CHAPTER 18 — The Secret Inside Dominic Bennett
Nobody spoke.
Not because there was nothing to say.
Because there was too much.
The entire night had been a series of impossible revelations.
A stolen ring.
A hidden empire.
A missing brother.
A father accused.
A dead mother returning.
But nothing compared to this.
Dominic was the secret.
My husband stood completely still.
His eyes moved between Elena and me.
"I don't understand."
His voice was barely audible.
"What are you saying?"
Elena looked at him with sadness.
Not hatred.
Not suspicion.
Almost pity.
"I'm saying you were never just Richard Bennett's son."
Dominic shook his head.
"My father was a businessman."
"No."
Elena replied quietly.
"He was a guardian."
Everyone looked confused.
"A guardian of what?"
Elena looked at the underground archive around us.
"Of the final Orion protocol."
Detective Harris stepped forward.
"Explain."
Elena nodded.
"Project Orion was divided into three parts."
"The first was information."
"The second was influence."
"The third..."
She looked at Dominic.
"Was control."
Dominic laughed nervously.
"This makes no sense."
"My whole life I was just Dominic Bennett."
"A man who worked in finance."
"A man who married Vivienne."
"A man who had no idea any of this existed."
Elena nodded.
"Exactly."
"That's why it worked."
My father looked at her.
"Elena..."
"Tell me you didn't."
She looked at him.
"I didn't create this."
"But I discovered it."
A pause.
"And I tried to stop it."
Victoria opened another file from the archive.
"There are records here."
Everyone turned.
"What records?"
She looked at Dominic.
"Biometric records."
Dominic frowned.
"What?"
"From when you were a child."
His face changed.
"I never gave anyone my biometric information."
Elena answered:
"You did."
"When you were six years old."
Dominic stepped back.
"No."
"My father took you to a private medical facility."
"He told you it was a normal health examination."
"But it wasn't."
The room became silent.
Dominic looked sick.
"My father..."
"Used me?"
Elena looked away.
"Yes."
I watched Dominic carefully.
For the first time all night...
I saw something beyond guilt.
Fear.
Real fear.
Because he wasn't remembering a lie.
He was discovering one.
"Why me?"
Dominic whispered.
Elena's expression softened.
"Because your bloodline was connected to Orion."
Everyone looked confused.
"Bloodline?"
She nodded.
"Your grandfather was one of the original people involved."
"Your family had access."
"But unlike the Ashcrofts..."
"The Bennetts were never meant to lead."
"They were meant to protect."
Richard suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
He stood near the archive entrance.
"You always make yourself sound like the hero, Elena."
Her expression hardened.
"Richard."
"You weren't protecting Dominic."
"You were preparing him."
Richard smiled.
"Preparing him for what he was born to do."
Dominic looked at his father.
"What did you put inside me?"
Richard didn't answer.
That was worse.
Detective Harris stepped toward Richard.
"You know exactly what we're talking about."
Richard smiled.
"I know more than anyone."
"Then explain."
Richard looked at Dominic.
"Your son has spent his entire life carrying the Orion Key."
The words sounded impossible.
"The Orion Key?"
Victoria immediately searched the archive.
Then froze.
"What?"
"What did you find?"
She looked at Dominic.
"His medical records."
"There's a hidden encryption pattern."
"What does that mean?"
"It means..."
She swallowed.
"Something was encoded using Dominic's genetic profile."
Dominic touched his own arm instinctively.
"What are you saying?"
Elena answered.
"The final Orion files weren't stored on a computer."
"They weren't stored in a vault."
"They weren't stored anywhere people could steal them."
She looked at him.
"They were designed to be impossible to remove."
A cold silence filled the room.
"Because..."
My voice was quiet.
"They were stored in him?"
Elena nodded.
Dominic stared at everyone.
"This is insane."
"No."
Richard said.
"This is why you were valuable."
Dominic looked at his father.
"All my life..."
"You knew?"
Richard smiled.
"I knew what you could become."
The anger on Dominic's face finally appeared.
"You used me."
Richard shrugged.
"Everyone uses what they have."
I stepped between them.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
"He is not a tool."
"He is not a weapon."
"He is a person."
My voice shook.
"And if anyone in this room forgot that..."
"They forgot what my mother was fighting for."
Elena looked at me.
Pride filled her eyes.
"That's why she chose you."
I looked at her.
"Who?"
She smiled sadly.
"Your mother."
A loud alarm suddenly interrupted us.
The archive lights turned red.
Victoria checked the system.
Her face changed.
"Someone is accessing the Orion network."
Detective Harris immediately asked:
"Who?"
She stared at the screen.
"No identification."
"Unknown source."
My father frowned.
"Impossible."
"Why?"
"Because the only person who could activate that system..."
He looked at Dominic.
"...is him."
Everyone turned.
Dominic shook his head.
"I didn't do anything."
Then his phone began ringing.
Everyone froze.
Because his phone had been turned off.
He slowly took it out.
The screen showed one message.
UNKNOWN CALLER
Dominic stared.
"I don't know this number."
Elena whispered:
"Answer it."
"No."
"Dominic."
Her voice became serious.
"You need to know."
Slowly...
He pressed answer.
At first...
Only silence.
Then a voice.
A voice everyone recognized.
Adrian.
"Hello, Dominic."
Dominic's face changed.
"Adrian?"
The voice continued.
"I know you're confused."
"But you need to listen carefully."
A pause.
"Your father lied to you."
Dominic looked toward Richard.
"What?"
Adrian continued:
"He didn't hide the Orion Key inside you."
"He hid something else."
The room waited.
"What?"
Adrian's voice became colder.
"He hid the fact that..."
"...you were never Richard Bennett's son."
Nobody moved.
Dominic stopped breathing.
My father looked shocked.
Elena closed her eyes.
Because she already knew.
Adrian continued:
"Dominic..."
"Your real father was Charles Ashcroft."
The room exploded.
"What?"
My father stepped backward.
"No."
Dominic looked at him.
Confusion.
Fear.
Anger.
Everything at once.
Adrian's final words came through the phone:
"You aren't the missing piece of Project Orion."
"You are the reason it started."
The call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Because if Adrian was telling the truth...
Then the entire story changed.
Dominic wasn't connected to Project Orion.
He was connected to both families.
Ashcroft.
May you like
Bennett.
And the secret that destroyed them all.
