Chapter 2 - Dominic Wasn't the Only One Hiding a Secret
Elena couldn't sleep that night.
She sat in Mrs. Patterson's kitchen at nearly two in the morning, staring at the blue stone necklace on the table.
Noah slept in the next room.
Every few minutes Elena glanced at his bedroom door just to make sure it was still closed.
Her entire life had become a collection of things she refused to question.
Her mother's death.
Her father's disappearance.
The strange gap between ages eleven and thirteen in the family photographs.
The way certain people had always looked at Elena as if they recognized her even though she'd never met them.
And now Dominic Crane.
She had entered an abandoned mansion and found a dying crime lord in its basement.
Then discovered her supposedly dead mother had once worked for his family.
Nothing about her life felt accidental anymore.
At sunrise, she received a call from an unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Then a man's voice said:
“Leave Dominic Crane alone.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“Who is this?”
“You don't know what you're involved in.”
“I already know enough.”
A pause.
Then:
“No. You don't.”
The line went dead.
Elena immediately checked the window.
A black sedan was parked across the street.
She grabbed Noah.
“We're leaving.”
Mrs. Patterson came out of her apartment.
“What happened?”
“Someone is watching the building.”
She didn't explain.
There wasn't time.
Within twenty minutes, Elena had moved Noah to a temporary location.
Then she drove back to the mansion.
Dominic was waiting.
He looked stronger.
His wound was healing.
But the moment he saw her face, he knew something was wrong.
“What happened?”
“Someone called me.”
“What did they say?”
“That I should leave you alone.”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“They know about you.”
“They know about my son.”
Silence.
Dominic's face became hard.
“Then you should never have come back.”
“I know.”
“Why did you?”
Elena put the necklace on the table.
“Because your father's housekeeper told me my mother worked for your family.”
Dominic stared.
“Who was your mother?”
“Isabel Reyes.”
He froze.
“My father trusted Isabel.”
Elena felt her throat tighten.
“Why?”
“She was his accountant.”
“No.”
Dominic frowned.
“What?”
“She wasn't an accountant.”
Elena remembered more now.
“She worked for him in intelligence.”
Dominic went still.
“How do you know that?”
“My mother taught me how to read people.”
A distant memory surfaced.
Her mother's hands on her shoulders.
Her mother's voice.
Watch the eyes.
Watch the hands.
Watch what happens when a person thinks no one is looking.
“She wasn't just your father's employee,” Elena whispered.
“She was one of his most trusted investigators.”
Dominic stared.
“My father never told me that.”
“Apparently, he didn't tell either of us the truth.”
Dominic looked away.
Then asked:
“What happened to your mother?”
“She's dead.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Elena.”
She shook her head.
“I watched them bury her.”
“Did you see her face?”
Elena froze.
No.
She hadn't.
Her mother had died in a hospital fire.
The body had been badly burned.
The identification had been based on dental records.
Dominic stepped closer.
“You've spent your life believing things because someone told you they were true.”
Elena's heart began pounding.
“You think she's alive?”
“I think we need to find out.”
They searched the mansion.
The necklace opened a panel hidden behind a portrait.
Inside was a narrow room containing files.
Thousands of them.
Elena found her mother's name.
ISABEL REYES.
Next to it was a photograph.
Her mother.
Alive.
Taken only two months earlier.
Elena stopped breathing.
Then she saw the name beside the photograph.
LUCIAN CRANE.
Dominic's father.
He hadn't been missing.
He was alive too.
And he was looking for her.
A recording began playing from a hidden speaker.
Lucian Crane's voice filled the room.
“Elena, if you're hearing this, my son has told you enough.”
She looked at Dominic.
Lucian continued.
“Your mother did not die.”
Elena covered her mouth.
“She went into hiding because someone inside my organization betrayed her.”
A pause.
“I did not save her.”
Dominic looked shattered.
Lucian's voice continued.
“I sacrificed her to protect the empire.”
The recording stopped.
Elena turned to Dominic.
“Your father destroyed my family.”
“He destroyed mine too.”
Suddenly, the mansion's security alarm screamed.
Dominic grabbed Elena's hand.
“We're leaving.”
“What about the files?”
He took one.
“The answer may be in here.”
They escaped through a hidden tunnel.
At the end of the tunnel stood a woman.
Dark hair.
Gray coat.
Gun in hand.
Elena raised both hands.
The woman lowered the weapon.
“Elena?”
Elena's knees almost collapsed.
She knew that voice.
Her mother.
Alive.
Isabel Reyes stepped forward with tears in her eyes.
“My baby.”
Elena stared at her.
Then slapped her.
Isabel didn't defend herself.
Elena slapped her again.
“You let me grieve you.”
“I know.”
“You watched me grow up without you.”
“I know.”
“You let my son grow up without a grandmother.”
Isabel cried.
“I had no choice.”
Elena shook with anger.
“There is always a choice.”
Her mother looked at Dominic.
“He's in danger.”
“So am I.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me everything.”
Isabel looked toward the tunnel.
“They are coming.”
“Who?”
May you like
She answered one name.
“Marcus.”
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