Chapter 8 - THE PRICE OF LOYALTY
Dominic’s first instinct was to force his way out of the car. His recovering nerves protested as he twisted, and pain flashed down his spine. Madeleine caught his arm.
“Think,” she said. “That’s what they want you to stop doing.”
The man outside kept the phone raised. The image of Arthur did not move, but the gun behind him shifted slightly. Whoever had staged the threat wanted Dominic to see enough to believe it.
Leo spoke into his earpiece, requesting confirmation from the security team at the Russo residence. No one answered. A burst of static followed, then a voice he did not recognize: “Return to the estate. No detours.”
Dominic’s face went still. “That voice is using our internal channel.”
Madeleine’s pulse hammered. The trap was no longer a theory. Someone had access to the convoy’s route, the hospital’s records, and the family’s security system.
Dominic made a decision. “We go to the estate.”
“No,” Madeleine said.
“If my father is there—”
“Then we find a way to reach him that doesn’t deliver you straight into the hands of whoever planned this.”
He met her eyes. “I can’t let him die.”
“And I can’t let you die because someone knows which words will control you.”
The argument ended when Leo’s phone received a text from Arthur’s private number: DO NOT COME TO THE HOUSE. TRUST NO ONE. FIND THE BLUE ROOM.
Dominic read it and went pale. The Blue Room was an old office in the family’s first Boston property, a place no one used anymore. Only Arthur, Dominic, and Vincent knew it existed.
They abandoned the planned transfer and took a route through the city, using a second vehicle and a driver Leo had personally vetted. Madeleine stayed beside Dominic, monitoring his pulse and watching the streets slide past the tinted windows. Every intersection seemed like a possible ambush.
At the abandoned property, they found the entrance locked but undamaged. Inside, dust covered the furniture. A single lamp glowed in the Blue Room.
Arthur was not there.
On the desk sat a small recorder, a key, and a handwritten letter. Dominic pressed play.
His uncle Vincent’s voice filled the room.
“Arthur always believed power meant making everyone afraid of him. I learned something different. Power means knowing what a man loves enough to make him surrender it.”
The recording continued. Vincent described a plan to remove Dominic from succession, discredit Arthur, and provoke a war with the Bellandis that would leave both families weakened. The pillow had been meant to make Dominic appear unstable. The drive-by had created the cover story. Caldwell had been paid to keep the symptoms unexplained. Voss had handled the money and arranged the delivery.
But Vincent’s voice changed as the recording reached its end.
“I didn’t authorize the needles. I told them to make him look sick, not destroy him. Someone took my plan and made it crueler.”
Dominic stopped the recording.
“Convenient,” Leo muttered.
Madeleine examined the letter. It was written in Arthur’s hand, but the final line was unfamiliar: IF YOU HEAR THIS, THE PERSON WHO GAVE VINCENT THE IDEA IS STILL CLOSE TO US.
A noise sounded upstairs.
Leo drew his weapon and signaled for silence. Dominic moved toward the door despite Madeleine’s warning. From the stairwell came the slow scrape of a shoe, followed by a voice they all recognized.
“Dominic?”
It was Arthur.
May you like
He appeared at the top of the stairs alone, blood soaking through his shirt.
And behind him, someone began to applaud.
