Chapter 5 - RUN
Natalie reacted before she understood.
She ran.
Martin lunged.
His fingers caught her sleeve and tore the fabric, but she twisted free and sprinted down the hall.
“Stop her!” Brooke shouted.
Dominic moved.
Marcus grabbed his arm.
“Not yet.”
“He touched my sister.”
“If you step out now, we lose the bigger case.”
Dominic looked ready to kill him.
Then they heard Natalie scream.
That ended the discussion.
Dominic came out from behind the bookcase.
He moved fast.
Martin was halfway down the hallway when Dominic hit him from the side.
Both men slammed into the wall.
Brooke screamed.
Martin hit the floor.
Dominic stood over him.
For the first time that morning, Brooke saw her fiancé.
Her mouth opened.
No sound came out.
Dominic’s coat was still damp from the rain.
His eyes were black with fury.
“You came back?”
He looked at her.
“That seems to be everybody’s favorite question.”
Brooke backed away.
“Dominic, I can explain.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
Martin struggled to rise.
Marcus shoved him back down.
“Stay.”
Natalie stood frozen at the end of the hallway.
“Dom?”
Dominic turned to her.
For one second, the terrifying man disappeared.
He was just her brother.
“You okay?”
She nodded, then shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
He walked to her.
“Give me the envelope.”
She held it tighter.
“I found it in Noah’s room.”
Everyone went silent.
Dominic frowned.
“What?”
“Inside his stuffed baseball toy.”
Noah’s toy.
The mascot.
The one he had been carrying downstairs earlier.
Natalie’s voice trembled.
“Mom must have put it there before she died.”
Dominic looked at Brooke.
Brooke quickly said, “This is all a misunderstanding.”
Marcus laughed once.
Nobody else did.
Brooke’s eyes filled with tears.
Real tears or practiced ones—Dominic no longer knew.
“Dominic, Martin was helping me organize documents for the wedding.”
“You broke into my mother’s safe.”
“I had a key.”
“You had burglary equipment.”
Martin said, “That’s mine.”
“Congratulations.”
Dominic looked at him.
“You just confessed.”
Martin shut his mouth.
Brooke stepped closer.
“I love you.”
Dominic stared at her.
She reached for his hand.
He moved away.
Her face crumbled.
“Three years, Dominic.”
“Yeah.”
“You know me.”
“I thought I did.”
Natalie opened the trust envelope.
Inside were several documents.
One handwritten letter.
And a small flash drive.
Dominic recognized his mother’s handwriting immediately.
His name was written across the front.
DOMINIC — IF ANYONE TRIES TO CHANGE THIS, WATCH THE DRIVE.
Brooke stopped breathing.
Martin looked at her.
Dominic noticed.
“What’s on the drive?”
Brooke said too quickly, “How would I know?”
Dominic took it.
His mother had been dead for eleven months.
Whatever she had recorded, she had recorded before anyone believed Brooke was a threat.
Marcus pulled out his laptop.
“Want to watch?”
Dominic looked directly at Brooke.
“Yes.”
They plugged it in.
One video file appeared.
The date was twelve days before Catherine Mercer died.
Dominic clicked PLAY.
His mother appeared on the screen.
She looked weak.
But her eyes were clear.
“If you’re watching this,” Catherine said, “then someone has tried to steal from Natalie.”
Brooke stumbled backward.
May you like
And Catherine continued.
“Dominic, I’m afraid that person may be Brooke.”
