Chapter 10 - THE SISTER WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
Dominic stared at the ownership record.
“She's running a clinic?”
Rebecca nodded.
“Under a private trust.”
Piper looked between them.
“Then we know where she is.”
“Maybe,” Rebecca said. “But we don't know whether she's there voluntarily.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“I'm going.”
Piper folded her arms.
“So am I.”
“No.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“It's dangerous.”
“So is living in your house, apparently.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Piper.”
She leaned closer.
“Your sister approached me before I ever worked for you. My father knew her. And someone used my debt to bring me into your life.”
He didn't answer.
“This is my story too.”
For a long moment, Dominic studied her.
Then he sighed.
“You're impossible.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn't a compliment.”
“I've decided to accept it as one.”
They traveled to the clinic under police supervision.
It stood beside a quiet residential street outside Evanston.
White walls.
Blue roof.
A small garden filled with lavender.
Piper recognized it immediately.
The building from her father's photograph.
Rebecca knocked.
A nurse answered.
After several tense minutes, a woman appeared in the hallway.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A silver bracelet with a tiny blue butterfly.
Dominic stopped breathing.
“Bella?”
The woman covered her mouth.
“Dominic.”
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Isabella ran toward him.
She dropped to her knees beside his wheelchair.
Her arms wrapped around him.
Dominic held her so tightly Piper thought neither would ever let go.
“You're alive,” he whispered.
Isabella sobbed.
“I'm sorry.”
He closed his eyes.
“I thought I'd lost you.”
“I know.”
Piper turned away to give them privacy.
But when she looked back, Dominic was crying.
Not quietly.
Not carefully.
He was crying like a man who had spent four years holding his grief behind locked doors.
And Piper loved him a little more for it.
After the reunion, Isabella explained everything.
Four years earlier, she'd discovered Vincent was using medical charities to move stolen funds and conceal illegal transactions.
When she threatened to expose him, he arranged an attack.
Thomas Lane helped her escape.
They staged her death because Vincent's people were searching for her.
She spent years gathering evidence while living under false identities.
Then Thomas became ill.
He died before they could finish.
Piper wiped her eyes.
“My dad never told me.”
Isabella took her hand.
“He wanted you to have a normal life.”
Piper laughed sadly.
“That didn't work out.”
Isabella smiled through tears.
“No.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“Why didn't you contact me?”
Isabella's expression darkened.
“Because Vincent controlled your communications. He intercepted my letters. And when I tried to approach you directly, he threatened Piper.”
Piper froze.
“Me?”
Isabella nodded.
“He knew Thomas had left evidence in your name.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“Then why arrange for Piper to work at my house?”
Isabella looked confused.
“What?”
Piper's stomach dropped.
“Someone transferred my father's debt into my name. Then I got the job offer.”
Isabella shook her head.
“I didn't arrange that.”
Dominic looked toward Garrett.
The security chief stood near the door.
His expression changed.
Piper noticed.
“Garrett?”
He didn't answer.
Dominic's voice became quiet.
“Who hired Piper?”
Garrett swallowed.
“I did.”
“On whose instructions?”
Silence.
Then Garrett whispered, “Vincent's.”
Piper stepped backward.
Dominic stared at his oldest friend.
May you like
And Garrett said something that made the room turn cold.
“Vincent wanted Piper inside the house because he believed she could finish what the bullet didn't.”
