Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEADDominic didn't sleep that night.
Neither did Marco.
The entire mansion had been turned into a security fortress.
Every entrance was guarded.
Every employee was questioned.
Every vehicle was searched.
The police had been called, but Dominic trusted his own security team more than he trusted anyone outside his organization.
At four in the morning, Marco entered the study.
“We found something.”
Dominic looked up from the photograph.
“What?”
“The man using the guest badge.”
“Anthony Bell?”
“Yes.”
“Real name?”
Marco placed a folder on the desk.
“Adrian Moretti.”
Dominic stared at the name.
His younger brother.
The brother he had buried eight years ago.
“DNA?”
“We're waiting.”
Dominic stood.
“Where was he?”
“Outside the east gate.”
“Then why didn't we catch him?”
“He knew exactly where the cameras were.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“He knew the mansion.”
“Yes.”
“Because he's been here before.”
Marco nodded.
“We found another thing.”
He placed a second photograph on the desk.
It showed a man standing beside a black car.
His face was partially hidden.
But the scar along his jaw was unmistakable.
Dominic remembered it.
Adrian had received it during a fight when they were teenagers.
Dominic stared.
“He's alive.”
Marco didn't answer.
Dominic walked to the window.
Snow had begun falling outside.
Eight years ago, Adrian's car had gone off a mountain road.
The vehicle had burned.
A body had been recovered.
The medical examiner had identified it as Adrian.
Dominic had buried him.
Their mother had collapsed at the funeral.
Their father had stopped speaking about him.
And now…
Adrian had walked into Dominic's mansion.
He had watched Ethan.
He had poisoned a cake.
And he had escaped.
Dominic turned.
“Where is Lily?”
“Upstairs with her mother.”
“Bring them here.”
A few minutes later, Anna entered with Lily.
The little girl looked exhausted.
Dominic pointed to a chair.
“Sit.”
Anna sat.
Lily remained beside her.
Dominic crouched in front of the child.
“Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Did Adrian talk to you?”
She nodded.
“What did he say?”
“He asked me if Ethan was scared of dogs.”
Dominic frowned.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“What else?”
“He asked where Ethan slept.”
Anna suddenly stood.
“Sir…”
Dominic raised his hand.
“Let her speak.”
Lily continued.
“He asked if Ethan's bedroom had a balcony.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Did you answer?”
“I said yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he gave me candy.”
Anna covered her mouth.
Dominic remained calm.
“Where is the candy?”
Lily reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small wrapped piece.
Marco immediately took it.
“Get it tested.”
A guard rushed it away.
Dominic looked at Lily.
“You did the right thing telling me.”
She nodded.
Then she asked:
“Is Uncle Adrian bad?”
Dominic didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he said:
“I don't know.”
Lily looked at him.
“But he wanted Ethan to get sick.”
“Yes.”
“That is bad.”
Dominic nodded.
“Yes.”
Later that morning, Dominic went to the hospital.
The cake had been tested again.
The result was confirmed.
Concentrated cashew protein had been deliberately added to the frosting.
But there was another discovery.
A tiny amount of a sedative had also been found.
Dominic's doctor explained:
“Someone wanted Ethan unconscious.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
“But if he ate the cake?”
“He could have lost consciousness during the allergic reaction.”
Dominic understood.
The attack wasn't designed to cause a public medical emergency.
It was designed to create confusion.
While everyone rushed to Ethan…
someone could have taken him.
Dominic returned home.
He immediately checked the security footage.
At 8:17 PM, the kitchen camera went dark.
At 8:19, a man entered.
At 8:24, he left.
At 8:26, Lily knocked the cake over.
Dominic watched the footage again.
Then again.
Something bothered him.
The man never looked surprised when Lily approached the cake.
He had seen her.
He knew she was watching.
But he didn't stop her.
Dominic paused the video.
Marco leaned closer.
“Why did he let her do it?”
Dominic stared at the screen.
“He wanted her to destroy the cake.”
Marco looked confused.
“Why?”
Dominic zoomed in.
The silver box.
The man's hand.
The red mark.
Then something clicked.
The powder wasn't the real weapon.
It was evidence.
The attacker wanted them to find it.
He wanted Dominic to know someone had targeted Ethan.
But why?
To frighten him.
Or to make him look somewhere else.
Dominic suddenly stood.
“Search Adrian's old files.”
Marco looked at him.
“His financial records?”
“Everything.”
Three hours later, Marco returned.
“Boss.”
Dominic looked up.
“We found a transfer.”
“How much?”
“Five million dollars.”
“From where?”
“Your company.”
Dominic's face hardened.
“To Adrian?”
“No.”
“To an account in Switzerland.”
“Whose account?”
Marco placed the document down.
“Lily's mother.”
Dominic stared.
“Anna?”
“No.”
He pointed to the name.
Eleanor Vale.
Dominic didn't recognize it.
“Who is she?”
Marco shook his head.
“We don't know.”
Dominic looked toward the hallway.
Lily was sitting on the floor playing with Ethan.
Ethan had given her his toy car.
She was pushing it back and forth.
Dominic watched them.
Then he noticed something.
Lily wasn't playing randomly.
She was moving the car toward the same wall where the hidden corridor began.
Dominic walked closer.
“Lily?”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Why are you bringing the car here?”
She pointed at the wall.
“That's where Mommy told me never to go.”
Dominic's expression changed.
“Your mother knows about the corridor?”
Anna went pale.
“I…”
Dominic looked at her.
“You knew?”
Anna shook her head.
“No, sir.”
Lily interrupted.
“Mommy said Aunt Eleanor used to hide things there.”
Dominic froze.
“Eleanor?”
Lily nodded.
“She said Aunt Eleanor was scared.”
Dominic stared at Anna.
“Who is Eleanor Vale?”
Anna looked terrified.
“I don't know.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Then why does your daughter know her name?”
Anna began crying.
“I was told never to say it.”
“By whom?”
She didn't answer.
Dominic's voice became quiet.
“Anna.”
She looked up.
“By my sister.”
Dominic froze.
“Adrian?”
Anna nodded.
“He told me if I ever talked, he would kill Lily.”
Dominic looked at the little girl.
Then at Anna.
And suddenly the entire attack made sense.
Adrian hadn't chosen Lily randomly.
He knew she had seen him.
He knew Anna had information.
And he had been using them both.
Dominic walked toward the window.
“Find Eleanor Vale.”
Marco nodded.
“We will.”
“No.”
Dominic turned.
“I want her alive.”
“Understood.”
“And find Adrian.”
Marco nodded.
“We'll bring him in.”
Dominic looked toward Ethan.
Then Lily.
His voice became cold.
“Because this time…”
May you like
he whispered,
“I'm not burying another member of my family.”
