Chapter 14 - THE MAN WHO BUILT THE HOUSE
Dominic raised his gun.
Alexander Vale did not flinch.
“You always were impulsive.”
Dominic stared at the father he had buried.
“You're dead.”
“So was Vincent.”
Alexander glanced at his bleeding son.
“Apparently our family has difficulty staying buried.”
Vincent groaned on the floor.
“Father.”
Alexander looked down at him.
There was no affection in his face.
“You failed.”
Vincent coughed blood.
“You promised—”
Alexander fired again.
The bullet struck Vincent in the chest.
Elena screamed.
Dominic stared.
His father had just executed his own son.
“Why?”
Alexander looked at Dominic.
“Because weakness spreads.”
Police sirens approached.
Alexander smiled.
“You brought law enforcement.”
“I'm disappointed.”
Dominic lowered his weapon slightly.
“Elena.”
Alexander looked at her.
“She complicated everything.”
Elena stared at him with hatred.
“You kept me prisoner.”
“I kept you alive.”
“For information.”
“Yes.”
Dominic understood.
“Vincent wasn't running this.”
“No.”
“You were.”
Alexander smiled.
“Now you're learning.”
The entire nightmare had started years earlier.
Alexander had built a criminal empire hidden beneath legitimate businesses.
When Dominic began moving the companies toward legal operations, Alexander saw his own son as a threat.
Vincent was easier to control.
So Alexander faked his death.
Then he used Vincent to destabilize Dominic.
Noah was leverage.
Elena discovered the plan.
She had to disappear.
Mercer falsified her death.
Beatrice's accidental shot had provided the perfect cover.
Dominic stared at his father.
“You tortured my son.”
Alexander shrugged.
“Mercer treated him.”
“He was three!”
“He was an heir.”
Dominic's restraint nearly snapped.
Then Elena spoke.
“Dominic.”
He looked at her.
She shook her head.
Don't become predictable.
Dominic slowly lowered his gun.
Alexander smiled.
“Good.”
Then Dominic said.
“Marcus.”
Floodlights exploded on.
Alexander froze.
Federal agents poured through every entrance.
Dominic had not come merely with local police.
He had contacted federal investigators before entering.
And his microphone had been live the entire time.
Alexander looked at him.
“You recorded me.”
Dominic smiled coldly.
“You talk too much.”
For the first time, Alexander Vale looked afraid.
Agents surrounded him.
“Alexander Vale, drop your weapon.”
He looked toward an exit.
No path.
He looked at Dominic.
“You think prison ends this?”
“No.”
Dominic looked at Elena.
“But it starts.”
Alexander dropped his gun.
Agents cuffed him.
Vincent remained alive, barely.
Paramedics rushed toward him.
Dominic finally reached Elena.
For a second neither moved.
Two years separated them.
Two years of grief.
Two years of torture.
Two years of believing the other was gone.
Dominic touched her face.
“Is it really you?”
Elena covered his hand.
“Yes.”
He pulled her against him.
She broke.
So did he.
The feared billionaire of Chicago stood in an abandoned freight terminal and cried against his wife's shoulder.
Then Elena suddenly pulled back.
“Noah.”
“He's safe.”
“Where?”
“With Clara.”
Elena's expression changed.
“Clara?”
“The maid.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“It's complicated.”
Elena cried harder.
“I need to see him.”
“You will.”
Then Marcus approached.
His face was grim.
“Dominic.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
Alexander had been carrying a phone.
On it was a live video feed.
Noah was visible.
So was Clara.
Dominic stared at the screen.
They were inside the safe house.
But they were not alone.
A masked man stood behind Clara with a gun against her head.
May you like
A message appeared beneath the video.
ALEXANDER WAS NEVER THE LAST ONE.
