Chapter 4 - The Secret in Cleveland
We reached Cleveland before sunrise.
Dominic's private plane landed while the sky was still gray.
I had never flown on a private jet before.
Under different circumstances, I might have been impressed.
Instead, I spent the entire flight staring at the photograph of my mother.
Dominic sat across from me.
"You should sleep."
"I can't."
"You're still recovering."
"My mother is missing."
"We'll find her."
"You said that before."
He looked at me.
"And I was wrong."
That honesty surprised me.
I looked down.
"Why did you marry me?"
Silence.
Then he answered.
"Because I knew someone inside my family was involved."
"And?"
"And because if you're my wife, anyone who touches you declares war on me."
"You could have protected me without marrying me."
"Maybe."
"Then why didn't you?"
He looked away.
"Because I was afraid."
I almost laughed.
"You're afraid?"
"Of losing you."
The words hung between us.
We hadn't known each other for two days.
Yet something about his voice made them feel true.
When we arrived at the hospital, my mother's room was empty.
The bed was made.
Her belongings were gone.
I froze.
"No."
Dominic caught my shoulders.
"Emily."
"She was here."
"We'll find her."
I pushed past him.
A nurse approached.
"Ms. Hayes?"
"Yes."
"Your mother was discharged last night."
"By whom?"
The nurse checked the records.
"A man."
"What man?"
"He said he was family."
I looked at Dominic.
"Did he show identification?"
"Yes."
"What name?"
The nurse hesitated.
"Richard Rossi."
Dominic's face hardened.
"My father."
"But he's dead."
The nurse stared at him.
"I'm sorry?"
Dominic turned to Enzo.
"Find out who used my father's identity."
Minutes later, we discovered something worse.
My mother hadn't been discharged.
She had been removed from the hospital under an emergency transfer order.
A fake one.
Someone had planned it.
We tracked the vehicle to an abandoned warehouse outside the city.
Dominic refused to let me enter.
"I am coming."
"No."
"My mother is inside."
"It's dangerous."
"Then stay beside me."
He looked at me.
Something changed in his expression.
"Fine."
We entered together.
The warehouse was empty.
Almost.
A chair sat in the middle of the floor.
On it was a cassette recorder.
Dominic pressed play.
My mother's voice filled the room.
"Emily, if you're hearing this, I'm sorry."
My knees weakened.
Dominic caught me.
The recording continued.
"I never wanted you to know."
A long pause.
"Your father was not the man you were told he was."
I looked at Dominic.
His expression was unreadable.
My mother continued.
"Twenty-six years ago, I worked for Richard Rossi. I discovered he was using several companies to hide money."
The recording crackled.
"But that wasn't the worst thing."
"What was it?" I whispered.
The voice continued.
"Richard had a son."
Dominic looked at me.
"Dominic."
My heart stopped.
My mother said:
"Dominic was only a teenager when I discovered what his father was doing."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Then the recording continued.
"I tried to expose Richard."
"He threatened me."
"He threatened Dominic."
My eyes widened.
"Dominic?"
My mother continued.
"Richard told me that if I went to the police, he would destroy his own son."
Dominic looked away.
I suddenly understood why he had become the man he was.
He hadn't simply inherited an empire.
He had inherited a war.
Then my mother's voice became quieter.
"But there is one thing I never told Richard."
The recording paused.
"I knew his biggest secret."
A door slammed somewhere behind us.
Dominic immediately pulled me close.
A gunshot cracked.
We dropped behind a concrete barrier.
More shots followed.
Enzo's men returned fire.
Dominic shielded me with his body.
When the shooting stopped, we found a phone on the floor.
It was ringing.
Dominic answered.
A man's voice said:
"Did you enjoy the recording?"
"Where is Ellen?"
"Safe."
"Put her on."
"Not yet."
Dominic's voice became deadly.
"If you hurt her—"
"You'll do what?"
Silence.
Then:
"You'll finally learn what your father was willing to do to protect his blood."
The call ended.
I looked at Dominic.
"What does he mean?"
Dominic didn't answer.
Enzo walked toward us holding another photograph.
He looked shaken.
"Boss."
"What?"
"We found this in the warehouse."
He handed it over.
It showed my mother.
Holding a newborn baby.
And standing beside her was Richard Rossi.
But the baby wasn't me.
The date on the photograph was two years before I was born.
I stared at it.
"Who is that child?"
Dominic looked at the photograph.
Then his face changed.
"I don't know."
Enzo whispered:
"Maybe that's the secret."
The photograph had one word written on the back.
Daniel.
Then Dominic's phone rang.
He answered.
A woman screamed through the line.
"Dominic!"
His face went white.
It was Isabella.
"The house has been attacked."
Dominic looked at me.
"Your mother isn't the only person they took."
"Who?"
"Isabella."
My heart sank.
The enemy had stopped hiding.
May you like
And they were coming for everyone Dominic loved.
Including me.
