Chapter 1 - The Daughter Nobody Knew
Dominic kept the weapon pointed toward the carpet beside her.
That distinction mattered to Clara, although she doubted it would matter enough if he changed his mind.
Outside the damaged office, somebody called for a stretcher.
Leo stepped between Clara and the open doorway.
“Say that again.”
“My father is Arturo Morelli.”
Dominic’s jaw shifted.
“And you thought applying for a job here was a sensible way to introduce yourself?”
“I thought it was a way to stay alive.”
Another voice crackled through his radio. The immediate threat appeared to have passed. Security was moving people away from the windows.
Dominic listened, then lowered the gun.
He didn’t put it away.
“Leo. Get her a jacket.”
Clara pressed the torn blouse against her chest.
“I’m not armed.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“No. But you’re wondering.”
Leo removed his suit jacket and handed it to her without approaching.
She slipped it on carefully. Her left shoulder throbbed where she had struck the desk.
Dominic noticed.
“Medical team first.”
“Please don’t send me to a hospital under my name.”
“Which name?”
The question hurt because it was fair.
“Either one.”
He studied her.
Three months earlier, she had arrived with excellent references, a quiet manner, and an employment history that had survived Leo’s checks.
Now she understood how that looked.
She had entered his life under a false identity.
Whatever came next, she would have to tell the truth without asking him to forget that.
“Vivienne Hale was my mother’s name before she married,” Clara said. “A friend helped me establish an employment history. I didn’t come here to collect information.”
“What did you come to collect?”
“Enough courage to tell you.”
Dominic looked toward the shattered glass.
“You waited until someone shot at us.”
“I know.”
Alexei appeared in the doorway with a bloodied hand wrapped in a towel.
“Your visitor has interesting timing.”
Clara’s stomach tightened.
Dominic turned.
“You need stitches.”
“I need answers.”
“You’ll get them after the medic.”
Alexei looked at Clara’s collar.
Recognition flickered in his face.
Not surprise.
She noticed that.
So did Dominic.
“Something you want to add?” Dominic asked.
Alexei’s expression settled.
“Morelli marks what he believes belongs to him.”
Clara felt sick.
“He marked me when I tried to leave.”
Leo swore softly.
Dominic’s eyes returned to her face.
“How old were you?”
“Nineteen.”
“And now?”
“Twenty-seven.”
For a moment, nobody moved.
Eight years had acquired a shape in the room.
A medic entered and asked permission to examine her shoulder. Clara nodded. He knelt at a respectful distance, explained each movement, and checked the cut on her forearm.
Dominic waited until the medic finished.
Then he asked, “Why does your father want you dead?”
Clara looked toward the doorway.
“Because my mother kept records.”
“What records?”
“Payments. Shipping contracts. Names. People who disappeared after they tried to leave his organization.”
Alexei’s expression hardened.
Dominic saw it again.
“Leo,” he said quietly, “clear the room.”
Alexei opened his mouth.
“Everyone except the medic,” Dominic added.
When the doors closed, Clara reached inside her sleeve.
Dominic went still.
She stopped immediately.
“There’s a key sewn into the lining.”
“Let the medic remove it.”
The woman cut a few careful stitches and placed a small brass key on the desk.
A paper label hung from it.
M. HALE.
“My mother rented a storage unit before she died,” Clara said. “I found the key six months ago.”
“You’ve had the records six months?”
“No. I found the key. My father found me before I reached the unit.”
She swallowed.
“He kept me in a house outside Cleveland. I escaped in February.”
Dominic glanced at the key.
“What makes you think the records are still there?”
“Because he’s still searching.”
The room grew quiet.
Then Clara said, “And because last week, he sent me a photograph of my younger sister.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
“I thought she died when we were children.”
May you like
Her voice broke for the first time.
“He told me I could keep hiding, or I could decide which daughter he buried first.”
