Chapter 9 - Dominic's False Surrender
The next morning Dominic called Lucian.
"I overreacted."
Silence answered him.
Then Lucian said, "Yes."
Dominic almost smiled.
"I've been under pressure."
"So has everyone."
"I want to resolve this privately."
Lucian's voice softened.
"That's sensible."
"Come to the mansion tomorrow evening. Bring Valeria."
"What about Margaret?"
"She'll be there."
A pause.
"Has she agreed to the evaluation?"
"No."
Lucian sounded disappointed.
Dominic continued.
"But she's considering the trust papers."
That changed everything.
Lucian became careful.
"Which papers?"
"The temporary proxy."
"I see."
"She thinks signing might stop the family fighting."
Lucian waited before answering.
"That would help."
Dominic ended the call.
Margaret sat across from him.
"You sounded convincing."
"I've spent ten years negotiating with people I dislike."
"You didn't dislike Lucian until yesterday."
Dominic looked away.
That was the painful part.
Margaret reached across the table.
"You trusted him because your father trusted him."
"Did Dad?"
Margaret hesitated.
"I thought he did."
Dominic looked at the blue ledger.
"He was investigating Lucian before he died."
"That doesn't mean he always distrusted him."
"No. It means Lucian had time to get close."
Margaret could see the guilt growing inside her son.
"Dominic."
He looked up.
"Lucian fooled me too."
"You warned me."
"I suspected."
"I dismissed you."
"You were busy."
"I let him make you feel unwelcome in my home."
Margaret's eyes filled.
"Dominic."
"I should have noticed."
She squeezed his hand.
"Then notice now."
Emma waddled into the room holding a stuffed rabbit.
Dominic lifted her.
The child touched his cheek.
"Daddy sad."
He kissed her forehead.
"Not for long."
The trap required three things.
A visible handbag.
A believable argument.
And Lucian's certainty that Margaret was about to expose him.
Dominic told only four people.
Margaret.
Samuel Keene.
The new security director.
Peter Voss.
Peter had called again after learning they accessed Box 317.
Dominic finally spoke to him directly.
Peter refused to reveal his location.
But he gave Dominic one crucial detail.
"The blue ledger isn't just accounting."
"What else is inside?"
"Look at the final five pages under ultraviolet light."
Dominic did.
Hidden markings appeared.
Initials.
Dates.
Transaction codes.
L.H.
V.H.
Several unfamiliar initials.
One repeated more than the others.
G.R.
Dominic photographed it.
"Who is G.R.?"
Peter went silent.
"Peter?"
"I can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?"
"If I'm wrong, I destroy an innocent person. If I'm right, you're not ready."
Dominic's patience snapped.
"My mother was followed. Someone broke into her house. Someone entered my daughter's nursery."
Peter whispered, "Then get Margaret out."
"I'm ending this tomorrow."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Lucian is dangerous when cornered."
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"He's an accountant in a five-thousand-dollar suit."
"No."
Peter's voice became hard.
"He's a frightened man working for someone worse."
Dominic thought of Angelo's letter.
Do not trust the person who tells you this is only about money.
"What does G.R. mean?"
Peter disconnected.
Dominic stared at the phone.
That evening Margaret repaired one frayed handle on the handbag.
Emma sat beside her.
"Ugly bag," Emma said.
Margaret laughed.
"Yes."
"Why keep?"
Margaret looked at her granddaughter.
"Because sometimes old things remember what people want forgotten."
Emma obviously did not understand.
She hugged the bag anyway.
Margaret smiled.
Then the smile faded.
A tiny piece of leather near the bottom seam had been cut.
She had not noticed before.
Margaret touched it.
Inside she felt something hard.
Not the blue ledger.
Not the brass key.
Something beneath the base lining.
Another compartment.
She reached for scissors.
Then stopped.
Angelo had hidden something even from her.
Margaret almost opened it.
Instead, she remembered his warning.
One secret at a time.
May you like
She left it closed.
That decision would matter later.
