Chapter 5 - The Man Who Wore Dominic's Dead Brother's Ring Revealed the Truth About My Father's DeathHis name was Vincent Moretti.
Dominic's younger half-brother.
Or so he claimed.
Dominic stared at him like he had seen a ghost.
“You died.”
Vincent smiled.
“So did you, apparently.”
Dominic stepped forward.
Vincent raised a gun.
“Don't.”
My father looked between them.
“Dominic?”
Dominic's voice was low.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Vincent laughed.
“That is the story they wanted.”
He looked at me.
“Just like your story.”
I felt cold.
“What does this mean?”
Vincent's expression changed.
“Your father knew.”
My father closed his eyes.
Vincent continued.
“He knew the Chairman was connected to the Moretti family.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
Vincent looked at him.
“Not our family.”
Then at me.
“His father.”
Dominic froze.
My stomach tightened.
“You're saying Dominic's father knew my father?”
“Yes.”
“And Michael?”
“A pawn.”
Vincent laughed.
“A wealthy pawn.”
He explained everything.
Twenty years ago, my father and Dominic's father had discovered the same criminal network.
They tried to destroy it.
Instead, the network destroyed them.
Dominic's father was killed.
My father was forced into hiding.
Michael entered the picture later.
He was recruited because he was ambitious, wealthy, and easily manipulated.
The marriage was never romantic.
It was strategic.
Michael needed access to my father's remaining shares.
And after my father's death, I became the final obstacle.
“Why fifty million?” I asked.
Vincent smiled.
“Because your father had insurance.”
“That's only part of it.”
“Yes.”
He turned toward Dominic.
“Your family held the other half.”
Dominic stared.
“What other half?”
“The controlling interest in a private fund.”
Vincent explained that years earlier, Dominic's father had placed a hidden trust in my name.
Not money.
Control.
If Michael collected the insurance and obtained Harper Holdings, the Chairman gained access to the trust.
My daughter was named the ultimate beneficiary.
The entire plan revolved around killing me before my birthday.
But there was one problem.
I survived.
And Vincent needed me alive.
He wanted to trade me to the Chairman.
Dominic stepped forward.
“I'll kill you before that happens.”
Vincent smiled.
“You won't.”
“Try me.”
Gunmen appeared behind him.
Too many.
I grabbed my father's hand.
Dominic looked at me.
He signed something.
I understood enough.
When I move, run.
I shook my head.
My father was injured.
I couldn't leave him.
Dominic moved anyway.
The room exploded into chaos.
Gunfire.
People shouting.
Glass breaking.
I pulled my father toward the side door.
Ashley appeared in front of me.
For one second, I expected hatred.
Instead, she looked afraid.
“Emily.”
“What?”
“Michael lied to me.”
I stared.
She was crying.
“What did he tell you?”
“That you were going to leave him and take everything.”
“He said I wanted to destroy him.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you helping me?”
Ashley looked toward Michael.
“He told me he loved me.”
Her voice broke.
“Then I found out he had already arranged a new life with someone else.”
I froze.
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Lauren.”
Another woman.
A name I didn't know.
Ashley continued.
“He never intended to marry me.”
Michael had used her.
The realization transformed the entire picture.
Ashley wasn't the mastermind.
She was another victim.
I reached for her hand.
“Help me get my father out.”
She nodded.
We ran.
Outside, Dominic appeared.
Blood stained his shirt.
But he was standing.
Alive.
We escaped in two vehicles.
At the safe house, my father finally told me the truth he'd been hiding for years.
“My death was supposed to happen four years ago.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Michael tried to poison me.”
I felt sick.
“I caught him.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought I could protect you.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I failed.”
I hugged him.
“You didn't.”
He looked at Dominic.
Then back at me.
“He can protect you now.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
My father smiled sadly.
“Just don't make the mistake of believing protection means love.”
Dominic glanced at me.
Neither of us spoke.
May you like
But something had changed.
Something neither of us was ready to name.
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