Chapter 2 - THE WHITE RABBIT NOBODY WAS ALLOWED TO TOUCH
Dominic Vale had survived three assassination attempts.
He'd buried enemies, betrayed partners, and men who once called themselves his brothers.
But nothing frightened him more than watching his daughter tremble whenever Silas Crane moved.
"Give me the rabbit," Silas said.
I tightened my grip.
"Why?"
His expression hardened.
"It belongs to the Vale family."
"No," Dominic said quietly.
Everyone looked at him.
"It belongs to Audrey."
Silas swallowed.
"Of course."
Dominic stepped toward his daughter.
He lowered himself to one knee.
Then looked at me.
"Ask her if I may see it."
I signed the question.
Audrey considered it.
Then shook her head.
Only Claire.
Silas's face darkened.
"Convenient."
Dominic didn't look at him.
"Then Claire keeps it."
My manager appeared near the kitchen doors, pale and sweating.
"Mr. Vale, I'm terribly sorry about our employee."
Dominic turned.
"Did you threaten her job for helping my daughter?"
The manager swallowed.
"I was following your instructions."
"Then my instructions were wrong."
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
The man who'd fired me less than five minutes earlier had just admitted he made a mistake.
It didn't make him safe.
But it made him more complicated than the stories I'd heard.
Dominic stood.
"Claire, would you be willing to speak with my attorney and my daughter's specialist?"
I hesitated.
My father's last warning echoed in my memory.
Never let the Vales discover you're a Mercer.
But Audrey was holding my hand.
And I couldn't leave her alone with the man she feared.
"I'll help," I said. "But I want an independent child psychologist involved. And nobody questions Audrey until she feels ready."
Dominic nodded.
"Agreed."
Then I looked toward Silas.
"And he stays away from her."
Silas laughed.
"Who do you think you are?"
Before I could answer, Audrey signed something else.
Burned man knows.
I looked down.
Knows what?
She touched the rabbit's belly.
Mommy's voice.
My breath caught.
A recording.
Her mother had hidden a recording inside the toy.
Dominic looked between us.
"What is she saying?"
I told him.
For the first time, his composure cracked.
"Elena left something?"
I nodded.
"Possibly."
Dominic stepped backward.
His wife's name seemed to hurt him more than any threat.
Then his attorney, Evelyn Shaw, arrived.
After arranging to preserve the toy's condition, she obtained Dominic's consent to have the repaired seam examined.
Audrey signed her permission too, watching every movement.
Inside the stuffing was a small waterproof capsule.
My fingers trembled.
The capsule contained a memory card.
Silas suddenly stood.
"That belongs to the family!"
Dominic turned toward him.
"Sit down."
Silas didn't move.
Instead, he reached toward his jacket.
Two guards stepped forward.
Dominic raised one hand.
"Nobody draws a weapon near my daughter."
Silas slowly lowered his arm.
The memory card was placed in an evidence sleeve.
Then Evelyn examined the label.
Two words had been written in faded blue ink.
FOR DOMINIC.
But beneath them was another name.
MERCER.
May you like
My blood went cold.
Because Mercer was the surname my father had begged me to bury five years earlier.
