Chapter 4 - THE ROAD TO ST. AGNES
The convoy left the Vale estate at 6:42 in the morning.
Three black SUVs moved through the iron gates.
Two armored sedans followed behind them.
Dominic sat in the second vehicle with Mia.
Marcus drove.
Two armed men occupied the front and rear escort positions.
No one spoke for the first twenty miles.
The Hudson Valley disappeared behind them.
Gray morning light spread across the highway.
Rain began to strike the windshield in slow, uneven drops.
Mia sat beside the window wearing clean clothes borrowed from one of the estate doctors.
A dark sweater covered the bruises on her arms.
Bandages wrapped both wrists.
The silver bird pendant rested against her chest again.
She held it tightly.
Dominic watched her reflection in the glass.
“You should have stayed with Harper,” he said.
Mia did not turn.
“You already told me that.”
“And you ignored me.”
“Yes.”
“People who ignore me usually regret it.”
Mia finally looked at him.
“I spent three days tied to a wine rack.”
“I listened to Nathan discuss how he planned to use my daughter against me.”
“I found out my dead mother may be alive.”
“And now I have learned that my father lied about his name.”
She leaned closer.
“I think I’ve already reached the limit of what I can regret.”
Dominic said nothing.
Most people lowered their eyes when he stared at them.
Mia did not.
She had served meals in his house.
Prepared rooms for his guests.
Managed his staff.
For three years, Dominic had seen her every day without truly seeing her.
Now he noticed the shape of Samuel Vale in her face.
The strong jaw.
The dark eyes.
The stubborn refusal to retreat.
His uncle had possessed the same expression.
Samuel Vale had been charming when he wanted something.
Dangerous when he did not get it.
Dominic remembered seeing him only a few times as a child.
Then Samuel vanished.
The family said he had betrayed them.
Later, they claimed he died overseas.
Dominic’s father forbade anyone from speaking his name.
Now Samuel’s daughter sat beside him.
“Why did your father change his name?” Dominic asked.
Mia looked down at the pendant.
“I don’t know.”
“He never spoke about his family.”
“He said they were dead.”
“Did he ever mention New York?”
“He hated it.”
“Whenever my mother suggested visiting the city, he became angry.”
Dominic looked toward the road.
“Samuel was my uncle.”
“So Daniel said.”
“He was accused of stealing from the family.”
Mia’s face hardened.
“Did he?”
“I was fourteen.”
“I only knew what my father told me.”
“And what did your father tell you?”
“That Samuel chose money over blood.”
Mia looked back through the window.
“Maybe your father lied too.”
The words carried no cruelty.
Only possibility.
That made them worse.
Dominic’s father had built the Vale empire through discipline and fear.
He had taught Dominic that trust was a weakness.
That family loyalty was the only loyalty that mattered.
But Samuel had been family.
Elena had been family.
And both had been erased from the truth.
Marcus touched the communication device near his ear.
“Lead vehicle reports clear roads.”
Dominic nodded.
“Any movement near St. Agnes?”
“We accessed traffic cameras around the convent.”
“Two unregistered vans entered the property before dawn.”
“They have not left.”
“Nathan?”
“No confirmed image.”
“What about Bennett?”
“One vehicle registered to a Bennett shell company was seen twelve miles south.”
Mia looked at Dominic.
“They know we’re coming.”
“Yes.”
“And we’re still driving directly into it.”
“Yes.”
“Is that always your strategy?”
“No.”
Dominic checked the pistol beneath his coat.
“Sometimes I arrive from behind.”
Marcus glanced at him through the mirror.
Dominic gave one slight nod.
Marcus pressed a button on the dashboard.
The lead SUV continued north.
The rest of the convoy took the next exit.
Mia looked toward the vehicle ahead as it disappeared.
“A decoy?”
“Nathan knows how I move.”
“He knows the roads I prefer.”
“He knows I travel in the center vehicle.”
“So we change everything.”
They left the highway and entered a narrow country road.
Rain darkened the trees.
Old farms passed behind broken fences.
The landscape grew quieter.
More isolated.
Perfect for an ambush.
Dominic’s phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Nathan’s voice filled the vehicle.
“You should have stayed home.”
Dominic’s expression did not change.
Mia went still.
Marcus increased his speed.
“You left before we finished our conversation,” Dominic said.
“We’ve had the same conversation for seventeen years.”
“You just never understood it.”
“You killed Elena.”
Silence.
Then Nathan laughed softly.
“I gave the order.”
“There is a difference.”
“Not to me.”
“No.”
Nathan’s voice became colder.
“To you, guilt is simple.”
“That is why you were never ready to lead.”
Dominic looked at Mia.
She was listening to every word.
“You tied a woman in my cellar.”
“She found something that did not belong to her.”
“You threatened her child.”
“Children are useful because adults imagine they are sacred.”
Mia’s hand moved toward the pistol Dominic had given her.
He placed one hand over hers.
Not to stop her.
To keep her steady.
“Where is Rose?” Dominic asked.
“Alive.”
“For now.”
“What do you want?”
“The key.”
Dominic looked at the silver bird.
“You already searched Mia.”
“We were interrupted.”
“The pendant opens nothing.”
“No.”
Nathan sounded amused.
“But it tells Rose that Mia survived.”
Dominic understood.
The bird was not only a container.
It was proof.
A signal between mother and daughter.
Nathan needed Mia alive because Rose would never cooperate without seeing her.
“You need Mia,” Dominic said.
“I need Rose to believe I kept my promise.”
“What promise?”
“That her daughter would remain safe if she remained silent.”
Mia closed her eyes.
For years, Rose had obeyed.
Every distant birthday.
Every missed holiday.
Every lie about illness.
Every refusal to visit.
She had been purchasing Mia’s safety one lonely day at a time.
Nathan continued.
“Bring Mia to the convent.”
“Come alone.”
“You know I won’t.”
“I know.”
“That is why I placed men on the eastern ridge.”
Gunfire erupted over the phone.
At the same moment, Marcus shouted.
“Down!”
Bullets tore through the SUV’s side windows.
Glass exploded across the cabin.
Dominic dragged Mia to the floor.
Marcus turned the wheel hard.
The vehicle swerved across the wet road.
A second burst of gunfire struck the rear door.
The armored panel held.
The escort vehicle behind them returned fire.
Muzzle flashes flickered between the trees.
Dominic pulled Mia behind the front seat.
“Stay low.”
She drew her pistol.
“I can help.”
“You can survive.”
“That is helping.”
The SUV crashed through a wooden fence and entered a muddy field.
Marcus struggled to control it.
Another vehicle appeared ahead.
A gray pickup blocked the far gate.
Two gunmen stepped from behind it.
Dominic lowered the window and fired three times.
The first man fell.
The second disappeared behind the truck.
Marcus accelerated.
“Brace!”
The SUV struck the pickup’s rear corner.
Metal screamed.
The truck spun aside.
Dominic’s vehicle burst through the gate and returned to the road.
The phone remained connected.
Nathan had listened to everything.
“You missed,” Dominic said.
Nathan’s breathing remained calm.
“That was not meant to kill you.”
“Then your men died for nothing.”
“They died to slow you down.”
Dominic looked toward the road ahead.
A church bell rang in the distance.
One slow note.
Then another.
St. Agnes was close.
Nathan spoke again.
“You have thirty minutes.”
“After that, Rose stops being useful.”
The call ended.
Mia stared at the dark screen.
“He’s going to kill her.”
“Not yet.”
“How can you know?”
“Because he called.”
Dominic reloaded his weapon.
“If Rose were already dead, Nathan would not need us afraid.”
Marcus checked the mirror.
“The convent is four miles north.”
“Our other vehicles are six minutes behind.”
Dominic looked at the narrow road.
Trees crowded both sides.
Fog drifted through the valley.
The bell rang again.
Mia closed her fingers around the silver bird.
“What happens when we reach her?”
“We bring her out.”
“And Nathan?”
May you like
Dominic’s eyes became flat.
“He stays behind.”
