Chapter 10 - THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
Peter pulled a gun.
Marco was faster.
He slammed Peter’s wrist against the bank wall.
The gun hit the floor.
Dominic didn’t even flinch.
“Sit down, Peter.”
Marco shoved him into a chair.
Peter laughed.
Twenty-two years as Dominic’s attorney.
Family friend.
Godfather to Ethan.
A man Dominic trusted with wills, companies, money, property, everything.
And apparently his son’s life.
“Why?” Dominic asked.
Peter looked at him.
“You really want the short version?”
“I want the truth.”
“The truth is your father built an empire and you spent twenty years pretending you were different.”
“I am different.”
“You still use the money.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“You tried to kill my son.”
“No.”
Peter looked at me.
“That was Gabriel.”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not.”
He nodded toward the photographs.
“I used Gabriel.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena left evidence.”
Dominic’s hands clenched.
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
Peter looked almost proud.
“Judges bought by your father. Contracts manipulated. Police paid off. Companies stolen.”
Dominic stared at him.
“That happened before I took control.”
“Yes.”
“But if it became public?”
“Your companies collapse.”
Peter leaned forward.
“Thousands of employees lose jobs. Investors run. Banks freeze accounts. Prosecutors tear your life apart.”
Dominic didn’t blink.
“So you tried to destroy the evidence.”
“I tried to protect what you built.”
“You threatened children.”
“I didn’t tell Gabriel to poison Ethan.”
“But you brought him in.”
Peter’s face tightened.
“He went too far.”
I laughed.
A bitter, ugly laugh.
“That’s what men always say when the ugly part gets exposed.”
He looked at me.
“You don’t understand.”
“No. I understand perfectly.”
I stepped closer.
“You created the situation, and now you want credit because you didn’t personally put poison on the cake.”
Peter looked away.
Dominic asked quietly, “Why frame Anna?”
Peter’s eyes came back to me.
“Because Elena trusted her.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Since before Elena died.”
I felt sick.
“You knew she hid things around me?”
Peter nodded.
“Elena believed ordinary people were invisible to powerful men.”
Dominic looked at me.
“She was right.”
Peter continued.
“She knew nobody would search a housekeeper’s apartment carefully.”
“And my daughter?”
“Accident.”
I moved before I thought.
I slapped him.
Hard.
Marco didn’t stop me.
Peter touched his cheek.
“You’re insane.”
“No.”
My voice shook.
“My three-year-old was kidnapped because of you.”
I leaned closer.
“You’re lucky a slap is all you got.”
Dominic looked at Marco.
“Call the district attorney.”
Peter laughed.
“You think you can hand me over?”
“Yes.”
“You go down too.”
Dominic didn’t react.
“The drives implicate your family.”
“My father.”
“Your companies benefited.”
Dominic looked at the hard drives.
Then at Ethan.
His son stood near the vault door.
Listening.
Dominic saw him.
Something settled inside him.
“Then we deal with it.”
Peter’s smile disappeared.
“What?”
“We turn over everything.”
Marco looked surprised.
I did too.
“Dominic,” Peter said. “Think.”
“I am.”
“You could lose the company.”
“Yes.”
“The house.”
“Maybe.”
“Your reputation.”
Dominic looked at Ethan.
“That isn’t what I’m worried about.”
Peter leaned back.
“You’ll destroy the Moretti name.”
Dominic’s expression became calm.
“My father did that years ago.”
Then he looked at me.
“And I’m done making children pay for adults’ secrets.”
Peter’s face changed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
But before Marco could cuff him, an explosion shook the building.
The lights went out.
May you like
Someone screamed outside the vault.
And in the darkness, Peter disappeared.
