Chapter 2 - The Name He Shouldn't Have Known
“Answer me.”
Dominic dismissed the remaining guests with one look.
Within minutes, the ballroom began emptying.
I stayed near the door.
“You knew my father?”
Dominic loosened his cuffs.
“Daniel Carter.”
Hearing Dad's name in that house made my stomach twist.
“He died eight years ago.”
“I know.”
“Industrial accident.”
Dominic looked at me.
“No.”
One word.
That was all it took.
“What do you mean, no?”
“Your father didn't die in an industrial accident.”
I laughed once.
It sounded wrong.
“You expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“I expect you to investigate.”
He walked toward his office.
I didn't follow.
Dominic stopped.
“You wanted answers.”
“I want them here.”
“Vanessa may still be upstairs.”
“So?”
His expression hardened slightly.
“You embarrassed her publicly. People like Vanessa don't forgive humiliation.”
“Neither do delivery drivers.”
That almost made him smile again.
Instead, he gestured toward the office.
“Five minutes.”
Against every survival instinct I possessed, I followed.
His office was enormous but surprisingly plain.
Dominic opened a locked drawer and removed a photograph.
He slid it across the desk.
My father stood beside a younger Dominic Moretti.
Alive.
Smiling.
I forgot how to breathe.
“That can't be real.”
“It is.”
“Why were you with him?”
“Your father worked for my father.”
“No.”
“He handled logistics.”
“My father supervised a warehouse.”
“The warehouse belonged to us.”
I stared at the photograph.
Dad had never mentioned Moretti.
Not once.
Dominic continued.
“Eight years ago, someone began stealing from my family. Your father discovered it.”
“Who?”
“We never proved it.”
“You expect me to believe my father was murdered over money?”
“Not money.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“Names.”
“What names?”
“Police officers. Judges. businessmen. People being paid by both sides.”
I stared at him.
“Why tell me now?”
“Because Vanessa requested you specifically.”
“So?”
“She didn't know you before seven weeks ago.”
My skin prickled.
Dominic continued.
“But someone encouraged her to keep requesting you.”
“Who?”
“I’m finding out.”
The office door opened.
Vanessa stood there.
Her mascara had been repaired.
Her expression hadn't.
“You're discussing family business with her?”
Dominic's voice became ice.
“Leave.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You seriously don't see what she's doing?”
I stepped toward her.
“Trust me, Vanessa. I don't want your fiancé.”
“You think you're better than me because you can throw someone onto a floor?”
“No.”
I looked directly at her.
“I think I'm better than you because I wouldn't make a stranger kneel for entertainment.”
Vanessa's face tightened.
Dominic stood.
“Vanessa.”
She looked at him.
“We're done.”
Her expression collapsed.
“What?”
“The engagement.”
“You can't be serious.”
“I've never been more serious.”
“Because of her?”
“Because tonight showed me who you are when you believe someone can't fight back.”
Vanessa stared between us.
Then she whispered, “You're making a mistake.”
Dominic replied, “Probably. But ending this isn't one.”
She left.
The door slammed.
I exhaled.
“That was dramatic.”
Dominic sat again.
“You kicked my fiancée across a ballroom.”
“I didn't kick her.”
“Technically correct.”
“I used a controlled takedown.”
“That sounds much more respectable.”
For the first time that night, I almost laughed.
Then his phone rang.
Dominic answered.
His expression changed immediately.
“When?”
Silence.
“Is she alive?”
My stomach dropped.
Dominic looked at me.
“Which hospital?”
I stepped forward.
“Who?”
He ended the call.
“Avery—”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“What happened?”
“Someone entered her dialysis clinic pretending to be a maintenance worker.”
I grabbed his desk.
“Where is she?”
“She collapsed during the evacuation. She's alive.”
I was already running.
Dominic followed.
Outside, rain hammered the driveway.
“My car—”
“Forget your car.”
“I don't need—”
“Avery.”
He opened the rear door of a black SUV.
“Your mother needs you more than your pride does.”
I stared at him.
Then climbed inside.
As Dominic got in beside me, I asked the question terrifying me most.
“Was this because of my father?”
Dominic looked through the rain-covered window.
“No.”
Then he turned toward me.
May you like
“I think it's because of you.”
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