Chapter 4 - The Father Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Dominic pulled Genevieve behind the stone wall as another round struck the window frame.
Vincent stormed into the room with two men.
“Back exit!”
Dominic nodded.
Elliot struggled to stand.
Genevieve grabbed his arm.
“Dad, move.”
“I can't.”
“I don't care.”
She hooked his arm over her shoulder.
Dominic looked at her.
“You sure?”
“No.”
She pulled harder.
“But I'm doing it anyway.”
They reached the service elevator.
The facility shook with confusion.
Employees fled.
Patients were moved into secure rooms.
Someone had planned the attack carefully.
That meant someone knew Elliot was alive.
Someone knew Genevieve had found him.
Someone knew Dominic was involved.
The elevator reached the underground garage.
A black SUV waited.
They climbed inside.
Vincent drove.
Dominic stayed beside Elliot.
Genevieve sat opposite them, breathing hard.
Her father looked at her.
“You were always stubborn.”
She almost laughed.
“You disappeared for nine years.”
“I was forced to.”
“Who?”
“Richard.”
“Why?”
Elliot closed his eyes.
“Because I discovered the money was not being stolen from the company.”
Genevieve stared.
“What?”
“It was being moved out.”
“By Richard?”
“Not alone.”
Elliot looked at Dominic.
“The Costello family was involved.”
Silence.
Dominic's eyes hardened.
“My family?”
“Not your father.”
“My father?”
“He tried to stop it.”
Dominic sat back.
His father had died when Dominic was twenty-four.
Heart attack, according to everyone.
A respectable death.
A simple obituary.
But suddenly every memory felt suspicious.
Elliot continued.
“The Sterlings and several shipping families were moving illegal profits through legitimate investment vehicles.”
Genevieve listened.
“I found the accounts.”
“You did.”
“I reported them?”
“You tried.”
“Then they framed me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you stop them?”
Elliot looked ashamed.
“Because Richard had your mother.”
Genevieve froze.
“My mother died.”
“She did.”
“You mean before she died.”
Elliot nodded.
“Richard threatened her.”
“He threatened my mother?”
“He knew she was sick. He promised to make sure she received the best treatment.”
Genevieve's eyes filled with tears.
“In exchange?”
“For my silence.”
Dominic remained silent.
He understood blackmail.
But this was different.
“What happened to my father?” Genevieve asked.
“Your father found out I was investigating Sterling.”
Elliot looked at Dominic.
“Dominic's father helped me.”
“What?”
“He arranged an escape route.”
“Why didn't you take it?”
“Because I thought I could protect you.”
A bitter laugh escaped Genevieve.
“You protected me by disappearing.”
“I thought they would kill you too.”
Dominic interrupted.
“Who is ‘they’?”
Elliot looked toward the road.
“Richard Sterling.”
“Beatrice?”
“No.”
Elliot shook his head.
“Beatrice is ambitious. But she isn't the architect.”
“Then who?”
Elliot spoke the name carefully.
“Charles Hastings.”
Dominic went still.
The senator.
The man attending Leo's wedding.
The man smiling in every photograph.
A respected public servant.
Elliot continued.
“Hastings connected Richard with the judges, the banking executives, the port officials, and the private security firms.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted an underground financial network that could survive political changes.”
“And my family?”
“Your father controlled something they needed.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“What?”
“The Atlantic routes.”
Shipping.
Ports.
Cargo.
Money.
Everything became clear.
Richard Sterling's logistics empire had been failing.
The $40 million Dominic gave him had not simply saved a corporation.
It had restored a network.
A network somebody had wanted under their control.
Genevieve looked at Dominic.
“They needed your family.”
Dominic nodded.
“And when they couldn't control us, they blamed us.”
The SUV stopped.
They had reached one of Dominic's secure properties.
Inside, Elliot was placed in a private room.
Genevieve stayed beside him.
Dominic met Vincent outside.
“Contact every clean investigator we have.”
Vincent nodded.
“Federal?”
“Federal.”
“Police?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Hastings.”
Vincent cursed.
Dominic looked through the glass.
Genevieve sat beside her father.
She looked exhausted.
But she was no longer alone.
“Also find out who leaked Blackridge.”
Vincent frowned.
“One of ours?”
“Maybe.”
“How many people knew?”
“Five.”
Vincent counted.
“Me. You. Genevieve. Elliot. The Blackridge administrator.”
Dominic looked at him.
“And one more.”
“Who?”
Dominic's expression changed.
“Leo.”
Vincent went quiet.
“Your brother?”
“Elliot was taken under a legal guardianship arrangement authorized by Sterling trustees. Those records were accessed this week.”
“By Leo?”
“I don't know.”
That uncertainty was unbearable.
Dominic went upstairs.
Leo was waiting.
He looked terrible.
His tuxedo had been replaced by a wrinkled shirt.
“I didn't tell them.”
Dominic stopped.
“Tell me what?”
“I didn't tell them about Genevieve.”
Dominic said nothing.
Leo's eyes were red.
“I saw the drive.”
“When?”
“Before the ceremony.”
“Why?”
“Beatrice showed it to me.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“What did she show you?”
“A fake file. She said Genevieve was blackmailing her.”
“And you believed her?”
“I wanted to.”
Dominic stared.
Leo lowered his head.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“You knew enough to ask.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Why did you marry her?”
Leo looked up.
“Because I loved her.”
The answer hurt.
Not because Dominic doubted him.
Because he knew his brother had just admitted something Beatrice could use against him.
A phone rang.
Leo answered.
It was Beatrice.
Her voice sounded calm.
“Leonardo.”
He turned away.
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“Come back.”
“No.”
“Your father is furious.”
“I don't care.”
A pause.
Then Beatrice said softly:
“If you don't come home tonight, I will tell Dominic what you did.”
Leo froze.
Dominic noticed.
“What did you do?” he whispered.
Leo looked at him.
Then at the phone.
“I'll be there.”
He ended the call.
Dominic stepped forward.
“Leo.”
His brother's face broke.
“I told Beatrice about you.”
“What?”
“The only reason she agreed to marry me was because she wanted access to Costello shipping.”
Dominic stared.
“You gave her information?”
“I gave her schedules. Nothing more.”
“Nothing more?”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“You almost handed them the routes.”
“I know.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
For one moment, the ruthless man everyone feared looked more like a tired older brother.
Then he said:
“Go back.”
Leo looked stunned.
“Why?”
“Because she thinks she owns you.”
May you like
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Let her believe it.”
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