Chapter 4 - The Sound of the Gate
The heavy grandfather clock in the corner of the study ticked off the seconds with agonizing slowness.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Dominic picked up his gun, checking the magazine with a practiced, fluid motion. The metal click echoed loudly in the silent room.
Nathan’s eyes tracked the movement of the weapon. For the first time, a flicker of genuine apprehension crossed his face.
“You’re not going to shoot us here, Dom,” Nathan said, though his voice lacked its previous conviction. “The estate is crawling with your guards, but the federal investigators are scheduled for a routine compliance meeting at noon. If we go missing, the entire federal task force will be tearing this house apart by nightfall.”
“Who said anything about making you disappear?” Dominic asked softly.
He pressed the intercom button on his desk.
“Marcus.”
“Boss,” Marcus’s voice crackled through the speaker instantly.
“Are the federal agents downstairs?”
“They just cleared the security gate, Boss. Three cars. Led by Agent Vance.”
“Bring them up to the study,” Dominic ordered. “Tell them we have a confession regarding corporate embezzlement, wire fraud, and kidnapping.”
Claire stood up so fast her silk robe slipped off her shoulder. “No! Dom, you can’t! The feds—they’ll lock us away for the rest of our natural lives! We can make a deal! We can split the holdings—!”
“Sit down, Claire,” Dominic commanded, his voice carrying the full weight of a mafia boss who had just reclaimed his throne.
Before Claire could speak again, heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the study. The double doors swung open, and three men in federal suits walked in, led by a tall, sharp-featured senior agent with a thick folder under his arm.
“Mr. Vale,” the agent said, nodding respectfully. “We received your encrypted message. You said you had evidence regarding the Vance Global financial discrepancies?”
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Dominic stood up from behind the mahogany desk, placing his gun safely back into his shoulder holster. He buttoned his suit jacket, his expression carved from granite.
“Agent Vance,” Dominic said, gesturing toward Nathan and Claire, who sat frozen in terror. “Allow me to introduce my former chief adviser and my former fiancée. They have a full confession ready for you regarding the offshore embezzlement scheme. And when you’re finished with them downstairs, I’ll show you the wine cellar where they kept my housekeeper for three days.”
