Chapter 6 - The Man Dominic Trusted Most
Julian Cross had been Dominic’s attorney for thirteen years.
He had handled mergers.
Investigations.
Family trusts.
Funerals.
He had stood beside Dominic’s mother’s grave.
He had helped Dominic restructure the company after his father died.
He had also personally reviewed every document concerning Dominic’s estate.
Including succession.
Including children.
Including the possibility of undisclosed heirs.
Dominic watched the security footage twice.
Julian entered Elena’s building using a maintenance key.
No hesitation.
No disguise.
That meant one of two things.
Either he believed nobody would ever see the recording.
Or he believed nobody who saw it would dare accuse him.
Dominic called.
Julian answered on the third ring.
“Dominic.”
“Where are you?”
“Office.”
Dominic looked at the timestamp.
“Interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m watching you enter Elena Rossi’s apartment.”
Silence.
Not long.
Half a second.
But Dominic heard it.
Julian recovered.
“I can explain.”
“Do.”
“I received information that evidence related to the financial investigation was being stored there.”
“From whom?”
“Salvatore.”
Dominic laughed quietly.
“Try again.”
“Dominic—”
“Leave the apartment.”
“I already have.”
“Take nothing.”
Another pause.
“Dominic, you need to understand—”
The line disconnected.
Anthony looked at him.
“You hung up?”
“No.”
Elena’s face tightened.
“He did.”
They drove immediately.
Police met them at the apartment.
Nothing obvious had been stolen.
Until Elena went to her bedroom.
The top shelf of her closet was empty.
She turned.
“The letter.”
Dominic stood in the doorway.
“Gone?”
“Yes.”
Lily’s rabbit had a twin sitting on the bed.
A smaller one.
Elena picked it up.
Underneath was a torn piece of paper.
Julian had dropped it.
Or someone had wanted them to find it.
Three handwritten words.
ST. AGNES. MIDNIGHT.
Anthony examined it.
“Could be a meeting.”
Elena shook her head.
“St. Agnes was Margaret’s church.”
Dominic knew it.
His mother had gone every Tuesday morning.
Even after illness made climbing the steps difficult.
“Midnight,” Anthony said. “We don’t go.”
Dominic nodded.
“We go.”
“I just said—”
“With police.”
Anthony sighed.
“Better.”
Elena held the torn paper.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
She looked at Dominic.
He corrected himself.
“We discuss it.”
“Much better.”
At eleven-thirty, Dominic received the bank box from Evelyn.
Inside was everything Walter had promised.
Forged approvals.
Prepared affidavits.
Draft federal disclosures accusing Dominic of diverting forty-three million dollars.
Photographs.
Copies of private meetings.
Even expense reports structured to make legitimate travel appear connected to shell companies.
Salvatore had been building the frame for years.
At the bottom lay one document Julian Cross had prepared.
Emergency Board Resolution.
It declared Dominic temporarily unfit to manage Moretti Holdings pending criminal investigation.
Acting Chairman:
Salvatore Moretti.
Dominic handed it to Elena.
“He planned all of it.”
“He needed your signature on my termination because he wanted you connected to the investigation.”
Dominic looked at her.
“How?”
“You fire the accountant who discovered theft.”
The logic was obvious.
To an investigator, it would look like retaliation.
Dominic swore.
Elena continued.
“And because I’m Lily’s mother…”
“If our connection came out, it would look personal.”
“Yes.”
Salvatore had built multiple motives for Dominic.
Financial.
Personal.
Corporate.
Every path led back to him.
At midnight, St. Agnes was empty.
Except for Julian.
He sat in the front pew.
Margaret’s envelope rested beside him.
Police officers waited outside.
Anthony stood near a side exit.
Dominic and Elena walked down the aisle together.
Julian did not turn.
“You brought her.”
Elena stopped.
“You broke into my apartment.”
“I needed the letter.”
“You could have asked.”
“No.”
Dominic remained standing.
“Why?”
Julian finally looked at him.
“Because your uncle knows what it contains.”
“You work for him?”
“I worked for your father.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Julian’s eyes dropped.
“Yes.”
Elena inhaled.
“For how long?”
“Long enough.”
Dominic felt strangely calm.
“Were you part of intercepting the letters?”
“No.”
“Birth record?”
“No.”
“Employee fund?”
Julian hesitated.
“That answer isn’t no.”
“I structured companies. I did not know where all the money came from.”
“You knew enough.”
“Yes.”
“Why help Salvatore frame me?”
Julian looked tired.
“Because he had me.”
“On what?”
“Tax fraud. Offshore accounts. Things I did before I met your family.”
“And instead of telling me?”
“I kept obeying.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Thirteen years.”
“I know.”
“My mother trusted you.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Julian touched the envelope.
“I read it.”
Elena stepped forward.
“You had no right.”
“I know.”
“What does it say?”
Julian looked at Dominic.
“It gives Lily something Salvatore cannot allow her to have.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“Shares?”
“No.”
“What?”
“A choice.”
Julian handed Elena the envelope.
She opened it.
Inside was Margaret Moretti’s handwriting.
Elena read aloud.
My dear Elena,
If you are opening this, then my brother-in-law has failed to leave you and Lily in peace.
There is something Dominic does not know.
Before my husband died, he changed the family trust.
Any direct descendant of Dominic may trigger an independent audit of all Moretti-controlled charitable and employee funds upon legal recognition.
The request cannot be blocked by the chairman.
It cannot be overridden by the board.
It cannot be withdrawn by any person except the descendant or guardian who initiated it.
If Lily is Dominic’s daughter, then you possess the one authority Salvatore has spent years trying to prevent from existing.
I am sorry I lacked the courage to tell my son the truth while I had time.
Do what I failed to do.
Protect the child first.
Then tell Dominic everything.
Margaret.
Elena lowered the letter.
Dominic understood.
Salvatore had not hidden Lily only because of inheritance.
He had hidden her because her legal recognition could force the independent audit that would expose everything.
Julian spoke softly.
“That’s why he’s desperate now.”
Dominic looked at him.
“He knows we have the letter?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I told him.”
Anthony muttered something from the back.
Dominic raised a hand.
“Why are you telling us now?”
Julian’s eyes moved toward Elena.
“Because he ordered me to destroy it.”
“And you didn’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Julian looked toward the stained-glass window.
“Because I spent thirteen years convincing myself that following terrible instructions was different from making terrible choices.”
He looked back.
“It isn’t.”
Sirens sounded outside.
Not police.
Fire trucks.
Anthony’s radio crackled.
Then his expression sharpened.
“What?”
“Dominic, we need to move.”
“Why?”
“Alarm at Moretti Plaza.”
“What kind?”
“Fire.”
Elena went pale.
“Lily?”
“She’s safe at my house.”
Dominic nodded.
“What floor?”
Anthony listened.
Then turned white.
“Records.”
Dominic’s stomach dropped.
The financial archive.
Evidence.
Somebody was burning the paper trail.
Julian stood.
“It’s Salvatore.”
Dominic turned toward him.
“How do you know?”
“Because he told me what would happen if I failed.”
“What did he say?”
Julian swallowed.
“He said before sunrise, there would be nothing left connecting him to the money.”
Dominic’s phone buzzed.
A text.
Unknown number.
One photograph.
Salvatore standing in Dominic’s office.
On the desk was the original Moretti company ledger.
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Below it, five words:
COME ALONE OR IT BURNS.
