Chapter 5 - Blood on the Family Ledger
The escape from Mercy Black turned into a running gun battle through three floors.
By the time Dominic got Sophia, Clara, Matteo, and Elena into a secure vehicle, the facility's front entrance was surrounded.
Dominic drove himself.
Vincent sat beside him.
Clara sat in the rear with Sophia.
Matteo slept between them.
For ten minutes, no one spoke.
Then Sophia said,
“It's Marco.”
Dominic's hands tightened on the wheel.
Vincent turned.
“No.”
Sophia looked at him.
“I said the man behind it is inside the organization. I didn't say Marco.”
Dominic exhaled.
“Then who?”
Sophia looked at him.
“I don't know his name.”
“That's not enough.”
“I never saw his face.”
Dominic looked furious.
“What do you know?”
Sophia whispered,
“He used your father's old office.”
Dominic's stomach tightened.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Sophia explained that after she began investigating the freight routes, she discovered hidden records linked to an internal network.
The network used code names.
The leader was called The Architect.
Nobody knew his real name.
He had access to family accounts.
Security.
Transportation.
Medical records.
Police contacts.
He knew where Dominic moved.
He knew what Vincent knew.
He knew when Sophia was planning to disappear.
And he knew about Clara.
Dominic glanced into the rearview mirror.
“How?”
Sophia looked at Clara.
“She was never random.”
Clara stiffened.
“What do you mean?”
“Sophia's face softened.
“Your brother didn't discover you by accident.”
Tommy had been approached.
Someone told him Dominic needed a wife.
Someone knew about his debt.
Someone knew Clara would be the perfect target.
The entire wedding had been engineered.
Clara looked at Dominic.
“That means—”
“They wanted you close to me,” Dominic said.
Sophia nodded.
“Exactly.”
Clara's expression went pale.
“Why?”
“To put someone inside your house who could be blamed.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“You.”
Sophia looked at Clara.
“They wanted you dead after the wedding.”
Clara finally understood.
The limp.
The illness.
The ribbon.
The bullet.
Someone wanted to turn her into a tragic story.
The Mafia boss married the crippled sister of a debtor.
The bride died.
The debt was erased.
Everyone moved on.
But Clara had survived.
And that had ruined the plan.
At the estate, Dominic locked down every entrance.
He told his men one rule.
No one leaves.
Then he placed his family in a secure room.
Clara sat beside Sophia.
Dominic stood across from them.
“What did you find?”
Sophia opened an old folder.
“My father kept a hidden ledger.”
Dominic stared.
“He said if anything happened, this ledger would expose The Architect.”
She handed it to him.
The pages contained initials, dates, account numbers, shipping routes.
Dominic turned a page.
Then another.
His expression changed.
There were payments to Rafael.
To politicians.
To security contractors.
To doctors.
Then one final account.
An account registered under a charity.
The charity was connected to Dominic's mother.
He looked up.
“No.”
Sophia nodded.
“Mom didn't know.”
Dominic closed the ledger.
Then Clara spoke.
“Look at the dates.”
He did.
The payments began after his father's death.
Then there was a gap.
Then they resumed four years ago.
The year before Clara first met Vincent.
The year before Sophia disappeared.
“Someone restarted the network,” Dominic whispered.
Sophia nodded.
“Recently.”
Clara took the ledger.
She noticed something.
The initials repeated.
D.C.
She stared.
Dominic saw it.
“What?”
“Your initials.”
He looked closer.
D.C.
But beneath them were numbers.
Coordinates.
“That's not a person's name,” Clara said.
“What is it?”
“A location code.”
They decoded it.
The coordinates pointed to an underground storage facility beneath one of Dominic's own hotels.
He stared at the map.
“Castiglione Grand.”
Sophia's face changed.
“That was father's favorite hotel.”
Dominic felt sick.
“My father might have hidden something there.”
They went immediately.
Beneath the hotel's old wine cellar, they found a sealed room.
Inside were boxes.
Photographs.
Passports.
Shipping schedules.
And a video recorder.
Clara switched it on.
Dominic's father appeared.
“I don't know who will see this.”
His voice was weak.
“I was wrong to trust Rafael.”
Dominic's face tightened.
“He isn't alone.”
His father continued.
“There is another person inside this family.”
The recording skipped.
Then resumed.
“I believe the person closest to my son is being watched.”
Clara looked at Dominic.
His father continued.
“If Dominic marries, make sure the woman knows nothing.”
The recording ended.
Dominic stared.
Sophia whispered,
“He knew.”
Clara looked at the boxes.
One photograph showed Rafael.
Another showed a man whose face was scratched out.
A third showed Dominic.
And standing beside Dominic was Vincent.
Clara frowned.
“Why is Vincent in the file?”
Dominic looked at his underboss.
Vincent's face was blank.
“I don't know.”
Clara studied him.
Something felt wrong.
Vincent looked at Dominic.
“You don't trust me.”
“I trust what I can verify.”
Vincent nodded.
“Fair.”
Later that night, Dominic found Clara alone in the hallway.
“You're avoiding me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
She leaned against the wall.
“I don't know what to think.”
“About Vincent?”
“About everyone.”
Dominic looked at her injured leg.
“I know what I think.”
“What?”
“I believe you.”
She looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because when you had every reason to use me, you protected my sister and nephew instead.”
Clara's eyes softened.
“I didn't do it for you.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“That's the point.”
Dominic nodded.
Then he did something unexpected.
He took her hand.
“I want to protect you.”
Clara looked down at their hands.
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because I care.”
She looked up.
“That's dangerous in your world.”
“I know.”
“But you still do it.”
“Yes.”
She squeezed his hand.
Neither spoke.
Then a gunshot shattered the hallway window.
Dominic pulled Clara down.
Security rushed in.
When they checked the bullet trajectory, they found one terrifying detail.
The shooter had been standing inside the estate.
Not outside.
Someone had access.
Someone close.
May you like
And on the floor beneath the window was a single object.
A midnight-blue ribbon.
