Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO HAD A KEY TO MY HOME
The photograph made my blood run cold.
I recognized the red plastic keychain immediately.
It was shaped like a tiny heart, chipped along one side.
My mother had given it to me before she died.
“That belongs to me,” I whispered.
Dominic stared at the screen.
“Are you sure?”
“My apartment key. They took it last night.”
He picked up his phone.
“Victor. Secure the west garage. Nobody enters or leaves until I say otherwise.”
A deep voice answered.
“Understood.”
Dominic disconnected.
“Emily, listen carefully. You're staying here today.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“My apartment. My things.”
“Things can be replaced.”
“My mother's photographs can't.”
Something softened in his eyes.
“We'll get them.”
I looked toward the locked study door.
“What about Caleb?”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Leave Caleb to me.”
A knock interrupted us.
“Dominic?” Caleb called.
My entire body tightened.
Dominic didn't look away from me.
“Stay seated.”
He unlocked the door.
Caleb entered wearing a navy suit and an easy smile.
“Victor says you're locking down the garage. Something wrong?”
Dominic leaned against his desk.
“Someone attacked Emily last night.”
Caleb looked at me.
His smile disappeared.
“Jesus. Are you okay?”
I couldn't speak.
He approached.
“Em, why didn't you tell me?”
Dominic stepped between us.
“Don't.”
Caleb stopped.
For one terrifying second, something ugly flashed behind his eyes.
Then he laughed.
“What's going on?”
“Your car,” Dominic said.
“What about it?”
“You reported it stolen.”
“That's right.”
“It's in my garage.”
Caleb's face went pale.
Then he recovered.
“Someone must've returned it.”
“Without telling you?”
“I haven't checked.”
Dominic folded his arms.
“Interesting.”
Caleb glanced at me again.
I recognized the warning in his expression.
The same warning he'd given me three weeks earlier when I'd accidentally entered the estate's underground archive.
I'd been cleaning the lower hallway when I heard two men arguing behind a door.
One voice belonged to Caleb.
The other had said something about a missing ledger.
I hadn't understood.
Until Caleb opened the door and found me standing there.
He'd smiled.
But he'd held my wrist too tightly.
Some doors are better left closed, Emily.
Now, standing in Dominic's study, he wore that same smile.
“Dominic, can we speak privately?”
“No.”
“It's family business.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“Emily is staying.”
Caleb's jaw tightened.
Before he could answer, Dominic's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Dr. Sullivan.
He answered.
“Tell me.”
I watched his expression change.
“What do you mean, the hospital records were altered?”
My stomach twisted.
Dominic looked directly at Caleb.
Then he asked the doctor another question.
“Who authorized the change?”
A pause.
Dominic's eyes became ice.
“Send me the original file.”
He ended the call.
Caleb swallowed.
“What hospital records?”
Dominic didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward me.
“Emily, you told me your mother died in a car accident seven years ago.”
“Yes.”
May you like
He looked at Caleb.
“Apparently, she didn't.”
