Chapter 6 - THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE ROAD
Dominic left for Wisconsin before sunrise.
He took Marcus, two trusted security officers, and Rachel, who insisted she was the only person who might recognize the people connected to Rose's final years.
Antonio wanted to come, but Dominic refused.
“You need medical supervision,” he said. “If this is a trap, I won't risk losing you before we know the truth.”
Antonio looked at him with tired eyes.
“Don't make the mistake I made. Don't confuse keeping someone safe with keeping them imprisoned.”
The words stayed with Dominic as the convoy drove north.
The address led to a small farmhouse outside a town called Ashford. The road narrowed as they left the highway, passing fields, abandoned barns, and patches of woodland darkened by winter rain.
The house stood behind a rusted iron gate.
Its windows were covered with curtains.
A single light burned upstairs.
Dominic approached the front door and knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again.
“Catherine?”
The name sounded strange in his mouth.
A floorboard creaked inside.
Then a woman's voice called, “Go away.”
Dominic's throat tightened.
“I'm Dominic.”
Silence.
“Your son.”
The door opened an inch.
An elderly woman stood behind it, leaning heavily on a cane. Her silver hair was pulled back, and a thin scar crossed her left cheek.
She stared at Dominic.
He stared back.
For several seconds, neither could speak.
Then the woman began to cry.
“My boy.”
Dominic felt his knees weaken.
“Mom?”
Catherine reached for him.
He stepped forward and caught her as she collapsed against his chest.
He had imagined this moment a thousand times without realizing he had never truly believed it possible.
His mother was alive.
She was thinner than he remembered, her face lined with age and suffering, but the shape of her eyes was unchanged.
She held him as though she feared he might disappear.
“I thought you were dead,” Dominic whispered.
“I know.”
“I buried you.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you come home?”
Catherine closed her eyes.
“Because they told me you would be killed if I did.”
Dominic held her tighter.
“Who?”
She looked over his shoulder.
“Victor.”
***
Inside the farmhouse, Catherine explained what had happened after the crash.
She had survived the collision with severe injuries. Before she could speak to the police, a private medical team transported her to a clinic under Victor's control.
At first, she believed they were protecting her from the people who had caused the accident.
Then she discovered that her telephone calls were monitored, her mail was intercepted, and every attempt to contact Antonio or Dominic resulted in a threat.
Victor told her that Antonio had been permanently disabled and that Dominic was being prepared to inherit the family business.
He warned her that if she returned, Dominic would become a target.
“So you stayed away for twenty years?” Dominic asked.
Catherine's face crumpled.
“I was afraid.”
“You could have sent a letter.”
“I did. Every letter was returned or disappeared. I tried to contact Rose, but she had been forced out of the city. When I finally found her, she told me Victor had agents watching every person connected to the family.”
Dominic sat across from her.
“Why did Dad say he visited you last year?”
Catherine looked confused.
“He never visited me.”
Dominic stared.
“Are you certain?”
“I haven't seen Antonio since the night of the crash.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Someone had been pretending to be Catherine.
Someone had allowed Antonio to believe his wife was alive, perhaps to control him or prevent him from investigating further.
Dominic felt sick.
“Who was he visiting?”
Catherine shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“Mrs. Moretti, did you know Rose Bennett?”
Catherine's expression softened.
“She saved my life.”
“How?”
“She discovered that Victor had arranged the crash. She helped me escape the clinic and brought me here. But when she tried to expose him, he threatened to kill Dominic.”
Catherine looked at her son.
“Rose made me promise to stay hidden until you were strong enough to protect yourself.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“I'm thirty-seven years old. I control the organization. I can protect you now.”
Catherine reached for his hand.
“You can protect me from a bullet. But can you protect me from what your family has become?”
He had no answer.
A sound came from outside.
Marcus moved toward the window.
“Vehicles approaching.”
Dominic stood.
“How many?”
“Three.”
Catherine went pale.
“They found me.”
Dominic turned toward her.
“Who?”
“Victor's men.”
The first vehicle stopped at the gate.
A second pulled up behind it.
Then a third.
Dominic's security team moved into position, blocking the doors and covering the windows.
A loudspeaker crackled.
“Dominic Moretti! Send Catherine outside. No one else needs to get hurt.”
Dominic looked at his mother.
“Stay here.”
She caught his wrist.
“No. You need to hear what he says.”
Dominic stepped toward the front window.
Victor stood beside the lead vehicle, dressed in a charcoal overcoat. He looked older than Dominic remembered, but his posture remained rigid and confident.
“Dominic!” Victor called. “You're making a mistake.”
“You've made enough for both of us.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Your mother is unstable. She has been living under false identities for twenty years. She doesn't understand what she's saying.”
Catherine rose behind Dominic.
“I understand exactly what you're saying, Victor.”
He looked toward the window.
For the first time, fear crossed his face.
“Catherine.”
“You told me my husband was dead. You told me my son had forgotten me. You told me Rose had betrayed us.”
Victor recovered quickly.
“You were ill.”
“You had me drugged.”
“Your memory is unreliable.”
Catherine stepped closer to the window.
“Then why did you keep the hospital records?”
Victor said nothing.
Dominic watched his uncle carefully.
“You have one chance to leave.”
Victor laughed.
“You think you can threaten me?”
“No. I'm giving you an opportunity to walk away before I turn every document I have over to the authorities.”
Victor's smile vanished.
“What documents?”
“The medical reports. Rose's letters. The property deed. The evidence that you altered my father's records.”
Victor glanced toward the vehicles.
Dominic recognized the look.
He was calculating.
Then Victor lifted one hand.
A man emerged from the second vehicle, holding a small metal case.
Victor opened it.
Inside were photographs of Dominic, Catherine, Antonio, Rachel, and Vanessa.
He held up the final photograph.
It showed Rachel leaving Rose's nursing home on the night the old woman died.
“Your maid has been hiding something from you,” Victor called.
Dominic didn't look away.
“What?”
Victor smiled.
“Ask her why Rose gave her the key instead of giving it to her own son.”
Dominic turned slowly toward Rachel.
She had gone pale.
“Rachel?”
She swallowed.
“There's something Rose told me that I didn't tell you.”
“What?”
Rachel looked at Catherine, then back at Dominic.
“Rose said she wasn't the only person who survived the night your mother disappeared.”
Dominic felt his stomach tighten.
“Who else survived?”
Rachel's eyes filled.
“Your mother's driver.”
Victor's expression changed.
For the first time, the older man looked genuinely frightened.
Rachel continued.
“Rose told me the driver had a son. She said that son was the only person who knew where the original medical records were hidden.”
Dominic stared at her.
“Who is he?”
Rachel took a shaky breath.
Then she whispered a name.
“Marcus Reed.”
Dominic turned toward his head of security.
Marcus stood motionless beside the window.
His expression was unreadable.
May you like
And in his right hand, he held a gun.
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