Chapter 8 - Bruno’s Final Warning
Michael raised both hands.
“I came to surrender.”
Nobody believed him.
Police surrounded him.
Bruno stood between Michael and Emma.
Michael placed the journal on the ground.
“This is what my father was really looking for.”
I didn't move.
“Why bring it back?”
“Because my father lied to me too.”
Victor had told Michael that Anthony Moretti destroyed their family.
The journal proved otherwise.
Margaret Carter had documented everything.
Victor stole from his partners.
Framed employees.
Threatened witnesses.
Manipulated his own son.
Michael had spent years believing revenge was justice.
Now he knew he had built his life around a lie.
“That doesn't excuse what you did to Bruno.”
“I know.”
“Or Emma.”
His eyes dropped.
“I know.”
Police arrested him.
The journal became evidence.
For the first time, the threat seemed truly contained.
But Bruno remained restless.
He walked through the courtyard sniffing.
Then toward the old kennel.
“What's wrong?” Sophia asked.
“I don't know.”
Bruno entered the underground room.
He stopped at the rear wall.
Scratched.
Police had already searched it.
Nothing.
But Bruno continued.
Nathan examined the concrete.
“There.”
A seam.
We opened another compartment.
Inside was a small recording device.
Still active.
Someone had been listening.
Victor.
Michael.
Daniel.
None could be responsible now.
All were accounted for.
There was another person.
Bruno sniffed the device.
Then turned.
He followed the scent upstairs.
Across the courtyard.
Into the main house.
Down the hall.
Toward my office.
Nathan followed.
So did I.
Bruno stopped outside.
Growled.
The door opened.
My attorney, Charles Whitman, stepped out.
“Adrian?”
Bruno bared his teeth.
My stomach dropped.
Charles had handled my father's estate.
He had handled mine.
He knew every property.
Every account.
Every inheritance document.
He had also recommended Daniel seven years earlier.
“Step away from the door,” I said.
Charles laughed nervously.
“What is this?”
“Do it.”
He moved.
Police searched my office.
Inside his briefcase were copies of the recovered financial records.
And a small wireless receiver matched to the listening device.
Charles went pale.
Victor hadn't built the network alone.
Charles had protected the financial side for years.
When Victor disappeared, Charles made the death story credible.
When Daniel began investigating, Charles alerted Victor.
When I recovered the footage, Charles knew.
The trusted guard had been compromised.
The handler had been planted.
But the quiet attorney nobody considered dangerous had kept the entire structure alive.
Bruno had found him.
Again.
Charles was arrested.
This time, when the police vehicles disappeared through the gates, Bruno finally lay down.
Emma sat beside him.
“You done?”
His tail moved once.
She nodded.
“Me too.”
I laughed.
I couldn't help it.
Sophia did too.
It was the first genuine laughter I had heard in days.
Then Bruno tried to stand.
His left leg collapsed.
Emma screamed.
We rushed to him.
Dr. Hayes arrived quickly.
Bruno’s old hip injury had worsened under the strain.
“He needs surgery,” Hayes said.
“Then do it.”
“Adrian, he's eleven. At his size, anesthesia carries risks.”
I looked at Bruno.
Emma was holding his face.
“Do it.”
The surgery was scheduled for morning.
That night, Emma refused to leave him.
Sophia eventually fell asleep in a chair.
I sat on the floor beside Bruno.
“You've made this difficult.”
His eyes opened.
“You could've just barked.”
His tail moved.
I touched his head.
“I should've listened sooner.”
Bruno exhaled.
Maybe forgiveness was that simple for dogs.
Humans made it harder.
Before sunrise, Hayes’s team arrived.
Emma kissed Bruno’s forehead.
“Come back.”
Bruno licked her cheek.
She giggled.
Then he was taken away.
The house felt wrong without him.
Too quiet.
At noon, Dr. Hayes called.
The surgery had begun.
At one, no update.
At two, nothing.
Emma sat by the window.
“Bruno coming home?”
“Yes.”
I hoped I wasn't lying.
At 2:17, my phone rang.
Dr. Hayes.
I answered immediately.
There was a pause.
“Adrian…”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What happened?”
Another pause.
May you like
Then Hayes said:
“We found something during surgery that wasn't on the original scan.”
