Chapter 9
THE LAST FOLDER
Dominic’s first instinct was to charge the nearest door. Gabriel caught his arm.
“That’s what she wants,” Gabriel said. “She has the advantage if we move blind.”
On the monitor, Emily was frightened but steady. She looked directly into the camera and mouthed three words: THE LAST FOLDER.
Dominic remembered her warning from the warehouse. They had assumed the annex held a list of names. Perhaps the last folder contained something Catherine feared even more.
Gabriel opened the decoy file on the school’s server. “I can send her the index, but not the evidence itself. If she believes she has the complete annex, she may let them go.”
“And if she checks?”
“She’ll know in seconds.”
Dominic turned to Vanessa. “Can you reach your father?”
She held up her phone. “He’s already calling me.”
She answered and put it on speaker.
Robert Sterling sounded desperate. “Vanessa, where are you? Catherine says Dominic has the files.”
“She has Emily and Elena. Help us stop her.”
“You don’t understand. Catherine has enough evidence to destroy all of us.”
“You helped her destroy Gabriel’s life. You helped her keep my choices hostage. You don’t get to call this survival anymore.”
A long silence followed.
Then Robert said, “There’s a second entrance to the safe house. Catherine’s men will use it. I can send you the access code.”
“Why help us now?”
“Because I saw the video of Emily. I told myself all these years that the people I hurt were just names on paper. I can’t keep pretending.”
Vanessa closed her eyes. “Send the code.”
The message arrived seconds later. Marco’s daughter was safely outside, and Marco stayed behind to coordinate the extraction. Dominic and Gabriel slipped through a maintenance tunnel beneath the school and reached a small control room. They found a secure connection to the safe house’s camera system.
The image showed Catherine standing in the living room, dressed in a cream suit, the antique signet ring glinting on her hand. Elena sat in a chair, composed despite the gun pointed at her. Emily stood beside the fireplace, breathing carefully.
Catherine held up a document. “The annex, Dominic. Now.”
Dominic spoke into the microphone. “You get the file when you let them go.”
“You’re in no position to negotiate.”
“You’ve spent twelve years hiding behind other people. Voss. Robert. My father. You’re not a mastermind, Catherine. You’re a coward who needed everyone else to do the dirty work.”
Catherine’s smile vanished. She gestured to the guard, who pressed his gun against Emily’s shoulder.
“Try insulting me again.”
Dominic’s hands curled into fists, but Gabriel touched the keyboard. “Give her the index,” he whispered. “I’m tracing the connection.”
Dominic sent the decoy. Catherine opened the file and began scanning it. Her eyes widened when she reached the list of payments.
“You kept copies,” she said. “Of course you did.”
“I kept everything,” Gabriel answered through the microphone. “Including the original recording of you ordering the car that was supposed to kill me.”
Catherine turned toward the camera. “You should have died in that river.”
“Maybe. But I didn’t.”
While she was distracted, Gabriel traced the video feed to a private security hub two blocks from the safe house. Marco relayed the location to the team. Dominic gave the signal.
The extraction began.
At the safe house, the lights cut out. Elena dropped low and pulled Emily behind the chair as the guard stumbled. Catherine reached for a second weapon hidden in her jacket, but Vanessa—who had entered through the rear door with two guards—struck her wrist with a heavy brass candlestick. The gun skidded across the floor.
Catherine slapped Vanessa hard enough to send her against the wall.
“You ungrateful girl,” she hissed. “I gave your family everything.”
“You gave us money,” Vanessa said, struggling to stand. “You took everything else.”
Dominic and Gabriel arrived moments later. Catherine was restrained, but she laughed as Marco secured her hands.
“You think this ends with me in handcuffs?” she said. “The annex names people who will never allow a trial. You’ll be dead before sunrise.”
“Then we’ll make sure the evidence reaches more than one place,” Dominic replied.
Gabriel had already copied the files to multiple encrypted drives. The original annex was also scheduled for release to an independent prosecutor if he failed to cancel the transmission. Catherine’s confidence faltered.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
As the police arrived, Robert Sterling appeared at the doorway, unarmed. He handed Vanessa a signed confession and surrendered without resistance. She did not embrace him. She only watched as officers led him away.
Emily was taken to the hospital for observation. The baby was safe, though the doctor ordered strict rest. Dominic stayed by her bed, his hand wrapped around hers.
“You came back,” she whispered.
“I said I would.”
“You also said you’d do everything you could. That’s different.”
He lowered his head, overcome by the realization that he had spent his life making promises that sounded like commands. “You’re right.”
Gabriel entered carrying a sealed envelope recovered from the school’s server room. “The last folder,” he said. “Catherine kept a copy separate from the annex.”
Dominic opened it.
Inside was a birth record, a photograph, and a letter signed by their father. The record named a child born eight months before Dominic. The mother’s name was Elena Moretti.
The father’s name was not.
It was Malcolm Voss.
Dominic stared at his mother, who had just entered the room.
Elena’s eyes filled with tears. “I was going to tell you both when you were older.”
Gabriel’s face drained of color.
Their mother reached for them. “There’s more. Malcolm didn’t just help raise this family. One of you was never his godson.”
Before either brother could ask which one, a nurse appeared at the door and said a man had arrived claiming to be Daniel Whitmore.
May you like
He was alive.
And he had one final message.
