Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Knew Dominic’s Secret
The bedroom door unlocked from the outside.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Dominic’s hand immediately reached beneath the pillow again.
This time, I saw the pain on his face.
Not fear.
Pain.
His body was still recovering, but his instincts were faster than any injury.
Eva stepped away from the door.
“Dominic…”
He looked at her.
“Stay behind me.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Again?”
His eyes turned toward me.
“Clara.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You keep telling everyone to hide while you’re the one bleeding.”
For a second, something almost like amusement crossed his face.
Then the door slowly opened.
A man stepped inside.
Not a guard.
Not a stranger.
Someone Dominic knew.
An older man wearing a dark coat, his gray hair neatly combed back, his expression calm.
Too calm.
“Anthony.”
Dominic’s voice became cold.
The man looked around the room.
His eyes stopped on me.
Then on the photograph.
“So it’s true.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“What are you doing here?”
Anthony ignored the question.
“After all these years…”
His eyes moved back to me.
“…she finally found you.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at Dominic.
“You didn’t tell her?”
Dominic didn’t answer.
That was enough.
I stepped forward.
“Tell me what?”
Anthony sighed.
“Your mother and Dominic Rossi were connected long before you knew his name.”
The room felt smaller.
My heart started beating faster.
“Stop talking.”
Dominic’s voice was sharp.
But Anthony didn’t listen.
“She deserves the truth.”
“No.”
“She deserves everything.”
Dominic moved slightly.
Not enough to attack.
Enough to warn.
“Leave.”
Anthony smiled sadly.
“You still protect her.”
I froze.
“Protect who?”
Nobody answered.
Anthony looked at Dominic.
“The same way you protected her mother.”
My fingers tightened.
“My mother.”
The word came out quietly.
Anthony looked at me.
“Yes.”
I looked at Dominic.
Waiting.
Demanding.
But he stayed silent.
That hurt more than any answer.
“You knew my mother.”
Dominic finally spoke.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before you were born.”
The room went silent.
I felt like the floor disappeared beneath me.
“How?”
Dominic looked away.
“She worked for my family.”
“As what?”
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
Not the full truth.
But enough.
“She was more than an employee.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Dominic didn’t answer.
Anthony did.
“She was the only person Dominic trusted.”
I turned toward him.
“And why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
That answer surprised me.
Anthony continued.
“But you should believe the evidence.”
He reached inside his coat.
Dominic immediately reacted.
“Don’t.”
Anthony stopped.
Slowly.
Then he pulled out a small envelope.
Another one.
Just like the first.
“This was found after the attack.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
“Where?”
“In a place only your sister knew.”
The room became completely still.
Dominic stared at the envelope.
“Give it to me.”
Anthony didn’t move.
“Before I do, you need to understand something.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“The person who attacked you wasn’t trying to kill you.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What?”
Anthony looked at me.
“They wanted you alive.”
Nobody spoke.
Because somehow that was worse.
Dominic’s voice became low.
“Explain.”
“The bullets missed every vital point.”
Anthony placed the envelope on the table.
“The attack looked like an assassination.”
He paused.
“But it was a message.”
Dominic looked at the envelope.
“A message from who?”
Anthony’s face darkened.
“Someone who wants you to remember what happened five years ago.”
Dominic didn’t touch the envelope.
For the first time, I saw hesitation.
Not weakness.
Something closer to guilt.
“What happened five years ago?” I asked.
Nobody answered.
I walked closer.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
I looked at Dominic.
“My mother.”
“Your sister.”
“The attack.”
“The photograph.”
“All of these things lead back to one night.”
My voice became harder.
“So tell me.”
Dominic looked at me.
And for a moment, I thought he would finally tell me everything.
Then he said:
“I can’t.”
I felt something break inside.
Not because he refused.
Because he looked like he genuinely believed telling me would destroy me.
“Why?”
His voice was quiet.
“Because the person responsible is still alive.”
The words sent a chill through me.
“Who?”
Dominic looked toward the window.
Then toward the door.
Then back at me.
Before he could answer, the lights went out.
The entire mansion disappeared into darkness.
A second later, alarms started ringing.
Eva immediately grabbed her phone.
“Security system is down.”
Anthony looked toward Dominic.
“That’s impossible.”
Dominic’s face became expressionless.
“No.”
He understood.
“What?”
He whispered:
“Someone inside did this.”
The emergency lights flickered on.
Red.
Dim.
The kind of lighting that made the mansion feel like a crime scene.
Then a sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
Coming closer.
The guards outside should have stopped whoever it was.
But nobody did.
Dominic reached for the gun beside the bed.
I saw his wound reopen.
Blood started soaking through the bandage again.
“Don’t move,” I said.
He ignored me.
“Clara.”
“No.”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“This time you listen to me.”
The footsteps stopped outside the room.
Everyone froze.
Anthony reached for his weapon.
Eva backed away.
Dominic stared at the door.
Then someone spoke from the other side.
A woman’s voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
My entire body went cold.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it once before.
On a voicemail.
A voicemail I had saved for years.
The voice whispered:
“Dominic…”
The door handle slowly turned.
Then the woman said my name.
“Clara…”
May you like
Dominic’s face lost all color.
Because the person standing outside the door was supposed to be dead.
