Chapter 3 - SHE NEVER LEFT
Vincent sat down slowly.
Sofia’s voice filled the ballroom.
“I never left you.”
Grace began crying.
“I need you to understand that first.”
Vincent gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“They want you angry at me. They need you angry because anger makes you stop asking questions.”
Vincent looked at Bellamy.
The attorney said nothing.
Sofia continued.
“I found something in your father’s old corporate records. Payments. Properties. Shell companies. But the strange part wasn’t the money.”
A pause.
“It was Dominic.”
Dominic stiffened.
Vincent looked at him.
“My name?” Dominic said. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Shut up,” Vincent said.
Sofia’s voice continued.
“Someone has been using Dominic’s authorization code to move money for almost six years.”
Dominic shook his head.
“That’s impossible.”
Bellamy glanced toward him.
Vincent saw it.
Just a glance.
But it was enough.
“Charles,” Vincent said.
Bellamy looked back.
“What?”
“Why did you look at Dominic?”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
Isabella moved toward the doors.
A guard stepped in front of her.
“Vincent, this is insane.”
Sofia continued.
“I think the stolen money is only part of it. I think someone is building a second organization inside yours.”
Vincent’s stomach turned.
For fifteen years he had dismantled the ugliest parts of his father’s empire.
Illegal gambling.
Predatory loans.
Smuggling.
He had pushed legitimate businesses forward.
Construction.
Shipping.
Restaurants.
Real estate.
But he knew power did not disappear just because a man signed new incorporation papers.
Power changed hands.
“I confronted Bellamy about the transfers,” Sofia said. “He told me I was imagining things.”
Vincent stared at Charles.
“But then Isabella Romano came to see me.”
Isabella whispered, “No.”
Vincent’s gaze shifted.
Sofia’s voice lowered.
“She told me something that made no sense at the time.”
Static.
Then:
“She said Vincent would be easier to control after he learned what betrayal felt like.”
Vincent stood.
Isabella backed away.
“I never said that.”
Grace spoke.
“Yes, you did.”
Everyone turned.
Grace’s face was wet with tears.
“I heard you.”
Isabella stared at her.
Grace swallowed.
“It was in the library. Three nights before Sofia disappeared.”
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
Grace looked at Vincent.
“Sofia asked me to bring coffee. Isabella was inside.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“You knew her back then?”
Isabella said nothing.
Vincent stepped closer.
“You told me you met Sofia once at a charity dinner.”
“I did.”
Grace shook her head.
“No. She came here at least four times.”
Vincent looked at Dominic.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“Charles?”
Bellamy remained silent.
Vincent laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“All of you have suddenly forgotten how to speak.”
Emily interrupted.
“The phone is dying.”
Battery warning.
Less than one percent.
Vincent immediately called to a guard.
“Charger.”
Emily shook her head.
“It doesn’t charge normally.”
Grace wiped her face.
“Sofia damaged the port on purpose. She said she didn’t want anyone connecting it to a computer.”
“Then how do we keep it alive?”
Grace looked terrified.
“There’s another battery.”
“Where?”
Grace hesitated.
“Inside Sofia’s old room.”
Vincent stared at her.
“That room has been locked for three years.”
Grace nodded.
“I know.”
“Who has the key?”
Grace looked toward Dominic.
Dominic frowned.
“Why are you looking at me?”
May you like
Grace whispered:
“Because Sofia gave it to you the night she disappeared.”
