Chapter 14 - WHAT HE CHOSE TO SAVE
The first impact knocked dust from the ceiling.
A demolition loader struck the back wall.
Brooks shouted into her radio.
Dominic grabbed the technician and pulled him away from the opening.
A second impact cracked the plaster.
The crew supervisor outside was yelling that nobody had permission to operate the machine.
Then a beam shifted.
Brooks stumbled.
Dominic caught her before she fell through the open floor.
For one terrible second, he saw the boxes below them.
His brother’s proof.
The records that might separate what he had done from what Vincent had done in his name.
He could reach for them.
Or he could keep both hands on the agent sliding toward the hole.
He hauled Brooks backward.
The beam came down where she had been standing.
Outside, agents stopped the loader. The driver climbed out with his hands raised.
A demolition worker.
Paid cash that morning.
Told the building was empty.
Vincent had not even bothered to stay.
Fire crews secured the fuel can and checked the damaged structure. Hours passed before the search team could enter again.
Dominic waited behind the police line with plaster dust covering his suit.
Brooks stood beside him.
“You left the boxes.”
“You were falling.”
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then her phone rang.
Celia had been stopped at a private airport carrying a passport, jewelry, and a laptop she had tried to wipe.
Vincent was still missing.
Hannah arrived with her attorney after learning the building had partially collapsed.
She saw Dominic and stopped.
“You look terrible.”
“I’ve been told.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
She nodded, then surprised him by putting a hand on his arm.
It stayed there only a second.
Near midnight, the search team recovered the first intact box.
Inside were original bank records, handwritten cash logs, and a security backup Julian had hidden among old tax files.
The footage showed Vincent entering a terminal office with Julian.
It showed Julian alive weeks after the fire.
It showed only Vincent leaving.
Later footage captured two men moving a wrapped body toward a company van.
Brooks turned the screen away before Hannah saw more.
They found the van’s old route records.
By dawn, a search team had located Julian’s remains beneath a concrete service pad at a storage property Vincent controlled.
Hannah sat down without making a sound.
Dominic stood beside her, unable to find a useful word.
Brooks approached quietly.
“We found Vincent.”
“Where?” Dominic asked.
“Trying to cross into Canada.”
For the first time, there was nowhere left for the truth to run.
May you like
Then Brooks looked directly at Dominic.
“Now we need to talk about your part.”
