Chapter 10 - The Castellano Bloodline
Clara watched the video twice.
Dominic watched it once.
“Vincent is acting.”
“How do you know?”
“He holds a gun differently when he intends to fire.”
Clara looked at him.
“That is a disturbing family detail.”
“It has occasionally been useful.”
Vincent’s finger rested outside the trigger guard.
More importantly, his left hand formed a subtle gesture.
Three fingers.
Then one.
Room 31.
The old Castellano code.
Dominic knew the Aster had no Room 31.
But it had a thirty-first floor.
Private.
Unused.
Owned by the original Aster Foundation.
Vale.
They entered through maintenance tunnels.
Clara insisted on coming.
Dominic objected.
She stared at him until he stopped wasting time.
On the thirty-first floor they found Vincent.
Alone.
“Evelyn?”
“Vale moved her.”
“Where?”
“Penthouse ballroom.”
“Why?”
“He’s holding tomorrow’s ceremony early.”
Clara frowned.
“Tonight?”
“He invited twenty Crown Club members.”
Vale intended to destroy the evidence and force Dominic to sign documents legitimizing decades of transactions.
Then Dominic would die.
His death would be framed as suicide after exposure of financial crimes.
Elegant.
Political.
Clean.
Vincent handed Dominic a second surprise.
A DNA report.
“What is this?”
“Vale gave it to me.”
Dominic read it.
His face hardened.
Richard Vale was listed as Vincent’s biological father.
Vincent laughed without humor.
“Apparently I’m not your brother.”
Dominic tore the report in half.
Vincent stared.
“What are you doing?”
“Correcting bad paperwork.”
“Dom.”
“You slept in the bed above mine for twelve years.”
“That’s your argument?”
“You broke my nose when you were nine.”
“You deserved it.”
“You stole my car at sixteen.”
“You weren’t using it.”
“You stood beside me when we buried Dad.”
Vincent’s eyes filled.
Dominic stepped closer.
“You’re my brother.”
Vincent looked away.
Clara quietly examined the report.
Then frowned.
“This is fake.”
Both men turned.
“The laboratory ID is wrong.”
Vale had manufactured it to divide them.
Vincent laughed.
Then hugged Dominic without warning.
Dominic tolerated it for approximately two seconds.
“Enough.”
“I knew you loved me.”
“Get off.”
Clara smiled despite everything.
Then she noticed another number printed microscopically on the forged report.
A bank routing code.
She recognized it from Evelyn’s ledger.
“Vale made a mistake.”
The routing number connected the Kingmaker’s personal trust directly to Lake Meridian.
Proof.
Real proof.
Enough to destroy him legally.
They needed only the original bank records.
Stored in Vale’s private safe.
Inside the penthouse ballroom.
At 11:30 p.m., they prepared to enter.
Tommy had loyal security positioned downstairs.
Federal investigators Clara trusted waited off-site.
No one moved until they had evidence.
Dominic adjusted his tuxedo.
Clara had changed into another evening dress.
Deep red.
Dominic looked at her.
“What?”
“You look…”
“Don’t get distracted, Castellano.”
“Impossible.”
For one second the danger disappeared.
Then Dominic touched her cheek.
“When this ends—”
“When this ends, you can finish that sentence.”
He nodded.
They entered the ballroom.
Judge Richard Vale stood beneath the chandeliers.
Evelyn sat tied to a chair beside him.
Salvatore stood behind her.
Twenty powerful men surrounded them.
Vale smiled.
“Dominic.”
Then he looked at Clara.
“Evelyn’s little girl.”
Clara’s expression became ice.
Vale raised a champagne glass.
“Welcome home.”
Behind him, a steel safe opened.
Inside was the original ledger.
And beside it was a photograph that made Dominic stop dead.
May you like
It showed Isabella Castellano alive.
The photograph had been taken three months ago.
