Chapter 5 - THE BROTHER WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
Dominic and Isabella escaped through the lighthouse's rear passage moments before the black car smashed through the front door.
Anthony's men intercepted the attackers near the shoreline. By the time the police arrived, two men were in custody, one had fled, and the lighthouse was burning.
Dominic drove Isabella to a secure property outside the city.
Neither spoke until they were inside.
Then he turned toward her.
“Tell me everything.”
Isabella sat on the edge of the bed, her hands shaking.
“Matteo was drowning in debt. He'd made deals with men who didn't forgive mistakes. When he discovered you planned to restructure the family business and cut off the illegal operations, he decided you were a threat.”
“So he arranged your crash?”
“He paid the driver. Adrian handled the medical records. Vanessa made sure your family believed the baby had died.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“And Matteo?”
“He staged his own death. A burned boat, a body that couldn't be identified, and a funeral attended by men who were paid to grieve.”
Dominic stared at the floor.
His brother had stood beside him at their father's funeral. He had held Dominic's shoulder when Isabella's death was announced.
Every memory had become suspect.
“Why keep you alive?” he asked.
“Because I knew about the money. And because Matteo believed he could use Lucas to control you.”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“Where was Lucas taken?”
“Vanessa arranged the first transfer. After that, Adrian moved him between private facilities. I escaped twice, but each time they threatened to send Lucas somewhere I would never find him.”
“Why didn't you tell the police?”
“I tried. One detective gave my statement to Matteo within hours.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
The corruption reached farther than he had imagined.
He had built an empire by trusting a handful of people.
Now he couldn't trust the men standing outside his own door.
Isabella reached for his hand.
“I didn't know whether you would believe me.”
He looked at her.
“I should have believed you before I believed a piece of paper.”
For the first time, she let him hold her.
But the reunion lasted only a moment.
Anthony entered carrying a tablet.
“Boss, we found the man who escaped the lighthouse.”
“Where?”
“An abandoned warehouse near the river. We also recovered a ledger.”
Dominic opened it.
The pages contained payments to doctors, security officers, police officials, and several members of his organization.
One entry had been circled in red.
M. MORETTI — FINAL TRANSFER — OCTOBER 29.
The date was two days away.
Dominic looked up.
“What transfer?”
Anthony shook his head.
“We're still tracing it.”
Isabella went pale.
“That's Lucas's birthday.”
Dominic froze.
Matteo intended to move the boy again.
And this time, he had scheduled it in advance.
Dominic immediately ordered his men to secure the estate where Lucas and Emily were staying.
But when he called the house, no one answered.
He called again.
Nothing.
Then a guard finally picked up.
“Boss, there's been a breach.”
Dominic stood so abruptly his chair overturned.
“Where's my son?”
“We found the staff unconscious in the east corridor. Emily is missing.”
“Lucas?”
The guard hesitated.
“We found his stuffed rabbit in the garden.”
Dominic's face drained of color.
A second phone rang.
This time, the caller ID displayed a number he had not seen in three years.
Matteo.
Dominic answered.
“Where is my son?”
A familiar laugh came through the speaker.
“Still asking the wrong question, brother.”
“Put Lucas on the phone.”
“Soon.”
“If you've touched him—”
“Relax. He's alive. For now.”
Dominic gripped the phone.
“What do you want?”
“The company. The accounts. The property your father left you. Everything you took from me.”
“You staged your death for money?”
“No,” Matteo replied. “I staged my death because you were never going to let me have what I deserved.”
A pause.
Then Matteo added, “There's something else you should know.”
Dominic heard a child crying in the background.
“Lucas isn't the only person I've been keeping.”
A second voice whispered through the line.
“Dominic?”
It was Emily.
Then came a sharp thud.
Matteo's voice returned.
“Bring me the original ledger by midnight tomorrow. Come alone, or you'll lose both the maid and your son.”
The call ended.
Dominic looked at Isabella.
She was already reaching for her coat.
“I'm coming with you.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Matteo took my son once. He won't take him again.”
Dominic loaded his weapon.
“Then we'll bring him home together.”
But before they reached the door, Anthony received another message.
A photograph.
It showed Emily tied to a chair beside Lucas.
May you like
And standing behind them, smiling at the camera, was Vanessa Sterling.
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