Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
Dominic Moretti had faced enemies with guns.
He had faced men who wanted his empire.
He had faced people who smiled while planning his funeral.
But nothing prepared him for one simple sentence.
“She was supposed to be dead.”
Dominic stared at Marco through the phone.
“Explain.”
Marco took a breath.
“Eight years ago, Emily Carter disappeared after a fire at a private medical facility outside Chicago.”
Dominic walked slowly across his office.
“A medical facility?”
“Yes.”
“Why was she there?”
Silence.
Then Marco answered.
“That’s the problem.”
Dominic stopped.
“There is no record.”
A person disappearing was unusual.
A person disappearing with all records erased was intentional.
“Find everything.”
“We’re already trying.”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice hardened.
“Find everything.”
He ended the call.
Then he looked at the security footage again.
Hannah.
Emily.
Whatever her name was.
She stood there taking pain silently.
Not because she was weak.
Because she had survived something worse.
That night, Dominic found her in the library.
She was cleaning shelves.
“You always work this late?”
She looked surprised.
“Someone has to.”
“You don’t have to.”
Her eyes lifted.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re not just an employee here.”
A strange emotion crossed her face.
Fear.
Not of him.
Of what he might discover.
“Everyone has a role, Mr. Moretti.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“And yours?”
She looked away.
“Surviving.”
The answer hit harder than expected.
Before he could ask more, Eleanor Moretti entered.
Dominic’s mother looked between them.
Then smiled.
A little too knowingly.
“Am I interrupting?”
“No,” Hannah answered quickly.
Eleanor studied her.
“You’re lying.”
Hannah lowered her eyes.
Dominic noticed.
His mother knew something.
“Mother.”
Eleanor ignored him.
“Hannah, leave us.”
The maid walked away.
Dominic waited.
“What do you know?”
Eleanor poured herself tea.
“About what?”
“Don’t play games.”
His mother smiled.
“That’s exactly what I was going to say to you.”
Dominic’s expression darkened.
“You hired her.”
“No.”
“But you know her.”
A long silence.
Then Eleanor said:
“I knew her mother.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
“Years ago.”
“How many years?”
Eleanor looked toward the window.
“Eight.”
The same number.
The same year Hannah disappeared.
Dominic felt the pieces connecting.
But he didn’t like where they led.
“What happened eight years ago?”
Eleanor didn’t answer.
Instead, she said:
“Ask yourself why Vanessa wanted her gone.”
Dominic stared.
“You know?”
“I know enough.”
Before he could continue, the lights suddenly went out.
The mansion fell into darkness.
Then came a sound.
Glass breaking.
Someone had entered.
Dominic reached for the weapon hidden beneath his desk.
And heard Hannah scream.
Not in fear.
In warning.
“DOMINIC!”
He ran.
When he reached the hallway, he saw Hannah standing over a fallen man.
The stranger had a knife.
And Hannah was holding his wrist.
Like she had done it a thousand times before.
Dominic stopped.
Because the maid he thought he was protecting…
May you like
Had just protected him.
CHAPTER 3 END
