Chapter 3: The Evidence That Could Destroy Them
Dominic read the message twice.
Come alone.
Elena saw his face. “What is it?”
“Someone says they have copies.”
Victoria’s father moved first. “That sounds like a trap.”
Dominic looked at him. “Funny. I was thinking the same thing.”
Victoria’s smile disappeared.
Dominic turned to Father Thomas. “Can Elena and Noah stay here for a while?”
The old priest nodded. “Of course.”
Elena grabbed Dominic’s arm. “No. You shouldn’t go alone.”
The warmth of her hand stunned him.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then she let go.
“I mean,” she said quickly, “this could be dangerous.”
Dominic’s voice softened. “I know.”
Noah stepped forward. “I can come.”
Elena pulled him back. “Absolutely not.”
Dominic managed a small smile. “You’ve already done the brave part, buddy.”
Noah looked serious. “Don’t let the bad people win.”
Dominic nodded.
“I won’t.”
The message led him to the basement parking garage beneath an old Hale Development building near the harbor.
No cameras.
No guards.
Just concrete, cold air, and the sound of dripping water.
Dominic walked past empty parking spaces until a voice came from behind a pillar.
“You’re late.”
A thin man stepped out.
Dominic recognized him after a moment.
“Arthur?”
Arthur Bell had once been his father’s assistant. Dominic remembered him as a quiet man who always carried paper files and never looked anyone in the eye.
Arthur looked older now. Tired. Scared.
“I kept copies,” Arthur said. “I should have come forward years ago.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Arthur laughed bitterly. “Because rich men don’t fall. People under them do.”
Dominic did not argue.
Arthur handed him a flash drive and a thick envelope.
“Mateo Rivera didn’t cause that accident,” Arthur said. “He tried to stop it.”
Dominic opened the envelope.
Photos.
Emails.
Signed inspection reports.
Warnings.
All ignored.
Then he saw a name at the bottom of an approval document.
Margaret Hale.
His mother.
Dominic’s stomach turned.
Arthur continued, “Your mother approved the cover-up. Victoria’s father handled the settlement. And Victoria…”
Dominic looked up. “What about Victoria?”
Arthur’s face tightened.
“She found out last year. She used it.”
“For what?”
“To make sure your mother supported the wedding.”
Dominic felt rage rise in him, clean and sharp.
“She blackmailed my mother?”
Arthur nodded. “And your mother let her.”
Before Dominic could answer, tires screamed at the garage entrance.
Arthur’s eyes widened.
“They followed you.”
A black SUV tore around the corner.
Dominic grabbed Arthur and shoved him behind a column.
The SUV stopped.
Two men got out.
Not police.
Not security.
One of them held a gun low at his side.
Dominic’s pulse slowed in a strange, deadly way.
“Run,” he whispered.
Arthur shook his head. “I’m done running.”
The first man called out, “Mr. Hale, hand over the drive.”
Dominic stepped into view.
“Who sent you?”
The man smiled. “A friend who cares about your future.”
Dominic held up the flash drive.
“You want it?”
The man raised the gun.
Dominic threw the drive as hard as he could.
The man turned his head.
That was all Dominic needed.
He slammed into him, knocking the gun across the concrete. Arthur shouted. The second man lunged.
For thirty brutal seconds, the garage became chaos.
Then police sirens exploded outside.
The men froze.
Arthur smiled through a bleeding lip.
“I didn’t come alone either.”
Police rushed in.
Dominic stood there, breathing hard, blood on his knuckles, the envelope still tucked inside his jacket.
Two hours later, he returned to the church.
Elena ran toward him.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“I said I’m fine.”
She touched his cheek gently.
This time, he did not move away.
Margaret stood near the altar, looking smaller than he had ever seen her.
Victoria was gone.
Dominic held up the envelope.
“I know everything.”
Margaret’s face crumpled.
“Dominic, I did it to protect you.”
“No,” he said. “You did it to protect the name.”
She began to cry.
He looked at Elena.
“I’m reopening the investigation. Publicly.”
Elena covered her mouth.
“And Mateo’s name will be cleared.”
For the first time all day, she smiled.
Then Father Thomas hurried in from the side hall.
“Dominic.”
Something in his voice made everyone turn.
“Noah is gone.”
Elena’s smile vanished.
“What?”
Father Thomas held up a folded note with shaking hands.
Dominic took it.
May you like
The note had only one sentence.
If you want the boy back, bury the truth.
