Chapter 2 - The Caregiver's Secret
Marin Hayes sat across from Dominic in the library while rain struck the tall windows.
Isabella was resting upstairs.
Two guards stood outside the door.
Vivien was confined to a guest room under surveillance.
The mansion had become strangely quiet.
Marin folded her hands on the table.
"She started asking questions six months ago."
Dominic listened.
"What kind of questions?"
"About your mother."
"Medical?"
"Some."
"What else?"
"Your schedules."
His expression hardened.
"Mine?"
"Yes."
"Who did she ask about?"
"Me. Your security. Your mother’s doctors. The people who visit the house."
"Did she ever ask about my business?"
Marin hesitated.
"Once."
"What did she ask?"
"She asked whether your mother knew where you kept your private records."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"And what did you say?"
"Nothing."
"Good."
Marin looked down.
"I should have told you."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I didn't have proof."
"You had enough reason."
"I was afraid."
Dominic leaned back.
"Of Vivien?"
"Of what would happen if I accused her and you believed her instead."
He studied her.
"Why would you think that?"
Marin smiled bitterly.
"Because everyone believed her."
She looked toward the window.
"She was beautiful. Polished. Rich. Educated. She knew which fork to use at dinner and which charity to donate to. I was a caregiver who sometimes spilled coffee on my uniform."
Dominic frowned.
"That doesn't matter."
"It mattered to her."
"What did she do?"
"She reminded me."
Marin's voice became quieter.
"Little things."
"Such as?"
"She would ask whether my son had enough food. Whether his school fees were paid. Whether I was certain I could afford to refuse her."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"She paid your salary."
"Exactly."
Marin looked directly at him.
"She wanted me to feel owned."
The library door opened.
Carlo entered.
"Boss."
Dominic looked up.
"What?"
"We identified the man outside the school."
"Who?"
"Name's Victor Hale."
Dominic went still.
Carlo placed a folder on the desk.
"Former security contractor. Worked for the Maro family for seven years."
"Alive?"
"Unfortunately."
Dominic opened the folder.
Victor Hale.
Photographs.
Criminal records.
Financial transfers.
Dominic's eyes stopped on one page.
A payment.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
Three months earlier.
The sender was a company Dominic recognized.
A shell company.
But the real owner was not Maro.
Dominic looked at Carlo.
"Who owns this?"
"We're still tracing it."
"Find out."
Carlo nodded.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?"
His face changed.
"Where?"
He listened.
Then looked at Dominic.
"The school contacted us."
Dominic stood.
"What happened?"
"Elias disappeared for approximately eleven minutes."
Marin rose so quickly her chair struck the floor.
"What?"
Carlo raised a hand.
"He was found."
Marin's breathing stopped.
"Where?"
"Inside the school nurse's office."
Dominic looked at Carlo.
"Who took him?"
"No one knows."
"What does Elias say?"
"He says a man approached him near the side gate."
Marin covered her mouth.
"Did he touch him?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"He told Elias that his mother had sent him."
Marin closed her eyes.
"He wouldn't believe him."
"He didn't."
"Good."
Carlo continued.
"Elias said the man knew his name, his teacher's name, and the name of his favorite dog."
Marin began shaking.
Dominic moved toward her.
"He's safe."
"He was scared."
"I know."
"He was alone."
"I know."
"I told him never to trust strangers."
"You did the right thing."
She looked at Dominic.
"He almost got taken because of me."
"No."
"Because of me."
Dominic's voice became firm.
"No one touches your son because of you."
Marin stared at him.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
"I've spent years trying to keep him out of dangerous people's lives."
She looked toward the door.
"His father was dangerous."
Dominic said nothing.
Marin continued.
"His name was Adrian."
"Where is he?"
"Dead."
"How?"
"Car accident."
Dominic watched her.
"Was it an accident?"
Marin's face went pale.
"I don't know."
"Tell me everything."
She swallowed.
"Adrian worked for people who moved money through ports."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Which ports?"
"Newport."
Silence.
Marin continued.
"I didn't know what he did at first. He told me he worked in shipping. Then money started appearing. A lot of it."
"How much?"
"Enough to make me suspicious."
"And then?"
"One night, he came home bleeding."
Dominic's gaze sharpened.
"Why?"
"He said he had stolen something."
"What?"
"A ledger."
Dominic went completely still.
"Where is it?"
"I don't know."
"Marin."
"I swear."
"What happened to Adrian?"
"He disappeared for two days."
"And then?"
"The police called. They said his car had gone off a cliff."
Dominic slowly sat down.
"Was the ledger found?"
"No."
"Did anyone search your home?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Men I had never seen before."
Dominic's eyes darkened.
"How long ago?"
"Ten years."
"Before Elias?"
"Yes."
Marin looked down.
"Elias was six months old."
Dominic's mind moved quickly.
A missing ledger.
A dead man.
The Maro family.
Vivien.
The attack on Isabella.
And now Elias.
The connections were beginning to form.
"Why did Vivien know about your son?"
Marin shook her head.
"I don't know."
Dominic stared at her.
"Think."
Marin closed her eyes.
Then she whispered:
"She asked about Adrian."
"When?"
"Four months ago."
"Exactly what did she ask?"
"Whether he had ever left anything behind."
Dominic's blood ran cold.
"What did you say?"
"That I had nothing."
"Did she believe you?"
"I don't know."
Carlo stepped closer.
"Boss."
Dominic looked at him.
"We traced the shell company."
"And?"
"It belongs to a holding company in the Cayman Islands."
"Owner?"
Carlo hesitated.
"Vivien Morrow."
Marin whispered, "No."
Dominic closed his eyes for a moment.
The woman he had planned to marry had been moving money.
His fiancée had hired a former Maro operative.
She had been asking about a missing ledger.
And she knew exactly where Marin's son went to school.
This was no longer a family betrayal.
It was a conspiracy.
Dominic stood.
"Bring Vivien here."
Two guards escorted her into the library.
Her hair was slightly disheveled.
Her face was pale.
But she was still composed.
She looked at Marin.
Then at Dominic.
"What do you want?"
Dominic placed the folder on the table.
Vivien glanced at it.
"What is this?"
"Your company."
Her eyes moved quickly.
"You investigated me."
"I did."
"You had no right."
Dominic almost smiled.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"You keep using that sentence."
Vivien looked away.
Dominic opened another file.
"Victor Hale."
Her expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Dominic saw it.
"Who is he?"
"I don't know."
"Wrong answer."
"I've never met him."
"Another lie."
Vivien stood.
"You've already decided I'm guilty."
"No."
Dominic leaned forward.
"I'm giving you one opportunity."
"For what?"
"To tell me the truth."
Vivien laughed.
"You think I'm afraid of you?"
"No."
Dominic looked at her.
"I think you're afraid of what I know."
Her face hardened.
"What do you know?"
"That you hired Victor Hale."
Silence.
"That you have been moving money through a shell company."
Silence.
"That you've been asking about my mother's medical condition."
Vivien's lips parted.
"And that you have been looking for something Adrian Hayes stole ten years ago."
Marin's eyes widened.
Vivien looked at her.
For the first time, pure hatred appeared in her face.
Dominic saw it.
So did Marin.
Vivien turned toward him.
"You have no idea what you're involved in."
"Then tell me."
"You think this is about money?"
"What is it about?"
"Survival."
"Whose?"
Vivien said nothing.
Dominic leaned back.
"You know what I find interesting?"
She remained silent.
"You threatened a child."
Her eyes flickered.
"That means you're desperate."
Dominic's voice lowered.
"And desperate people make mistakes."
Vivien smiled slowly.
"You should ask your mother what happened three years ago."
Dominic froze.
Marin looked at him.
Vivien's smile widened.
"Ask her who opened the door that night."
Dominic stared at her.
"What did you say?"
"I think she remembers."
He moved toward her.
Vivien did not retreat.
"The attack on your mother wasn't random."
Dominic's face became empty.
"Who?"
Vivien whispered:
"Someone inside your family."
Then the lights went out.
The mansion plunged into darkness.
A gunshot cracked somewhere upstairs.
Marin screamed.
Dominic grabbed her and pulled her behind the desk.
Guards shouted.
Another shot.
Then Isabella's alarm began screaming through the mansion.
Dominic ran toward the stairs.
May you like
"Mother!"
And behind him, Vivien smiled in the darkness.
