Chapter 5 - The Child Behind the Locked Door
Dominic spent the next 24 hours doing something he had never done.
He trusted no one.
Not the police.
Not his business partners.
Not his own guards.
He even moved Matteo to a safe house.
Sadi remained beside him.
They followed Nathan's clues through abandoned warehouses, private clinics, old train stations, and shell companies.
Every clue led nowhere.
Until they found a photograph.
A little boy.
Six years old.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
Standing beside a woman in a blue coat.
On the back was written:
Lucas.
Sadi touched the photograph.
“He has Dominic's eyes.”
Elena nodded.
“He also has your smile.”
Dominic studied the picture.
“Where was this taken?”
“At a children's rehabilitation center.”
They arrived before dawn.
The center was nearly empty.
A tired nurse met them.
“I'm looking for a boy named Lucas.”
The nurse's expression changed.
“You're family?”
Sadi stepped forward.
“I'm his mother.”
The nurse stared.
“He's been waiting for you.”
Sadi almost collapsed.
“Where?”
“Room eleven.”
Dominic opened the door.
The boy was sitting on the floor building a wooden airplane.
He looked up.
His eyes met Dominic's.
Everything stopped.
Lucas did not know him.
Yet somehow he smiled.
“Are you the man from the picture?”
Dominic could not speak.
Sadi knelt.
“Lucas.”
The boy stared at her.
Then whispered:
“Mom?”
She pulled him into her arms.
Dominic turned away.
For years he had imagined what it would feel like to become a father.
He had never imagined it would hurt this much.
Lucas looked at him.
“Are you my dad?”
Dominic knelt.
“Yes.”
The boy studied him carefully.
“You look sad.”
Dominic smiled.
“I've missed you.”
“But you don't know me.”
“No.”
“Then how could you miss me?”
Dominic swallowed.
“Because I knew you existed.”
Lucas thought about that.
Then held out the wooden airplane.
“This is for you.”
Dominic took it.
“Thank you.”
A crash sounded outside.
The nurses screamed.
The center's front doors burst open.
Men in masks stormed the building.
Dominic grabbed Lucas.
Sadi fired.
Ray and Paulie engaged the attackers.
The hallway filled with smoke.
“Back door!” Dominic shouted.
They ran.
Lucas held Dominic's hand.
For the first time, Dominic felt what fear truly meant.
Not fear for himself.
Fear that someone could take this child away.
They escaped through the laundry room.
Outside, cars were waiting.
Matteo stepped from one.
“Get in!”
Dominic stared at him.
“How did you find us?”
“I tracked Nathan.”
Dominic hesitated.
Sadi pushed Lucas into the vehicle.
“Move.”
They drove.
Halfway across the city, Matteo said:
“I know who took Lucas.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“My mother.”
Dominic stared.
“Our mother died.”
“No.”
Matteo looked exhausted.
“She survived the poisoning.”
Sadi's face went blank.
“What?”
“She disappeared because she was trying to protect Lucas.”
Dominic said nothing.
Matteo continued.
“She gave him to a private facility under another name.”
“For three years?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't she tell us?”
“Because someone was threatening her too.”
The car went silent.
They arrived at a hidden farmhouse.
An elderly woman stepped onto the porch.
Dominic froze.
His mother.
Alive.
She looked at him.
“Hello, Dominic.”
He could not move.
Sadi stared.
Matteo covered his face.
Their mother walked closer.
“I am sorry.”
Dominic laughed once.
It was not a happy sound.
“You've been alive for nine years.”
“Yes.”
“You let me mourn you.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe I had no family.”
“I believed silence would keep you alive.”
He looked at Lucas.
“And him?”
“I protected him.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“Who was threatening you?”
She looked toward the road.
“Anton.”
Dominic froze.
“He's alive.”
His mother nodded.
“And he knows about Lucas.”
A black SUV appeared in the distance.
Then another.
Their mother whispered:
“It's too late.”
Dominic picked up his gun.
“No.”
He looked at Sadi.
“This ends tonight.”
A voice came over the speakers of the SUV.
“You always were stubborn, nephew.”
May you like
Dominic's face changed.
Anton Russo had finally returned.
