Chapter 2 - The Secretary Who Knew Too Much
Dominic locked the door behind them.
Not because he wanted to frighten Penelope.
Because there were three men outside the room who had become interested in them too quickly.
"Sit."
Penelope sat.
Her hands were shaking.
Dominic remained standing.
"Start talking."
She looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize."
"I lied to you."
"Yes."
"I've lied since the day I applied for the job."
"Yes."
She swallowed.
"I wasn't hired because I was good at scheduling."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"You were hired because my father told someone to put you near me."
Penelope stared.
"How did you know?"
"Because no secretary survives eight months in my office without being useful."
He stepped closer.
"Who are you?"
She removed the diamond necklace.
Inside the clasp was a tiny key.
"My father was Thomas Hayes."
Dominic went still.
Thomas Hayes had disappeared twelve years ago.
Rumored to have stolen money from several powerful families before vanishing.
Dominic's father had blamed him for a missing ledger.
"He worked for my father."
"He did."
"And stole from him."
Penelope looked down.
"No."
"What happened?"
"My father discovered that the Russo organization wasn't just moving contraband."
Dominic said nothing.
"They were moving people."
Silence.
"Women. Children. Witnesses. People who had to disappear."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"My father was dead before I took over."
"I know."
"Then why come to me?"
"Because you were the only one who might not be like him."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"How flattering."
"I'm not trying to flatter you."
"Then what are you trying to do?"
"Survive."
She finally looked at him.
"And keep the ledger away from the people who killed my family."
Dominic turned away.
"What happened to your father?"
"He vanished."
"Mother?"
"Dead."
"Any siblings?"
"No."
"Then why did you risk your life by working here?"
"Because the ledger was never stolen."
Dominic looked back.
"What?"
"Your father never lost it."
"Then where is it?"
Penelope touched the key.
"Somewhere only I can open."
A sound came from the hallway.
Dominic immediately drew his weapon.
"Stay behind me."
The door handle moved.
Then stopped.
A man's voice came through.
"Mr. Russo, security has cleared the floor."
Dominic didn't open it.
He looked at Penelope.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
He opened the door.
Raphael stood outside.
"The ballroom is compromised."
Dominic frowned.
"How many?"
"Seven known intruders. Maybe more."
"Why?"
"Because someone knew Penelope would come."
Dominic looked at her.
"You planned this?"
She shook her head.
"No."
Raphael handed Dominic a phone.
"Someone sent this to the security desk."
A photograph.
Penelope as a child.
Standing beside Thomas Hayes.
And beside them stood Dominic's father.
On the back was a handwritten message:
THE GIRL KNOWS WHERE THE KING IS BURIED.
Dominic stared at it.
"What does that mean?"
Penelope whispered:
"The king isn't a person."
She looked at the chess set on a nearby table.
"Your father used chess pieces to mark his storage sites."
Dominic remembered the night his father had taught him the game.
Always black.
Always the king protected.
Never the queen.
His father had said:
"You win by controlling the board."
Dominic had spent years believing it was a lesson about business.
Now he realized it had been instructions.
"Take her home," he told Raphael.
Penelope stood.
"No."
Dominic looked at her.
"You're coming with me."
"Where?"
"My house."
She shook her head.
"That's where they expect me to go."
"Exactly."
She stared.
He leaned close.
"Let them expect it."
He took her hand.
She didn't pull away.
For the first time, Dominic wondered whether the flowers had been sent by an enemy.
May you like
Or by someone who knew Penelope better than he did.
That question would haunt him before dawn.
