Chapter 14 - THE BROTHER DOMINIC NEVER HAD
Nathan drove toward the river with Sofia’s original ledger in the passenger seat.
He had removed it from the chapel tunnel before the exchange.
The memory card could destroy his public network.
The paper ledger could destroy Dominic.
It contained records of crimes committed under the Vale name.
Nathan intended to release both sides of the truth.
If he could not control the empire, he would bury it.
Dominic followed in a black sedan.
Daniel remained at the estate with the wounded.
Mia begged Dominic not to go alone.
He went anyway.
The chase ended at the abandoned Vale shipyard.
Nathan’s car struck a chain barrier and stopped near the frozen pier.
He stepped out carrying the ledger and a handgun.
Snow moved across the river.
Dominic approached without raising his weapon.
Nathan laughed.
“You still think this ends with a duel.”
“It ends with the truth.”
“Your truth?”
Nathan held up the ledger.
“You ordered killings.”
“You bribed officials.”
“You built the house I learned to steal from.”
“I never claimed innocence.”
“That is your greatest talent.”
“You admit enough darkness to make people believe you have confessed everything.”
Dominic stopped ten feet away.
“Why did you save me from the car?”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“I needed you alive.”
“That is what Claire said.”
“Claire never understood.”
Nathan looked toward the river.
“Our fathers worked together.”
“Mine died in a warehouse while yours received a marble funeral.”
“I grew up watching your family turn men into tools.”
“I decided I would become the hand instead.”
“You could have left.”
“Men like us do not leave.”
“We take.”
Dominic’s voice remained calm.
“You killed Elena.”
“She was going to destroy seventeen years of work.”
“She was my wife.”
“She was a weakness.”
Nathan smiled.
“And Mia is becoming another.”
Dominic drew his weapon.
Nathan laughed again.
“There you are.”
“The real Dominic Vale.”
“Kill the man who betrayed you.”
“Prove I was right about you.”
Dominic lowered the gun.
“No.”
Nathan stared at him.
“You do not get a brother’s death.”
“You do not get grief.”
“You get a trial.”
Sirens sounded beyond the shipyard.
Detective Sofia Reyes had contacted federal authorities using the evidence from Elena’s card.
Nathan looked toward the approaching lights.
His confidence broke.
“You brought police into this?”
“I brought witnesses.”
Nathan raised his gun.
Dominic moved.
The shot passed through his coat.
He struck Nathan’s arm.
The ledger fell onto the pier.
They fought near the edge.
Nathan drove his shoulder into Dominic’s ribs.
Dominic hit the frozen boards hard.
Nathan reached for the gun.
A second shot rang out.
The bullet struck the wood beside his hand.
Mia stood near the entrance to the pier.
Daniel was beside her, pale from blood loss.
“You should be with Harper,” Dominic said.
“She is with her father,” Mia answered.
Nathan looked at her.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
Mia held Elena’s silver bird in one hand.
“You locked me underground.”
“My daughter still heard me.”
Nathan lunged toward the ledger.
The damaged boards beneath him cracked.
He caught the edge of the pier with one hand.
Dominic moved forward.
Nathan looked up.
For one second, they were brothers again.
At least, they resembled the men they had pretended to be.
“Help me,” Nathan said.
Dominic reached down.
Nathan pulled a knife from his sleeve.
Mia shouted.
Dominic released him.
Nathan fell through the broken pier into the black river.
He surfaced once.
His hand struck the ice.
Then the current pulled him beneath it.
Federal agents searched until dawn.
They recovered the ledger.
May you like
They recovered Nathan’s gun.
They did not recover his body until three days later.
