Chapter 5 - Blood on the White Shirt
The door opened.
Dominic stood there.
His shirt was stained with blood.
“Beatrice.”
I nearly collapsed from relief.
He caught my arm.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Did anyone touch you?”
“No.”
His eyes moved around the room.
“Did you see someone?”
I pointed toward the hallway.
“He was wearing Calvin's ring.”
Dominic's face hardened.
“Calvin's ring?”
“Yes.”
He stepped into the room.
I noticed the blood on his shirt.
“Are you hurt?”
“Not mine.”
That answer terrified me more.
“What happened?”
“I found two men near the west gate.”
“And?”
“They won't be coming back.”
I swallowed.
Dominic noticed the photograph on the floor.
He picked it up.
The moment he saw it, his expression changed.
“Where did you find this?”
“Here.”
He stared at Calvin's younger face.
“You weren't supposed to find this.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to keep you away from this.”
“You don't get to decide what I deserve to know.”
He looked at me.
“You're right.”
Again.
That strange honesty.
It made him more dangerous somehow.
“What happened six years ago?”
Dominic looked away.
“Leo's mother disappeared.”
“You said she died.”
“I believed she died.”
“What changed?”
He hesitated.
“Three years ago, I found evidence that she might have been alive after the night she disappeared.”
My heart sank.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the people who took her wanted me searching.”
“And you didn't?”
“I searched for three years.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“I found nothing.”
I didn't know what to say.
Dominic looked at the photograph.
“Until now.”
I stepped closer.
“What does Calvin have to do with her?”
“I don't know.”
“But you suspect him.”
“Yes.”
“And the person wearing his ring?”
“Could be someone using it.”
A sound echoed from the hallway.
Both of us turned.
A guard shouted.
“Boss!”
Dominic ran.
I followed.
We reached the secure room.
Leo was gone.
My lungs stopped working.
The guards were unconscious.
The door stood open.
Dominic's face became terrifyingly calm.
“Lock the estate.”
Guards rushed in.
I grabbed his sleeve.
“Find my son.”
“I will.”
“You promised.”
His eyes met mine.
“I'll bring him back.”
Then he saw something on the floor.
Leo's little red toy car.
Beside it was a folded note.
Dominic opened it.
I watched his face drain of color.
“What does it say?”
He handed it to me.
There was only one sentence.
BRING BEATRICE TO THE OLD CHAPEL IF YOU WANT YOUR SON ALIVE.
I looked at Dominic.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You're not going.”
“I am.”
“Absolutely not.”
“They took Leo because of me.”
“They took Leo because of me.”
His voice was quiet.
Then he stepped closer.
“You are staying here.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Beatrice.”
“You said I wasn't furniture.”
His eyes softened.
“I never thought you were.”
“Then let me help.”
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
Dominic listened.
His face changed.
The caller said:
“Bring the nanny alone.”
The call ended.
Dominic looked at me.
“They know you're the only person Leo will come to without fear.”
Then, from somewhere beneath the mansion, a child's voice echoed faintly.
“Bea...”
May you like
Dominic turned toward the floor.
And the hidden door beneath the library began to unlock...
