Chapter 3 - Nora Understood the French Threat No One Else Did—And Dominic Rushed to Save His Sister-in-Law Before His Cousin Could Silence Her ForeverDominic called Sofia immediately.
No answer.
He called again.
Still nothing.
Then security tracked her car.
She was heading toward the river.
Dominic's stomach dropped.
They found her vehicle abandoned near Pier 19.
No Sofia.
No driver.
Only her handbag.
Dominic's anger became terrifying.
He called every lieutenant.
“Find her.”
Nora stood nearby.
“You should not go personally.”
“I am.”
“It could be a trap.”
“I know.”
She grabbed his arm.
He stopped.
“Take me.”
“No.”
“You need me.”
“You're a civilian.”
She looked at him.
“And yet I was the only person who understood the threat.”
He hated that she was right.
They went together.
The warehouse was empty.
Too empty.
Nora noticed something.
A shipping label.
French.
She translated.
“Medical equipment.”
Dominic opened the crate.
Empty.
Except for a recorder.
A voice played.
Sofia.
Terrified.
“Dominic, don't trust Marcus.”
The recording cut off.
Dominic's face hardened.
The trap was obvious.
Marcus wanted Dominic to believe Sofia was blaming him.
Nora studied the audio.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Listen to the background.”
She replayed it.
A faint bell.
Nora closed her eyes.
“Church bell.”
Dominic frowned.
“Which church?”
“Not a church.”
She listened again.
A ship's navigation bell.
“They're on a vessel.”
They searched port records.
One ship had left fifteen minutes earlier.
Destination:
Montreal.
Dominic's men intercepted it.
Sofia was found alive.
Marcus escaped.
But the ship contained something else.
Documents.
Contracts.
Names.
The trafficking network.
Nora's father's name appeared.
And beneath it—
Dominic's father's.
The network had existed for twenty years.
It had been hidden inside legitimate shipping operations.
Dominic stared.
“My father knew.”
Nora didn't answer.
The records showed payments.
Bribes.
Routes.
Codes.
His family's empire had been connected.
Dominic felt sick.
“I never knew.”
Nora said:
“Maybe your father kept you out.”
“Or maybe someone kept me out.”
She pointed.
The documents were signed by Helena Cross.
His aunt.
She had been running the network.
Dominic confronted her.
Helena smiled.
“You've finally noticed.”
“You used my family.”
“I protected it.”
“You trafficked people.”
“I moved people.”
“Children.”
She looked away.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
She revealed the truth.
Their father had started the operation.
Helena inherited it.
Dominic's brother discovered it and disappeared.
Dominic's father tried to shut it down.
He died.
Dominic became head.
Helena wanted control.
She used Marcus.
Daniel.
Rosalind.
Everyone.
Nora stood beside Dominic.
Helena looked at her.
“And you.”
Nora froze.
“You were always the weak link.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“Don't.”
Helena smiled.
“Your father knew her family.”
Nora stared.
“What?”
“Your father recruited her father.”
Nora's blood turned cold.
“No.”
Helena continued.
“He discovered the network.”
“He threatened to expose it.”
“So we removed him.”
Nora looked at Dominic.
He looked horrified.
Helena laughed.
“Your little cleaner has been standing in this building for years without realizing her own family history.”
Nora couldn't breathe.
Her father had worked for Dominic's father.
The family that destroyed hers was connected to the man she now trusted.
She walked out.
Dominic followed.
“Nora.”
“Don't.”
“You didn't know.”
“But you did.”
“I didn't.”
“You're still a Cross.”
He stopped.
She turned.
“I spent my life believing my father died because some criminals wanted his money.”
“He died because he found something.”
“Your family.”
Dominic's voice broke.
“I am sorry.”
She shook her head.
“Don't be sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making me trust you.”
He didn't answer.
She walked away.
That night, Nora resigned.
Dominic accepted the resignation.
But he didn't accept losing her.
He called her the next morning.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Finally, her phone rang.
A man's voice.
“She won't be coming back.”
Dominic froze.
“Who is this?”
“Someone who knows what she has.”
Dominic's heart stopped.
“What does she have?”
“The file your father hid.”
“Which file?”
“The one proving everything.”
Dominic looked around his office.
The betrayal had become something else.
Nora hadn't simply quit.
May you like
She had become the target.
And someone believed she had the evidence.
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