Chapter 4 - The Name Her Mother Erased From Every PhotographSarah returned home and opened the box beneath her mother's bed.
She had not touched it in years.
Inside were photographs.
Letters.
Bank statements.
One old newspaper.
And a wedding photograph.
Her mother.
A younger man.
Sarah stared.
The man was not the father she remembered.
It was another man.
Handsome.
Dark-haired.
Standing beside her mother with an expression of absolute devotion.
On the back were two words.
Arthur & Claire.
Sarah stopped breathing.
The man was her father.
But why had she never seen the photograph?
Beneath it was a second picture.
Arthur standing beside a much younger Marcelo's father.
And Tobias.
And another man Sarah recognized instantly.
Martin.
The man from the restaurant.
Her hands began to shake.
Then she found a letter.
It was addressed to someone named “M.”
If you are reading this, I failed.
Claire knows.
The money was never ours.
It belonged to the foundation.
Someone inside the family is moving it.
Trust no one with the Castellane name.
Sarah's heart pounded.
At the bottom was one final sentence.
Protect Sarah.
She read it twice.
Then again.
Someone had written her name.
She called Dominic.
He answered immediately.
“What's wrong?”
“I found my father's letter.”
Silence.
“Where did you get it?”
“My mother kept it.”
“What did he say?”
She told him.
Dominic's breathing changed.
“Stay where you are.”
“Why?”
“Because someone will know you found it.”
“How?”
“Because that letter was supposed to be gone.”
Sarah's blood ran cold.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m coming.”
He arrived with Vince.
Sarah handed him the letter.
Dominic stared.
“This is Tobias's handwriting.”
Sarah looked at him.
“What?”
“Your father wrote this to my brother.”
“Then Tobias knew.”
“Yes.”
“And he still accused my father.”
Dominic's face darkened.
“Because someone made sure he believed the wrong story.”
Sarah stared at him.
“Who?”
Before he could answer, the lights went out.
Vince drew his weapon.
Sarah froze.
A window shattered.
Dominic grabbed her and pulled her behind the kitchen island.
“Stay down.”
Gunfire cracked through the house.
Vince returned fire.
Dominic moved like someone who had spent years surviving violence.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
He had someone behind him he could not afford to lose.
When the shooting stopped, silence returned.
Sarah looked at him.
Blood covered his sleeve.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“That's mine.”
He looked at the blood.
A shallow cut.
“I'm fine.”
Sarah stared at him.
“You are not fine.”
He looked at her.
“You're bleeding.”
She touched his face.
The gesture was instinctive.
Both of them froze.
Then Dominic covered her hand with his.
“Sarah.”
She swallowed.
“I’m scared.”
“So am I.”
It was the first time she'd heard him admit it.
Then Vince returned.
“We found something.”
He placed a phone on the table.
“Video.”
The attack had been recorded.
A masked man had entered the house.
But his face was partially visible.
Dominic stared.
His expression turned murderous.
“Who is he?”
Sarah asked.
“Salvatore Castellane.”
She frowned.
“Who?”
“My uncle.”
May you like
Dominic looked at the screen.
“The man my father said died twenty years ago.”
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