Chapter 9 - THE OLD HOUSE
The old Costello house had been abandoned for twenty years.
Luca entered at midnight.
No wheelchair.
A cane in one hand.
A gun in the other.
Every step hurt.
He welcomed the pain.
It reminded him he could feel.
"Dominic?"
Silence.
Then a light turned on upstairs.
Luca climbed.
One stair.
Then another.
Halfway up, his right leg nearly failed.
He continued.
At the top, he found Dominic tied to a chair.
Blood covered his face.
"Luca."
"Who did this?"
Dominic laughed weakly.
"You won't believe me."
"Try."
"Your mother."
Luca froze.
A door opened behind him.
He turned.
Evelyn Costello stepped into the hallway.
Alive.
Older.
Thinner.
But alive.
"Hello, sweetheart."
Luca's gun dropped slightly.
"Mom."
She smiled.
Then shot Dominic in the chest.
Luca stared.
Dominic collapsed.
"WHAT THE HELL?"
Evelyn lowered the pistol.
"He deserved worse."
Luca rushed toward Dominic.
No pulse.
He turned toward his mother.
"You killed him!"
"Yes."
"WHY?"
"Because he poisoned you."
Luca stared.
"No."
"He did."
"Vale poisoned me."
"Vale administered it."
"On Dominic's orders?"
"Yes."
Luca looked at Dominic's body.
"Then why Maya?"
Evelyn's face changed.
"Because Maya owns everything."
Luca frowned.
"What?"
"Your father's trust."
She stepped closer.
"Your father changed his will before he died."
"He left everything to me."
"No."
Evelyn smiled.
"He left everything to your first biological child."
Luca's stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"Because he didn't trust you."
The words hit harder than expected.
"He believed power had changed you."
"So Maya inherited?"
"Not until her identity became legally established."
Luca suddenly understood.
The DNA test.
The attacks.
The timing.
Someone didn't care about Maya because she was his daughter.
They cared because she controlled the Costello fortune.
"Who else knows?"
Evelyn's smile disappeared.
"Everyone who matters."
A floorboard creaked behind Luca.
He turned.
May you like
Adrian stood in the doorway.
Holding Elena at gunpoint.
