Chapter 9
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## The Last Thing Antonio Remembered
Richard survived, but the bullet wound required emergency surgery.
Police secured the house and recovered a shell casing outside the rear window. The shooter had escaped.
Dominic returned to the hospital with Clara, carrying one question that threatened to tear him apart.
Had his father been involved in Victoria's death?
Antonio was awake when they entered his room.
Dominic stood beside the bed.
“Dad, I need you to help me.”
He showed him a still photograph from the recovered recording. It depicted the driveway on the night Victoria died.
Antonio's face crumpled.
Dominic swallowed.
“Were you there when Mom crashed?”
Antonio blinked once.
“Did you argue with her?”
Another blink.
“Did you hurt her?”
Antonio began to cry.
Clara reached for Dominic's arm.
“Give him a moment.”
Dominic stepped back.
For two years, he had prayed for his father to recover. Now he was terrified of what that recovery might reveal.
Clara took Antonio's hand.
“You don't have to say everything at once. Just show us what you can.”
Antonio lifted his right hand, painfully and slowly.
He pointed to the window.
Then made a movement with his fingers, as though turning a key.
Dominic frowned.
“A car key?”
Antonio shook his head.
He pointed toward his own chest, then toward the door.
Clara thought for a moment.
“Someone came to see you that night?”
Antonio blinked.
“Yes.
“Did you give them something?”
Another blink.
Dominic leaned closer.
“Who came, Dad?”
Antonio struggled to speak.
“Mar…”
He stopped, gasping.
Bennett immediately checked his vital signs and asked them to give Antonio space.
After several minutes, the old man calmed.
He looked at Dominic and pressed his palm against his own chest.
Then he pointed toward the bedside drawer.
Dominic opened it.
Inside was an old key.
A label attached to it read: STUDY — LOWER CABINET.
Back at the estate, Dominic used the key on a concealed cabinet beneath the study shelves.
Inside lay a ledger, a stack of bank records, and a sealed medical envelope bearing Victoria's name.
The ledger documented transfers to the shell companies. Several entries were initialed V.S.
Vanessa Sterling.
But the final pages revealed something more disturbing.
For months before Victoria's death, payments had been made to an account controlled by a company registered to Franklin Shaw.
The retired detective had been paid to suppress evidence.
The medical envelope contained a copy of Victoria's hospital toxicology report. It had never been included in the official investigation.
The report showed traces of a sedative in her system.
It did not establish who administered it or whether it caused the crash.
Dominic's hands shook.
Someone had hidden evidence that could have changed the investigation.
Then Marcus entered with an update.
“Vanessa has been located. She's at the airport, trying to leave the country.”
“Stop her.”
“Police are already on their way.”
Dominic looked at the ledger.
“Bring her here once she's in custody.”
Hours later, Vanessa sat across from him in the study, flanked by detectives.
She looked exhausted, but her eyes were sharp.
“You wanted the truth,” she said. “Fine.”
Dominic placed the ledger on the desk.
“You paid Franklin Shaw.”
“Yes.”
“You interfered with my father's medication records.”
Vanessa hesitated.
“I wanted him quiet. I wanted him unable to interfere with the company.”
“Did you cause his stroke?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I swear I didn't cause his stroke.”
“Did you know about my mother's death?”
Vanessa's face changed.
“I knew she was going to expose the accounts. I knew someone had arranged to stop her.”
“Who?”
She looked at Clara.
Then back at Dominic.
“The person who ordered it wasn't your uncle.”
Vanessa leaned forward.
“It was someone your father trusted enough to let into the house.”
Before Dominic could ask another question, a detective entered and handed him a report.
Richard had regained consciousness.
He wanted to make a statement.
But he had one condition.
May you like
Clara had to be there.
And he refused to speak until Dominic learned the identity of the child Victoria had been protecting.
