Chapter 4 - THE PROMISE MY FATHER NEVER EXPLAINED
My father died with a secret that belonged to another family.
That was the truth I carried into Dominic Vale's private office the following morning.
His mansion overlooked Lake Michigan.
Everything was expensive.
Everything was polished.
And everything felt designed to remind visitors how much power he possessed.
But the first thing I noticed wasn't the marble staircase.
It was Audrey sitting alone beside a window.
She was holding a picture book upside down.
A television played nearby.
Nobody had turned on the captions.
My heart ached.
I approached slowly.
Audrey looked up.
Her entire face brightened.
Claire!
I smiled.
Good morning, sweetheart.
She ran toward me.
For a moment, I forgot the guards watching us.
Forgot Dominic.
Forgot the terrible secret hidden inside her rabbit.
I simply hugged a frightened little girl who'd finally found someone she could talk to.
Then Dominic entered.
He watched us quietly.
"She asked for you all morning," he said.
I looked up.
"Did she sign?"
He shook his head.
"She pointed at the door."
I swallowed.
"She needs consistent communication, Mr. Vale."
He nodded.
"I know."
Then he surprised me.
"Can you recommend someone who can teach me?"
I stared.
"You want to learn ASL?"
"She's my daughter."
"That wasn't my question."
He looked toward Audrey.
Then answered softly.
"Yes."
Something shifted inside me.
But the real reason he'd brought me there waited inside his office.
A photograph lay on his desk.
My father.
Thomas Mercer.
He stood beside Elena Vale outside a courthouse.
The date was five years earlier.
I touched the photograph.
"Dad."
Dominic looked up.
"You're Thomas Mercer's daughter."
It wasn't a question.
I stepped backward.
For five years, I'd lied about my name.
Changed apartments.
Worked under a false employment history.
And avoided everyone connected to Chicago's powerful families.
Now the truth was standing between us.
"Yes."
Dominic stared at me.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because my father told me your family would kill me if anyone discovered who I was."
His expression changed.
"Did he say I would?"
I hesitated.
"No."
"Then who?"
I looked toward the photograph.
"He never told me."
Dominic sat down slowly.
"Thomas saved my wife's life once."
I stared.
"What?"
"Three months before the bombing, someone tried to force Elena's car off the road."
My stomach tightened.
"She survived?"
"Because Thomas warned her not to take her usual route."
I looked down.
Dad had disappeared for three days around that time.
When he returned, he had bruises across his ribs.
He told me he'd fallen down the basement stairs.
I hadn't believed him.
But I'd been too frightened to ask questions.
Dominic opened another folder.
"Your father gave Elena a list of people involved in the trust fraud."
I swallowed.
"Where is it?"
"That's what we're trying to find."
Then he placed a bank statement on the desk.
A transfer of eighteen million dollars.
From Audrey's protected trust.
Into a company called Northbridge Holdings.
I frowned.
"Who owns Northbridge?"
Dominic looked toward the door.
His voice became cold.
"Silas Crane."
Then he turned another page.
A second transfer appeared.
This one was dated the morning of the bombing.
May you like
And the person who approved it was listed as Elena Vale.
But according to Dominic, Elena had already been dead for three hours.
