Chapter 6 - SECRETS IN THE ASHES
The silence in the study was absolute, broken only by the crackle of the fireplace.
I stood between Victor Vance and Chloe, my hand resting heavily on the mahogany desk. My mind raced through a dozen tactical scenarios, none of them making sense.
"Explain," I commanded, my voice flat and lethal, directed at Victor. "Start talking right now, or I’ll feed you to the sharks off Montauk."
Victor swallowed hard, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers. He kept stealing fearful glances at Chloe, who stood rigidly near the door, her hands clenched so tightly around her apron that her fingertips were blue.
"She’s not just a maid, Dominic," Victor stammered. "Fourteen years ago, her father was Arthur Bennett—the chief financial auditor for the Russo shipping conglomerate before you took over the syndicate. He found out someone was laundering cartel money through your legitimate import lines. He tried to blow the whistle."
I turned my sharp gaze toward Chloe. "Is this true?"
Chloe didn't flinch. Her chin tilted up, defiance burning in her blue eyes, though her voice shook slightly. "My father trusted you, Dominic. He thought you were a legitimate businessman cleaning up the docks. But when he discovered that the syndicate was using your freight liners to move weapons and blood money, he tried to take the files to the federal authorities."
"And what happened?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Your men happened," Chloe whispered, a tear finally escaping and cutting a clean path down her flour-and-dust-stained cheek. "A house fire in Boston. My mother, my father, and my younger brother... all burned alive. I only survived because I was hiding in the root cellar."
The room spun. Pieces of a puzzle I hadn't even known was scattered suddenly slammed into place.
"You didn't come here by accident," I said slowly, realizing the terrifying depth of what had just unfolded. "Rosa didn't just hire a random girl from a church charity. You orchestrated this. You infiltrated my house to get your revenge."
"If I wanted you dead, Dominic, you would have been dead weeks ago," Chloe fired back, her voice ringing with raw, emotional agony. "Do you think it was easy sitting on that kitchen floor, making your traumatized daughters laugh, knowing that the man who destroyed my entire family was the same monster they called Daddy? Do you think I wanted to care about them?"
"And yet you did," a quiet voice interrupted from the doorway.
We all turned. Rosa was standing there, leaning against the doorframe, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Rosa," I growled. "You knew?"
"I knew who she was the day she walked into my parish church in Manhattan," Rosa said softly, stepping into the room. "She was broken, Dominic—just like your girls. I brought her here because I knew the only way to save your family was to bring someone who understood the exact kind of darkness you created."
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"You lied to me," I said, stepping toward Rosa, the full weight of my lethal reputation pressing down on the room.
"I saved your soul, Dominic," Rosa shot back, her voice unwavering. "You spent fourteen months turning this estate into a fortress of vengeance, but you were starving your children to death. Chloe brought them back. And as for Isabella... Victor is right. The Mendozas didn't act alone. The person who sold out your wife is someone still sitting at your table."
