Chapter 4 - The Dead Man’s Request
Chloe grabbed the desk and whispered:
“My father is dead.”
Dominic opened the placement request while Adrian found an attached photograph.
Nathan Hastings stood beside Elena Russo.
The date printed beneath the picture was only three months before Elena died.
Chloe’s father had somehow known Dominic’s wife.
And someone had wanted Chloe inside the Russo estate from the beginning.
“No.”
Chloe stepped backward.
“That isn’t possible.”
Dominic examined the photograph.
“Is that him?”
She wanted to say no.
Instead she nodded.
Her father looked younger than she remembered, but there was no mistaking the narrow nose or the uneven smile.
Nathan Hastings had died when Chloe was eight.
A construction accident.
That was what her mother always told her.
He had fallen from scaffolding at a downtown renovation site.
Closed casket.
Insurance payout.
Funeral.
End of story.
Except now he was standing beside Elena Russo in a photograph dated twelve years after his supposed death.
Chloe’s hands went numb.
Adrian opened the document metadata.
“This file was created twenty-two months ago.”
“That’s after Elena died,” Dominic said.
“And long after Chloe’s father supposedly died.”
Luca tugged Chloe’s sleeve.
She barely noticed.
Dominic noticed.
“He needs you.”
The words grounded her.
Chloe crouched.
Luca held out his plush wolf.
He offered it to her.
Her throat tightened.
“I’m okay.”
He pushed it closer.
She took it.
For a second she hugged the worn toy against her chest.
Then she stood again.
“Open everything.”
Dominic looked at Adrian.
Adrian clicked through the Hastings folder.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Medical reports.
Then video.
The thumbnail showed a hospital room.
Chloe recognized it instantly.
Her mother.
“Play it.”
Adrian hesitated.
“Chloe—”
“Play it.”
The footage began.
Her mother lay sleeping.
A man entered.
Tall.
Gray coat.
Face hidden from the camera.
He placed an envelope on the bedside table.
Then he left.
Timestamp:
Three months earlier.
Chloe felt sick.
“Someone has been near her.”
Dominic picked up his phone.
“Put two men at Mercy Hospital.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“No?”
“My mother cannot know anything about this.”
“She doesn’t need to know.”
“You’re putting mafia guards outside her room.”
“I’m putting protection outside her room.”
“That distinction matters only to you.”
Dominic stared at her.
Then lowered his phone.
“Plainclothes security.”
Chloe hesitated.
“Fine.”
He made the call.
Adrian continued searching.
One document contained a list of payments to Wellington Domestic Agency.
The agency had been paid $150,000 to ensure Chloe accepted the Russo position.
Her “accidental” high salary had never been accidental.
Someone had known about her mother’s bills.
Someone had designed an offer she could not refuse.
“This whole job was arranged,” Chloe said.
“Yes,” Dominic replied.
“Why?”
Nobody knew.
A sound came from the hallway.
One of Dominic’s guards shouted.
Then a crash.
Dominic immediately moved Chloe and Luca behind the desk.
A man stumbled through the doorway.
Carlo.
Blood covered one side of his shirt.
Dominic caught him before he fell.
“Carlo.”
Carlo gripped Dominic’s collar.
“Close the door.”
Adrian locked it.
Dominic lowered Carlo into a chair.
“Who did this?”
Carlo coughed.
“Your war.”
“What?”
“It isn’t the Morettis.”
Dominic’s face changed.
“Elena knew.”
“We heard the recording.”
Carlo closed his eyes.
“Then you know I tried.”
“Tried what?”
“To get her out.”
Carlo’s breathing became ragged.
Dominic pressed a cloth against his wound.
“Who pushed her?”
Carlo looked toward Luca.
The boy had gone completely still.
Chloe stepped in front of him.
Carlo whispered, “Not here.”
“Who?”
“Dominic.”
“Say the name.”
Carlo shook his head.
“Not in front of the boy.”
Luca suddenly whispered.
“Uncle Gabriel.”
Dominic froze.
Adrian looked away.
Chloe stared between them.
“Who is Gabriel?”
Dominic did not answer.
Carlo did.
“Dominic’s older brother.”
Chloe looked at Dominic.
“You have a brother?”
“Had.”
Carlo shook his head.
“Has.”
Dominic’s expression became terrifyingly blank.
“Gabriel died in Sicily.”
“No.”
“You identified the body.”
“No.”
“You were there.”
“I identified what they wanted me to identify.”
Carlo struggled to breathe.
“Gabriel has been alive the entire time.”
Dominic stepped back.
“No.”
“Elena discovered it.”
Adrian leaned against the desk.
“Why would Gabriel fake his death?”
Carlo looked at Dominic.
“Because the organization was supposed to be his.”
Silence.
Dominic’s father had chosen Dominic instead.
Carlo explained in broken sentences.
Gabriel vanished.
Built his own network.
Bought Russo captains quietly.
Started manipulating shipments.
Created conflicts with rival families.
He wanted Dominic isolated.
Angry.
Distracted.
“Elena found the accounts,” Carlo said.
“She confronted me because she thought I was involved.”
Dominic stared at him.
“And?”
“I told her the truth.”
“You knew Gabriel was alive?”
“For six weeks.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“He threatened Luca.”
Dominic’s face twisted.
Carlo continued.
“He had photographs. School routes. Doctors. Elena begged me not to tell you until we had proof.”
“And then she died.”
Carlo nodded.
Dominic walked toward the wall and punched it once.
Chloe flinched.
Luca did too.
Dominic saw him.
His fist lowered immediately.
He forced himself to breathe.
That single moment mattered.
Chloe saw it.
Dominic was trying.
Carlo looked at her.
“You weren’t chosen because you’re a nanny.”
Chloe’s attention snapped back.
“Why was I chosen?”
“Your father.”
“My father is dead.”
“No.”
The word came softly.
Chloe stared.
Carlo’s eyes filled with something like pity.
“Nathan Hastings worked for Gabriel.”
Her stomach turned.
“He died when I was eight.”
“He disappeared when you were eight.”
“No.”
“He changed his name.”
“No.”
“Chloe.”
“Stop.”
“He tried to leave Gabriel fourteen years ago. Your mother thought he was dead because that was the only way to keep you both alive.”
Chloe backed toward the wall.
Every childhood memory shattered at once.
Her mother crying beside a coffin.
The insurance check.
Birthday cards that stopped coming.
Her father’s jacket hanging in the hall for months because her mother could not bear to move it.
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Dominic moved closer.
Chloe held up one hand.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
Carlo coughed again.
“There’s more.”
Dominic turned.
“Of course there is.”
“Nathan contacted Elena.”
“When?”
“Three months before she died.”
“Why?”
“He had evidence against Gabriel.”
“The photograph.”
“Yes.”
“Where is Nathan now?”
Carlo looked at Chloe.
“I don’t know.”
She laughed once.
It sounded broken.
“You expect me to believe my father vanished for fourteen years and suddenly decided to arrange a nanny job for me?”
“No.”
Carlo looked toward the computer.
“Nathan didn’t arrange the job.”
Chloe stared.
“But the file—”
“Gabriel used his name.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“To bring Chloe here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Carlo’s face went pale.
“I never found out.”
A ringing phone interrupted them.
Not Dominic’s.
Not Chloe’s.
It came from inside the desk.
Adrian opened the drawer.
A black phone vibrated beneath several folders.
No caller identification.
Dominic answered.
“Who is this?”
A distorted male voice replied.
“Put Chloe on.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“No.”
The voice laughed softly.
“You still think this is your house, little brother.”
Dominic went motionless.
Gabriel.
Chloe felt Luca grab her hand.
Dominic’s voice became deadly.
“Where are you?”
“You’ll know soon.”
“Come near my son and—”
“I’m not calling about your son.”
A pause.
“I’m calling about hers.”
Chloe frowned.
“I don’t have a son.”
The voice continued.
“Ask Chloe why her mother has been lying to her for twenty-two years.”
Then the line disconnected.
Chloe stared at the phone.
A second later her own cell rang.
Mercy Hospital.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A nurse spoke rapidly.
“Miss Hastings, your mother’s room is empty.”
Chloe could barely breathe.
“What do you mean empty?”
“The security officer said a family member signed her out.”
“What family member?”
May you like
The nurse hesitated.
“A man identified himself as your father.”
