stopped working.
“I was sixteen. I heard him arguing with her in our garage. She said she had copies of the ledger.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I was sixteen.”
His voice broke.
“I was scared of him.”
I hated him for one second.
Then remembered being sixteen.
Alone.
Scared.
Powerless.
“Did Silas know?”
“Later.”
“And?”
Dominic looked at Stellan.
“Your father killed mine.”
Silence.
Stellan didn’t react.
Maybe he had always suspected.
Dominic looked at me.
“Silas also hid your mother’s evidence because exposing Nathan would have exposed the entire Cross organization.”
“So everyone protected themselves.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother died.”
“Yes.”
I wiped my face.
“Why does Marek want Fern?”
Dominic’s expression tightened.
“Because Silas changed his will before he died.”
Stellan frowned.
“My father left everything to me.”
“Not everything.”
Dominic looked between us.
“There’s a trust.”
“What trust?”
“A controlling share of Cross legitimate holdings, separated from the organization.”
“For whom?”
Dominic swallowed.
“Stellan’s first biological child.”
I stared.
“How much?”
“Approximately eight hundred million dollars.”
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
“My daughter owns eight hundred million dollars?”
“Technically when she turns twenty-five.”
Stellan stood.
“And until then?”
Dominic looked sick.
“The trustee controls it.”
“Who is trustee?”
“You.”
I understood.
“If Stellan dies?”
“Control passes to the child’s court-appointed guardian.”
Stellan’s eyes turned cold.
“Marek wants me dead and Fern orphaned.”
Dominic nodded.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice whispered.
“Selene?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t know me.”
“Who is this?”
“My name is Rachel Mercer.”
Dr. Mercer.
The doctor who performed the DNA test.
My stomach dropped.
Her voice shook.
“The paternity report was copied before I delivered it.”
“By who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where are you?”
Silence.
Then a man’s voice came over the line.
“Good question.”
May you like
A gunshot sounded.
The call ended.
