Chapter 4 - THE FIANCÉE'S HIDDEN AGREEMENT
Dominic ordered his men to secure the lakeside property, but he refused to storm inside without understanding what he was facing.
“If my father is alive,” he told Marco, “I want answers before anyone fires a shot.”
“What if they see us coming?”
“Then we let them think they still have the advantage.”
Emily sat beside the hospital window, watching snow gather on the ledge. She had been offered a private room, warm clothes, and a medical examination, yet she still looked as though someone might throw her out at any moment.
Dominic noticed.
“You don't have to keep apologizing for being here.”
“I've spent a long time learning that people with money don't like problems they can't control.”
“Then you may be surprised to learn that I have plenty of those.”
For the first time, she laughed.
The sound was small, but it changed something in the room.
A nurse arrived with the results of Emily's examination. The baby was healthy, although the doctor recommended rest and careful monitoring because of the cold exposure and stress.
Dominic insisted that every precaution be taken.
Then his phone rang.
Vanessa.
He answered on speaker.
“Dominic, thank God. I've been trying to reach you.”
“Where are you?”
“Home. I was frightened when you left. I know you're upset, but we need to talk privately.”
“You can start by explaining why your signature appears on Isabella's surgical consent form.”
Silence.
Then Vanessa sighed.
“Isabella was confused. She asked me to handle things.”
“Did she sign the authorization?”
“She was sick.”
“That's not an answer.”
“Dominic, your wife was dying. Someone had to make decisions.”
“You weren't her doctor. You weren't her legal guardian. You weren't even her family.”
“I was trying to protect you!”
The words came too quickly.
Dominic leaned closer to the phone.
“From what?”
Vanessa began crying.
“Your father told me Isabella was going to destroy everything he built. She was preparing to transfer part of the family assets into a foundation. She wanted to expose financial records that could bring down the entire organization.”
Dominic felt a chill that had nothing to do with the winter.
“My father was dead.”
“I didn't know he was alive when I first met him,” Vanessa whispered. “He contacted me later. He said he could give me a future with you, but Isabella stood in the way.”
“And you believed him?”
“He promised me everything. The mansion. The company. You.”
Dominic stared at the phone.
“You thought you could buy a marriage by helping murder my wife?”
“I never wanted her dead!”
“Then what did you authorize?”
Vanessa's breathing became ragged.
Before she could answer, a man's voice sounded behind her.
“Hang up, Vanessa.”
The call disconnected.
Dominic immediately dialed Marco.
“Move. Now.”
But Marco's reply was cut off by the sound of gunfire.
Then silence.
Dominic grabbed his coat.
Emily struggled to stand.
“Please don't go alone.”
He turned.
“Stay here.”
“Mrs. Moretti trusted you,” Emily said. “She trusted the man you could be, not the man everyone fears.”
The words struck deeper than she knew.
Dominic paused, then called two trusted guards and arranged for Emily to be moved to a secure maternity suite.
He reached the lakeside property forty minutes later.
The building stood dark against the snow.
Marco's vehicle was abandoned beside the road.
Inside, Dominic found broken glass, blood on the floor, and a table covered with financial documents.
Vanessa's engagement ring lay beside an unsigned contract.
The contract granted her control over a substantial portion of the Moretti estate if Dominic married her.
A second clause gave her authority over the family trust if Dominic became incapacitated.
Dominic read it twice.
Then he found a handwritten note beneath it.
Once the hospital records disappear, he will have no reason to question the past.
The signature at the bottom belonged to Salvatore.
But the handwriting in the margin was different.
Dominic recognized it from childhood letters his father had sent him.
May you like
Victor had written one final sentence:
If Dominic discovers the truth, eliminate the maid first.
