Chapter 8 - Vanessa's Confession
Vanessa sat alone in the security office when Dominic entered.
She had stopped crying. Her face was pale, but her eyes were sharp and watchful.
He placed the note on the table.
“Tell me what you did with Nicholas.”
Vanessa stared at the paper.
“Where did you get that?”
“Answer me.”
She looked toward the camera in the corner.
“Turn it off.”
“No.”
“Then I won't speak.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“You've lied about my mother's death, concealed a prisoner, paid to seal a room, and possibly helped cover up my father's murder. You're in no position to negotiate.”
Vanessa's expression cracked.
“I didn't kill Antonio.”
“Did you watch him die?”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Dominic felt his stomach twist.
“Who shot him?”
“Frank.”
“Why?”
“Your father was going to expose the accounts. Frank had been stealing from the organization for years. He knew Antonio would hand over the ledger and testify.”
“Then why did you help Frank?”
“Because Antonio had discovered my father's debts. He threatened to destroy my family if I refused to marry you.”
Dominic stared at her.
“You agreed to marry me to protect your father?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
Vanessa looked down.
“Later, I wanted the power. I thought if I became your wife, I could control the organization and keep Frank from turning against me.”
“You locked my mother away.”
“I was afraid she'd tell you the truth.”
“You told the contractor to ignore her knocking.”
Vanessa began to tremble.
“I thought she would eventually give up.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“She was my mother.”
“I know.”
“No. You knew her name. You knew where she was. You knew she was calling for her son, and you chose to leave her in a room without windows.”
Vanessa covered her face.
“I was twenty-four. I was terrified.”
“You were old enough to understand what you were doing.”
She lowered her hands.
“I know.”
For the first time, she did not try to excuse herself.
Dominic placed the photograph of Nicholas on the table.
“Where is he?”
Vanessa looked at it for a long time.
“Frank took him to a clinic after the warehouse fire. He said Nicholas had been injured in a car accident.”
“What clinic?”
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie.”
“I swear to you, Dominic. I never saw him again.”
“Why did Frank send that note?”
“Because he's afraid.”
“Of what?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Your brother has the original ledger.”
Dominic went still.
“How do you know?”
“Frank told me he had been trying to recover it for years. He said Nicholas was the only person who could prove what happened the night Antonio died.”
“Then why didn't he kill him?”
Vanessa looked toward the door.
“Because Nicholas knows who ordered Frank to shoot your father.”
Dominic waited.
She finally whispered the name.
“Your father's closest adviser.”
“Who?”
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“Your uncle, Richard Moretti.”
Dominic stared at her.
Richard had died twelve years earlier in a boating accident. His body had never been recovered, but Antonio had held a funeral and closed the investigation.
“That's impossible.”
“Your father told everyone Richard was dead. He said it was necessary to protect the family.”
“Protect us from what?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears again.
“Richard was the one who arranged the hospital transfer. He was the one who separated you and Nicholas. And he was the one who convinced Antonio that one of his sons would eventually destroy the other.”
Dominic stood.
“Where is Richard now?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to understand that Frank has been using all of us. He told me Richard was dead, too.”
Dominic turned toward Marcus.
“Keep her here until the authorities arrive. No one speaks to her without my permission.”
Vanessa stood abruptly.
“Dominic, wait.”
He paused.
She reached into the lining of her jacket and removed a small silver key.
“Frank gave me this after your father died. He told me to use it only if the blue room was ever opened.”
Dominic took it.
“What does it open?”
Vanessa looked directly at him.
“The drawer beneath your father's desk.”
Dominic hurried to the library.
The key fitted a hidden lock beneath the desk's lowest drawer. Inside lay a sealed envelope, a bank card, and a recent photograph.
Dominic pulled out the photograph.
An older man stood outside a seaside house, his hair white at the temples, one hand resting on a black cane.
The face was unmistakable.
Richard Moretti.
Alive.
On the back, a date had been written in fresh ink.
Tomorrow.
Beneath it was an address on the coast.
Dominic looked at Marcus.
“Get the cars ready.”
Then his phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice spoke calmly.
“Hello, Dominic.”
Dominic recognized the voice from the old telephone in the blue room.
Frank Bellini.
“Where's my brother?”
“Alive, for now.”
“What do you want?”
“The ledger. Bring it to the coast, and you'll have your brother.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“I don't have the ledger.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Frank laughed.
“Of course you don't. Nicholas has it.”
Dominic gripped the phone.
“Let me speak to him.”
A faint voice came through the line.
“Dominic?”
It was the first time Dominic had heard his twin's voice.
Then Frank spoke again.
“Tomorrow night. Come alone.”
The call ended.
A moment later, a message appeared on Dominic's screen.
A photograph of Lily asleep in the safe house.
Beneath it were five words.
May you like
BRING THE LEDGER OR SHE DIES.
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