Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Inside the Rossi House
I thought Dominic had kidnapped my father.
For six terrible hours, I believed it.
He denied it.
I didn't believe him.
“You were the last person with him.”
“So were you.”
“You had security.”
“So did he.”
“You're his enemy.”
“No.”
“You're a crime boss.”
“Yes.”
“You expect me to trust you?”
“No.”
He stared at me.
“I expect you to survive.”
We were back at the Rossi estate.
Every door was locked.
Every guard had been doubled.
My mother had been transferred to a secure medical facility.
Isabella refused to leave the mansion.
Clara disappeared.
Enzo questioned everyone.
Then someone opened fire from inside the house.
One bullet struck the wall behind me.
Dominic dragged me down.
“Stay behind me!”
We heard footsteps.
A guard ran into the hallway.
“Boss! Someone breached the east wing.”
Dominic handed me to Enzo.
“Take her downstairs.”
“No!”
He looked at me.
“For once, do what I say.”
“I hate when you say that.”
“I know.”
Then he ran toward the gunfire.
Enzo led me into the basement.
We stopped in front of a steel door.
“What's behind this?”
“Archives.”
“Why do you have archives beneath your house?”
“Because Dominic trusts paper more than computers.”
He opened the door.
Inside were shelves of files.
Years of records.
I searched for my father's name.
There it was.
Daniel Parker.
My hands trembled.
I pulled out the folder.
Inside was a photograph of my father with Isabella.
A handwritten note followed.
Daniel knows.
Protect Evelyn.
Trust no one.
The handwriting belonged to Dominic's father.
At the bottom was another sentence.
Especially Rafael.
I showed it to Enzo.
He read it slowly.
“My father was telling the truth.”
“Then why did Rafael survive?”
Enzo shook his head.
“Maybe he didn't.”
The door slammed.
We turned.
Dominic stood there.
Blood covered his shirt.
But it wasn't his.
“Where's my father?”
“Gone.”
“What happened?”
“He escaped.”
“With the ledger?”
“No.”
Dominic looked at Enzo.
“Then the missing page is still somewhere in this house.”
My eyes moved to the shelves.
“Someone inside the mansion has it.”
“Yes.”
We searched room by room.
Nothing.
Then Isabella called from upstairs.
“Dominic!”
He ran.
We followed.
Isabella stood in the library.
The wall behind the fireplace was open.
A hidden compartment had been revealed.
Inside was a single envelope.
Dominic reached for it.
Isabella stopped him.
“No.”
He stared.
“Why?”
“Because it's for Evelyn.”
She gave me the envelope.
My name was written on it.
I opened it.
Inside was the missing ledger page.
And a letter.
Evelyn,
If you are reading this, then the Rossi house has already become unsafe.
The person who betrayed us is not Rafael.
It is someone you have trusted your entire life.
My heart stopped.
My mother.
I looked at Isabella.
She shook her head.
“Not me.”
I read the final line.
Ask Ellen about the night your father disappeared.
My hands went numb.
We called my mother.
She answered from the hospital.
“Evelyn?”
“Mom, what happened the night Dad disappeared?”
Silence.
“Mom?”
She began crying.
“I didn't kill him.”
“I never said you did.”
“He came home that night.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He came home.”
“Then why did he disappear?”
“Because he told me he was going to meet someone.”
“Who?”
She whispered.
“Dominic's father.”
I looked at Dominic.
My mother continued.
“I saw your father leave with him.”
“Then what happened?”
“I never saw either of them again.”
Dominic went silent.
“My father disappeared too?”
“Yes.”
“What about Rafael?”
“He came to our house later.”
My mother started crying harder.
“He said your father was dead.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did you believe him?”
“I had no choice.”
A voice came from behind us.
“Ellen did not betray anyone.”
We turned.
Clara stood in the doorway.
Dominic raised his gun.
She looked exhausted.
“Put that down.”
“Where have you been?”
“Finding your father.”
My heart jumped.
“Where is he?”
“Alive.”
“Where?”
“Not far.”
She handed Dominic a phone.
A location appeared.
A church in Queens.
We drove there.
My father was waiting in the basement.
He hugged me before I could ask anything.
“I’m sorry.”
I cried against his chest.
“You should have come home.”
“I tried.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because someone else was protecting you.”
I pulled away.
“Who?”
My father looked at Dominic.
“His father.”
Dominic stared.
“What?”
“Your father discovered the ledger was compromised. He staged his own disappearance so Costa and Vale would think he was dead.”
“But why leave me?”
“Because he had to make them believe you were unimportant.”
I looked at Dominic.
“And you?”
“My father made me promise to watch you.”
“Until when?”
“Until the threat ended.”
“And now?”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Now I don't care if the threat ends.”
His voice lowered.
“Because I've already fallen in love with you.”
The room went completely quiet.
I didn't know what to say.
He looked terrified.
Not of enemies.
Of me.
I walked toward him.
Then stopped.
“I don't know if I love you.”
“I know.”
“But I don't hate you.”
His eyes softened.
“That's enough.”
Outside the church, sirens began.
Clara rushed in.
“Vale found us.”
Dominic looked at me.
“Stay with your father.”
The basement door exploded.
Gunfire erupted.
My father pulled me behind a pillar.
Then we heard a woman scream.
Isabella.
I looked toward the stairs.
“No.”
Dominic was already running.
By the time we reached the street, Isabella was gone.
A black SUV disappeared into traffic.
May you like
And Dominic stood frozen in the road.
Victor Costa had taken his mother.
