Chapter 8 - THE MINE BENEATH THE MOUNTAIN
The old Vale mine had been closed for twenty-three years.
Dominic remembered visiting once as a child.
His father had stood beside him on a ridge and said:
“Never trust anything built on unstable ground.”
At the time, Dominic thought he meant mining.
Now he understood Alexander had probably meant the family.
Snow continued falling as Dominic's convoy approached the abandoned property.
Elena sat in the armored vehicle.
“You should stay here.”
She didn't even look at him.
“No.”
“Had to try.”
“Yes.”
Dominic almost smiled.
Marco displayed the mine map.
“Kane has generators running. Thermal cameras show five additional people.”
“Elena's family?”
“Three hostages. Two armed.”
“Kane makes three.”
“Yes.”
Dominic studied the tunnels.
“Secondary entrance?”
“Collapsed.”
Elena looked closer.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
She pointed.
“My father used to take me camping near here.”
Dominic frowned.
“When?”
“I was a kid.”
She traced an old maintenance trail.
“There was an air shaft.”
Marco checked historical maps.
“She’s right.”
Dominic stared.
“Why did your father bring you near Vale property?”
Elena thought.
“He said he liked mountains.”
“No,” Marco said slowly.
“He was checking hiding places.”
Frank had been preparing for this for years.
They divided the team.
Dominic entered through the main service road.
Marco used the air shaft with tactical officers.
Elena stayed in the command vehicle.
At least, that was the agreement.
Inside the mining office, Elias Kane waited.
Forty.
Lean.
Scar near his ear.
The man Elena had seen at the party.
Dominic stepped into the light.
“Kane.”
Elias smiled.
“Alexander's prince.”
Dominic hated the title.
“Let them go.”
“Eventually.”
Frank sat tied to a chair.
Laura beside him.
Sebastian had blood on his face.
Dominic looked at Kane.
“You killed my father.”
Elias tilted his head.
“Your mother ordered it.”
“You pulled the trigger.”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
Dominic's hand tightened.
Elias continued.
“You want revenge.”
“I want answers.”
“That's disappointing.”
“I grew up.”
Elias laughed.
“Alexander said something similar.”
Dominic's eyes hardened.
“What did my father do to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Harold said you hated me because Alexander chose me.”
Elias smiled.
“Harold misunderstood.”
“Then explain.”
Elias looked toward Frank.
“Tell him.”
Frank closed his eyes.
Dominic frowned.
“Tell me what?”
Frank whispered:
“Elias is your brother.”
Silence.
Dominic stared at Kane.
“No.”
Elias laughed.
“That reaction is becoming predictable.”
Sebastian spoke:
“It's true.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Alexander?”
Sebastian nodded.
“Before Camille. Another woman.”
Elias's face hardened.
“Alexander paid my mother to disappear.”
Dominic stared.
“He was seventeen.”
“She was seventeen too.”
Nobody spoke.
Elias continued.
“My mother raised me alone. Poor. Afraid. Then Alexander Vale built an empire and raised his legitimate son like royalty.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“You murdered him because he abandoned you?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because when I found him, he offered me money.”
Elias's eyes burned.
“Not a name. Not a place. Money.”
Dominic thought of Alexander.
The father he had worshiped.
Another flawed man.
Another secret.
Elias looked at the ledger.
“Everything he built belongs to me too.”
“You could've asked.”
Elias laughed.
“Men like you only understand demands.”
Dominic glanced toward Frank.
“Elena?”
Kane smiled.
“She was never supposed to survive the Christmas party.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
“The bomb was diversion. The storm was opportunity.”
Elena listened from the command vehicle.
Her blood went cold.
Elias continued.
“Vanessa made things easier than expected.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“You planned to kill Elena.”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what?”
“Take her.”
“Why?”
“Frank would come out of hiding.”
Frank stared at the floor.
It worked.
Elena had been bait.
Her entire life had been manipulated to reach her father.
Then the command vehicle door opened behind her.
Elena turned.
A guard she didn't recognize pointed a gun.
“Come with me.”
Her heart stopped.
Kane had another man outside.
She slowly raised her hands.
“Okay.”
He took her radio.
“Move.”
Elena stepped into the snow.
But she was a teacher.
Not a soldier.
Not a killer.
She understood something armed men often forgot.
People become careless when they believe you're powerless.
She stumbled deliberately.
The guard grabbed her.
Elena twisted and shoved him against the vehicle door.
He cursed.
The gun dropped.
She kicked it beneath the SUV.
Then ran.
A shot cracked.
Snow exploded beside her.
She reached the old maintenance path.
The air shaft.
Instead of running away, she entered the mine.
Because her father was inside.
Dominic heard gunfire through his earpiece.
His face changed.
“Marco?”
“Outside breach.”
“Elena?”
“No visual.”
Dominic's pulse slammed.
Kane smiled.
“Trouble?”
Dominic stepped closer.
“If anything happens to her—”
“You'll what?”
A voice came from behind Kane.
“Hopefully something unpleasant.”
Everyone turned.
Elena stood at the tunnel entrance holding the fallen guard's radio.
Not the gun.
Dominic almost stopped breathing.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Helping.”
“You were supposed to stay outside.”
“Yes.”
“This is not a classroom.”
“I noticed.”
Even Frank laughed weakly.
Kane's expression changed.
“You really are Frank's daughter.”
Elena stared at him.
“Yes.”
“Technically?”
She looked at Frank.
A strange question.
Elias smiled.
“You still don't know.”
Dominic's stomach tightened.
“What now?”
Elias looked at Frank.
“Tell her who her father actually is.”
Elena froze.
Frank's eyes filled with tears.
“Elena…”
She whispered:
“No.”
Frank looked broken.
“I wanted to be.”
“You are.”
“Biologically…”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Elias laughed.
Then said the name.
“Sebastian Vale.”
Elena turned toward Sebastian.
He went pale.
Dominic stared.
If true, Elena was not Dominic's half-sister.
She was his cousin.
Still family.
The possibility destroyed every unspoken feeling at once.
But Sebastian immediately said:
“That's a lie.”
Elias's smile widened.
“Is it?”
Then Frank looked at Elena.
And whispered:
“Sebastian isn't your father either.”
Everyone stared.
Frank continued.
“The truth is worse.”
And before he could reveal it, the mine shook.
An explosion thundered underground.
May you like
The tunnel behind them collapsed.
And the lights went out.
