Chapter 6 - Dominic Vale’s Most Dangerous Secret
They trusted almost nobody.
Dominic, Rachel, Marcus, Sofia and Eleanor met inside the study.
Rachel paced.
“The person knew we brought Sofia back.”
Marcus nodded.
“And had access to the music room.”
Eleanor whispered,
“That narrows it.”
Rachel suddenly stopped.
“What about the flowers?”
Dominic frowned.
“What flowers?”
“The arrangement in the parlor.”
She hurried downstairs.
The vase she had arranged days earlier had been replaced.
Rachel lifted it.
Beneath the base was a tiny listening device.
Marcus stared.
“How did you notice?”
“I clean this table every day. That vase was three inches farther left.”
Dominic almost smiled despite everything.
“I told Marcus you notice too much.”
“You said that?”
“No.”
Marcus laughed.
Dominic gave him a look.
They traced the device.
The person responsible wasn't security.
It was Gerald Knox, Dominic’s longtime business attorney—a man who had been entering the mansion for fifteen years without being searched.
Marcus brought him into the study the next morning.
Gerald saw Sofia.
His face betrayed him.
Dominic noticed.
“So you knew.”
Gerald recovered quickly.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Rachel leaned against the desk.
“You looked like you'd seen a ghost.”
Gerald glanced at her.
“And who exactly are you?”
“The housekeeper.”
He laughed once.
Rachel smiled.
“Yeah. People make that mistake a lot.”
Marcus placed the listening device on the desk.
Gerald's smile disappeared.
Dominic spoke quietly.
“You helped Victor.”
Gerald said nothing.
Sofia stepped forward.
“You told him everything.”
Finally Gerald answered.
“I protected the family.”
“You protected yourself,” Dominic said.
Gerald's financial records told the rest of the story.
For years, he had helped Victor conceal stolen money and manipulate business records.
The evidence Sofia and Anna had preserved was enough to destroy the scheme.
Dominic didn't handle the problem privately.
That surprised everyone.
He gave the evidence to federal investigators through independent counsel.
Sofia provided her testimony.
So did Nathan.
Gerald was arrested on financial conspiracy charges.
Victor was taken into custody days later after investigators froze accounts connected to the scheme.
For the first time in eight years, Sofia stopped hiding.
Rachel assumed that meant her job was finished.
She packed her things.
Dominic found her carrying a suitcase toward the front entrance.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“No.”
Rachel stopped.
“We've discussed your limited vocabulary.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you leaving?”
“The mystery is solved. Sofia's safe. Nobody needs the singing detective housekeeper anymore.”
Dominic stared at her.
“You think that's why I kept you here?”
Rachel's smile faded.
“I don't know.”
He stepped closer.
“The first six years after Sofia vanished, this house was silent because I couldn't stand remembering her.”
Rachel listened.
“The next two years, it was silent because I'd forgotten what it sounded like any other way.”
He looked toward the parlor.
“Then you arrived.”
Rachel swallowed.
“You violated nearly every rule I had.”
“Not every rule.”
“Give it time.”
She laughed softly.
Dominic’s expression changed.
Warmth appeared where intimidation usually lived.
“Stay.”
Rachel looked at him.
“As your housekeeper?”
Dominic paused.
“If that's what you want.”
“And if it isn't?”
His eyes remained on hers.
“Then we figure out what comes next.”
Rachel slowly put down her suitcase.
“One condition.”
“What?”
“Music.”
Dominic sighed.
“Reasonable volume.”
“Define reasonable.”
“Rachel.”
She grinned.
“Fine.”
Then Dominic surprised her.
He reached for her hand.
“There's another condition.”
“Yours?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Never sing to the statue instead of me again.”
Rachel burst out laughing.
From upstairs, Marcus shouted,
“I heard that!”
Dominic closed his eyes.
Rachel whispered,
“Your house isn't very quiet anymore.”
“No.”
May you like
For the first time, Dominic sounded pleased about it.
---
