Chapter 13 - Dominic Makes One Final Move
Dominic looked nothing like the polished executive from the ballroom.
He sat in a hospital bed with a cut over his eyebrow, one wrist handcuffed to the rail.
Two officers stood outside.
Marcus entered alone.
Dominic smiled.
“Still dramatic.”
Marcus closed the door.
“You used my daughter as evidence.”
Dominic’s smile disappeared.
“I put the token in her pocket.”
“You knew Victoria was going after her.”
“I knew Victoria would cause a scene.”
“She threw wine at a seven-year-old.”
“I didn’t tell her to do that.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“You built the conditions.”
Dominic looked away.
That mattered.
Not because it excused him.
Because it told Marcus where the guilt lived.
“What happened at the marina?” Marcus asked.
Dominic laughed weakly.
“Daniel decided I had become a liability.”
“After seven years?”
“After you found the trust.”
Dominic explained.
Daniel had helped construct the original paternity fraud.
Over time, he became more than a lawyer.
He helped Dominic move money, hide certifications, and manipulate board records.
Evan handled digital access.
Daniel handled legal cover.
Dominic handled family.
“Why leave the evidence?” Marcus asked.
“Insurance.”
“Against Daniel?”
“Against everyone.”
Marcus stared.
“Even Mom?”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“Especially Mom.”
Marcus almost struck him.
Instead he stepped back.
“You blame her?”
“She taught us the rule.”
“What rule?”
“Nothing matters more than protecting the Vale name.”
Marcus said nothing.
Dominic smiled bitterly.
“I just got better at it.”
“No. You learned how to hide behind it.”
For the first time, Dominic looked genuinely angry.
“You think you’re different?”
“I hope I’m becoming different.”
The answer seemed to surprise them both.
Dominic looked toward the window.
“Father always picked you.”
Marcus shook his head.
“This was never about Dad loving me more.”
“It was about control.”
“Yes.”
Dominic’s eyes flashed.
“And you got it without wanting it.”
“You tried to keep it by erasing my daughter.”
Dominic looked away again.
Marcus saw it then.
Not remorse.
Shame.
Thin, late, and probably useless.
But real.
“Where is Daniel?” Marcus asked.
“Custody.”
“Evan?”
“Daniel sent him north yesterday.”
“Where?”
Dominic shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Marcus turned toward the door.
“Marcus.”
He stopped.
Dominic’s voice softened.
“I never meant for Sophie to get hurt.”
Marcus looked back.
“That sentence is what people say when they want credit for the line they didn’t cross.”
Dominic stared.
Marcus continued.
“You used her. You scared her. You planted evidence on her. You turned adults against her because she threatened your money.”
Dominic had no answer.
Marcus opened the door.
Then Dominic said one more thing.
“There’s a copy.”
Marcus turned.
“Of what?”
“The gala footage.”
“Police have it.”
“No.”
Dominic shook his head.
“The control-room copy Evan made. It has audio.”
Marcus froze.
The ballroom cameras were supposed to be silent.
Dominic explained that Evan had temporarily routed the microphone feed from the gala webcast into the security archive.
The copied file captured conversations near the stage.
Including Margaret and Victoria.
Including Dominic.
Including Daniel.
“Daniel was at the gala?”
Marcus stared.
Dominic nodded.
“Service corridor. Staff badge.”
Marcus remembered the half-seen technician carrying a bag.
He had assumed Evan.
“What did Daniel say?”
Dominic laughed without humor.
“That’s why he tried to kill me.”
The copy had recorded Daniel giving Dominic one final instruction.
If the scene gets out of control, make sure Marcus looks violent.
Marcus felt cold.
“Where is the copy?”
Dominic looked at him.
“I put it somewhere Daniel would never search.”
“Where?”
A faint smile.
“With the one person everybody underestimated.”
Marcus’s anger spiked.
“Sophie?”
“No.”
Dominic shook his head.
“Elena.”
Marcus stared.
Dominic explained that before the gala, he had slipped a small flash drive into Elena’s scholarship presentation folder.
He had intended to retrieve it later.
After the scene exploded, she left with the folder.
Marcus called Elena immediately.
She answered on the second ring.
“Check the blue scholarship binder.”
A pause.
“Why?”
“Just check.”
He heard papers moving.
Then silence.
“Marcus.”
“What?”
“There’s a flash drive taped inside.”
May you like
Before he could respond, Elena screamed.
The line went dead.
