Chapter 6 - THE PRICE OF A SON
The warehouse stood beneath an abandoned railway bridge on Chicago's south side.
Dominic arrived at 11:47 p.m., carrying a briefcase containing the ledger.
He had ignored Matteo's demand to come alone.
Anthony's team occupied the surrounding buildings. Isabella waited in a secured vehicle with a direct line to the police detective who had finally agreed to help her.
Dominic entered through the main doors.
The warehouse smelled of rust and rainwater.
A single overhead lamp illuminated a chair in the center of the room.
Emily sat in it, her wrists tied.
Lucas stood beside her, crying silently.
Vanessa watched from the shadows.
Dominic's voice turned deadly.
“Release them.”
Matteo stepped into the light.
He looked older than Dominic remembered, with a scar crossing his left cheek, but the smile was unchanged.
“Hello, big brother.”
Dominic stared at him.
“I watched them lower your coffin.”
“An empty coffin. You always were sentimental.”
“You let me mourn you.”
“You mourned Isabella, too. I was merely following your example.”
Dominic lunged forward, but two armed men emerged behind Lucas.
Matteo raised a hand.
“Careful. One more step, and the boy gets hurt.”
Dominic stopped.
Lucas looked at him.
“Daddy?”
The word nearly destroyed him.
“I'm here, son.”
Matteo laughed.
“You haven't earned that title.”
Dominic slowly placed the briefcase on the floor.
“You want the company? Take it. You want the accounts? They're yours.”
Matteo's smile widened.
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
“Then sign the transfer documents.”
Dominic opened the briefcase.
Inside were the papers and the ledger.
But beneath them lay a small recording device.
Matteo noticed it.
“What is that?”
“Insurance.”
Matteo kicked the briefcase away.
“You still think you're smarter than me.”
“No,” Dominic said quietly. “I think you're afraid.”
Matteo's smile vanished.
“Afraid of what?”
“That the people you paid will discover you never intended to share anything with them.”
Dominic glanced toward the ceiling.
A red light blinked near a ventilation grate.
Matteo followed his gaze and drew his weapon.
“Turn it off!”
Dominic didn't move.
Vanessa suddenly stepped forward.
“Matteo, stop! You promised me the estate.”
Matteo turned on her.
“You'll get nothing.”
“I helped you! I took the baby! I forged the records!”
“And you were useful.”
Vanessa's face crumpled.
“You said Dominic would marry me.”
Matteo laughed.
“You actually believed that?”
Her expression changed.
For the first time, Vanessa understood that she had been another disposable piece in his plan.
She rushed toward Lucas.
Dominic shouted, “Don't!”
One of Matteo's men raised his gun.
Emily threw herself sideways, knocking the chair into his legs.
The gun fired into the ceiling.
Lucas ran.
Dominic crossed the floor and caught his son, shielding him with his body.
“Anthony!” he shouted.
The warehouse erupted into chaos.
Men shouted. Footsteps thundered. Matteo fled through a side door as Dominic's security team entered.
Vanessa grabbed Emily's arm and tried to pull her upright.
“Come with me!”
Emily tore free.
“I'm not going anywhere with you.”
Police sirens sounded outside.
Vanessa's face twisted with panic.
She ran toward the loading bay and disappeared into the darkness.
Dominic carried Lucas outside.
Isabella rushed from the vehicle and fell to her knees.
“My baby!”
Lucas threw himself into her arms.
“Mommy!”
Dominic knelt beside them, wrapping both in his embrace.
For a moment, the world stopped.
Then Emily cried out.
Dominic turned.
She was clutching her stomach, her face drained of color.
“Emily?”
“My baby,” she whispered.
He called for an ambulance.
The paramedics arrived within minutes and transported her to the hospital. Dominic followed, with Lucas and Isabella beside him.
After a tense examination, the doctor reported that Emily was stable but needed close observation. The baby had a heartbeat, and there was no immediate indication of labor.
Dominic sat beside her bed.
“You risked your life for my son.”
Emily shook her head weakly.
“I couldn't let him be taken.”
“Why?”
She looked toward Lucas, who had fallen asleep in Isabella's arms.
“Because no child should grow up believing nobody wants him.”
Dominic lowered his eyes.
He understood that answer too well.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Anthony.
Matteo escaped. But we recovered his second phone.
Dominic opened the attached recording.
Matteo's voice filled the room.
“If Dominic survives this, activate the final contingency. The boy must never learn what happened on the night he was born.”
A second voice replied.
An older man.
“Does Dominic know about the paternity discrepancy?”
Dominic stopped breathing.
He looked toward Lucas.
Then back at the phone.
The older man continued.
“Because if the original DNA results are authentic, that boy may not be your brother's son at all.”
Dominic's fingers went numb.
The recording ended.
And the hospital door slowly opened.
A man in a white coat entered carrying a sealed envelope.
May you like
“Mr. Moretti,” he said, “we need to discuss your son's biological identity.”
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