Chapter 3 - The Secret Dominic Feared
I threw the photograph at him.
It landed against Dominic's chest.
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
“My mother raised me.”
“Yes.”
“She is my mother.”
“In every way that matters.”
“Then stop talking.”
Dominic didn't.
“Elena Bennett was Ellen's younger sister.”
I looked at Isabella.
She nodded reluctantly.
Dominic continued.
“Elena worked as an accountant for businesses connected to several New York families.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“She found evidence that Victor Costa was stealing money and arranging murders without authorization.”
My stomach tightened.
“She planned to expose him.”
Dominic nodded.
“She disappeared before she could.”
“And me?”
“You were eleven months old.”
I looked at him.
“Why would Ellen lie?”
“To keep you alive.”
Isabella spoke gently.
“Your aunt took you to Ohio and changed everything she could.”
I looked again at Dominic.
“You knew.”
“Not everything.”
“But you recognized my name.”
“Yes.”
“And my face.”
“Yes.”
“Before the shooting.”
“Yes.”
Anger burned hotter than the pain.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know whether Costa knew who you were.”
“And now?”
“Now he knows.”
“How?”
Dominic didn't answer.
That told me enough.
“Someone inside your organization.”
“Yes.”
Enzo entered the room.
“We found something.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
“The catering company.”
Enzo placed a tablet on the table.
“Sofia wasn't originally scheduled.”
I frowned.
“No. I covered for a woman named Rachel.”
“There is no Rachel.”
“What?”
“The employee account was created two days ago.”
Dominic looked at Enzo.
“They wanted Sofia at the hotel.”
“Looks that way.”
I felt cold.
“The shooter wasn't only targeting Isabella.”
Enzo nodded.
“He had photographs of both of you.”
Dominic's jaw hardened.
I whispered, “I wasn't caught in the attack.”
“No,” Dominic said.
“You were part of it.”
That evening, Isabella stayed while Dominic handled security.
I called Ellen.
Her face appeared on my phone from Cleveland.
The moment she saw the ring, she frowned.
“Sofia?”
“Mom.”
“What happened?”
“I need you to tell me about Elena.”
Her face drained of color.
That was my answer.
“Mom.”
“Sofia…”
“Was she my biological mother?”
Ellen began crying.
I didn't.
Not yet.
“Yes.”
One word.
Twenty-six years collapsed.
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“From Victor Costa?”
She froze.
I whispered, “Tell me everything.”
“Elena found financial records. She planned to give them to people who could destroy Costa. Then she realized someone had betrayed her.”
“Who?”
“I never knew.”
“Where are the records?”
Ellen looked directly into the camera.
“She hid them.”
“Where?”
“In something she gave you.”
My hand instinctively touched the small gold pendant I had worn since childhood.
Dominic entered just as I lifted it.
His eyes widened.
“Where did you get that?”
“My mother.”
Ellen corrected me softly.
“Elena.”
Dominic crossed the room.
“Sofia, don't open it.”
“Why?”
“Because if I'm right, people have been killing for what's inside that necklace for twenty-six years.”
I stared at him.
Then opened it.
Inside was something I'd never noticed.
A tiny metal key.
Dominic cursed under his breath.
Ellen whispered through the phone.
“Elena told me one thing before she disappeared.”
“What?”
“If Sofia ever needs the key…”
Ellen swallowed.
May you like
“Take her to Grand Central.”
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