Chapter 3 - The Secret Beneath The Library
Dominic had owned the Gallo estate for nine years.
He had read many books in the library.
He had never touched a dusty collection of nineteenth-century poetry in the far corner.
He had thought it belonged to his grandfather.
Nora pulled the book free.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the shelf.
Inside was a metal cylinder.
Dominic stared.
“You knew.”
“I knew it was here.”
“How?”
“Gabriel told me.”
“You said you never came back here.”
“I didn't.”
She looked at him.
“I sent someone.”
“Who?”
“Myself.”
Dominic stared.
“What does that mean?”
“I entered the estate three years ago.”
His face hardened.
“Before you started working here?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“As a caterer.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“You've been inside my home for years.”
“I told you I was good at surviving.”
He opened the cylinder.
Inside was a black leather ledger.
The Black Ledger.
No one spoke.
Leo stood by the door.
Dominic turned the first page.
Names.
Numbers.
Dates.
Payments.
Judges.
Police commanders.
Dock supervisors.
Political donors.
Everything.
Then he saw his father's name.
Next to it was Arthur Vale.
Then beside them was another name.
Rafael Gallo.
Dominic's grandfather.
Three generations.
One hidden system.
Dominic closed the ledger.
“This can bring down half the city.”
Nora nodded.
“That is why your father tried to bury it.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Who else knows?”
“Vivien.”
“That's why she came.”
“Yes.”
“What does she want?”
“She wants the ledger destroyed.”
“Why did she think I'd hand it over?”
“Because she thought you would kill me before asking questions.”
Dominic's eyes hardened.
“She was wrong.”
Nora held his gaze.
“Was she?”
A long silence passed.
Then Dominic asked,
“Why didn't you kill Vivien last night?”
Nora looked away.
“Because she deserved to live with what she knows.”
Dominic didn't like the answer.
But he respected it.
That afternoon, Dominic took the ledger to an attorney he trusted.
The lawyer went pale after reading three pages.
“We need protection.”
“For whom?”
“For everyone.”
Dominic nodded.
The lawyer shut the book.
“I can help preserve copies, but once this is public, there will be no going back.”
“I know.”
“Are you prepared for what it means?”
Dominic looked at Nora.
“Yes.”
Meanwhile, Vivien was being held in a secure room beneath the estate.
She was bruised but alive.
Dominic went down alone.
She looked up.
“You came.”
“I want answers.”
Vivien laughed bitterly.
“About Nora?”
“Yes.”
“You've been sleeping beside a gun and didn't even know it.”
Dominic's jaw clenched.
“What does she want?”
“Revenge.”
“On whom?”
Vivien smiled.
“Your family.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You're lying.”
“Why would I?”
“Because you want to divide us.”
Vivien stared at him.
“She will.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
“You don't know her.”
“I know her better than you think.”
Vivien smiled sadly.
“That's your mistake.”
Dominic left.
Upstairs, Nora was packing.
He found her folding clothes into a small suitcase.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I came here to stay hidden.”
“You're not leaving.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“If I stay, they will keep coming.”
“Let them.”
“They'll kill Beatrice.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“They'll have to get through me.”
Nora shook her head.
“I don't want another person dying because of me.”
Dominic's voice softened.
“Neither do I.”
She looked at him.
“You should hate me.”
“I don't.”
“Why?”
“I don't know yet.”
She smiled faintly.
“That is what scares me.”
Dominic reached for the suitcase.
“You're staying.”
Nora released it.
“On one condition.”
“What?”
“You stop treating me like a maid.”
Dominic stared.
“Then what am I supposed to call you?”
She smiled.
“Elena.”
He repeated it.
“Elena.”
For the first time, her false name disappeared.
She seemed lighter.
“Okay.”
That night, Dominic and Elena sat in the conservatory.
No guards.
No weapons visible.
Just two people speaking quietly.
She told him about her childhood.
A small apartment.
Her mother's piano.
Her father's late-night returns.
The night he never came home.
The man who had found her and hidden her.
The years she spent moving from city to city.
The reason she chose Bellhaven.
The reason she chose his estate.
She had believed Dominic was the least cruel powerful man in the city.
He frowned.
“Least cruel?”
She shrugged.
“You don't enjoy hurting people.”
“That's a low standard.”
“It kept me alive.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Does Beatrice know?”
“She knows I lied about my name.”
“Not the rest?”
“No.”
He smiled slightly.
“She called me because she thought you were being attacked.”
“She loves me.”
“I know.”
Elena looked at him.
“You should understand something.”
“What?”
“I'm not asking you to save me.”
Dominic leaned back.
“I know.”
“I don't belong to you.”
“I know.”
“I will never be obedient.”
That time, he laughed.
“I definitely know.”
She smiled.
The moment was quiet.
Then Dominic reached across the table.
His fingers touched hers.
Elena didn't pull away.
Neither of them spoke.
But the war outside had already begun.
At midnight, every light in the estate went out.
Gunfire erupted beyond the walls.
Someone had cut the power.
Leo shouted from the hallway.
“Boss!”
Dominic stood.
Elena was already reaching beneath the table.
She pulled out a hidden pistol.
Dominic stared.
She checked the magazine.
“Don't look so surprised.”
“You keep a gun under my furniture?”
“I live here.”
Another explosion shook the windows.
Dominic looked at her.
She looked back.
“Ready?”
“For what?”
She stood.
“To defend your house.”
May you like
Dominic smiled despite himself.
“Now you're speaking my language.”
