Chapter 5 - THE TUNNELS BENEATH THE ESTATE

The Vale mansion had been built in 1912.

Dominic knew about three hidden staircases.

Two sealed servant corridors.

One wine tunnel.

He did not know about the passage Harper found.

She showed them where Nathan had disappeared.

Behind the service elevator stood a decorative wooden panel.

One section was loose.

Daniel pulled it open.

Cold air moved through the gap.

A narrow stone staircase descended below the basement.

Dominic stared into darkness.

Mia whispered,

“That isn’t on the house plans.”

“No.”

Daniel turned on a flashlight.

“Stay here.”

Dominic ignored him.

He descended.

Daniel followed.

Marcus came behind them.

Mia remained upstairs with Harper and Elena.

The staircase ended in an underground corridor.

Old brick.

Rusting pipes.

Electrical wiring that looked surprisingly new.

Dominic touched one cable.

“Installed recently.”

Daniel pointed forward.

“Footprints.”

They followed them.

The tunnel split.

One path led beneath the east gardens.

The other continued under the mansion.

Dominic chose the second.

After fifty yards, they found a metal door.

Unlocked.

Behind it was a room Dominic had never seen.

And it was not old.

Computer monitors lined one wall.

Printers.

Files.

Surveillance equipment.

A duplicate of Dominic’s office safe.

Daniel whispered,

“My God.”

Dominic stepped inside.

Photographs covered a board.

Dominic meeting politicians.

Dominic entering restaurants.

Dominic at funerals.

Dominic boarding private planes.

Dominic speaking with attorneys.

Years of his life.

Documented.

Cataloged.

Manipulated.

Some photographs had dates beneath them.

Others had notes.

ANGRY.

CONFUSED.

UNSTABLE.

PARANOID.

Dominic stared at the words.

The false medical declaration.

They had been building evidence to support it.

Daniel opened a filing cabinet.

“Dom.”

Inside were copies of prescriptions.

All in Dominic’s name.

Drugs he had never taken.

Neurological medication.

Sedatives.

Antipsychotics.

Dominic understood immediately.

“They planned to put these in my blood.”

Daniel’s face hardened.

“Then claim you were sick.”

Another cabinet contained financial statements.

Every illegal transaction from the black ledger had been carefully tied to Dominic.

Signatures.

Emails.

Authorization codes.

Some were excellent forgeries.

Others were real communications altered after the fact.

It was not a theft.

It was an execution.

Not of Dominic’s body.

Of his identity.

His reputation.

His control.

Someone wanted the world to believe Dominic Vale had become unstable, criminally reckless, and incapable of managing his own empire.

Then Claire would take control.

And Nathan would control Claire.

At least that was what Nathan probably believed.

Dominic opened another drawer.

He found a folder labeled CARTER.

Mia.

His hands tightened.

Inside were photographs of Mia taking Harper to preschool.

Buying groceries.

Visiting her husband’s grave.

A schedule.

Daily routines.

Harper’s school.

Her pediatrician.

Dominic’s face became terrifyingly calm.

Daniel looked over his shoulder.

“They were watching her.”

Dominic turned another page.

One sentence appeared at the bottom.

IF CARTER TALKS, USE CHILD.

Daniel swore.

Dominic closed the folder.

“Burning this room would be too merciful.”

A sound came from the tunnel.

Footsteps.

Daniel killed his flashlight.

Marcus moved beside the door.

The footsteps approached.

Then stopped.

A voice came through the darkness.

“Dominic.”

Nathan.

Dominic stepped into the corridor.

Nathan stood twenty feet away.

No weapon visible.

His face looked exhausted.

“Where’s Claire?” Dominic asked.

Nathan laughed bitterly.

“You still think this is about Claire?”

Dominic said nothing.

Nathan pointed toward the hidden room.

“You found the theater.”

“Theater?”

“That’s all it is.”

Nathan stepped closer.

“Props.”

“Documents.”

“A story someone wanted you to believe.”

Dominic’s expression did not change.

“You expect me to trust you?”

“No.”

Nathan looked genuinely tired.

“I expect you to survive long enough to hate me later.”

Daniel raised his weapon.

“Hands where I can see them.”

Nathan ignored him.

“Dom, Claire isn’t your biggest problem.”

“Then tell me who is.”

Nathan looked at him.

“I can’t.”

Dominic almost laughed.

“You locked a woman beneath my house.”

Nathan’s face tightened.

“I kept her alive.”

Silence.

Dominic stepped forward.

“You want credit?”

“You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it.”

Nathan shook his head.

“If I tell you everything, Harper dies first.”

Dominic stopped.

Nathan saw the change in his eyes.

“That’s why I put Mia downstairs.”

“You expect me to believe you protected her?”

“I stopped Claire from doing worse.”

Nathan swallowed.

“I kept food and water in that cellar.”

“She wasn’t supposed to be there three days.”

“I was trying to figure out how to move her.”

Dominic’s voice lowered.

“Who ordered it?”

Nathan looked at him.

Fear appeared.

Real fear.

Dominic had seen Nathan face armed men without blinking.

This was different.

Nathan whispered,

“You still don’t understand.”

“What?”

Nathan looked back toward the mansion above them.

“The person running this never had to break into your house.”

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A pause.

“They inherited it.”