Chapter 6 - The Night Dominic Came Back Alone
Riley found Dominic in the hospital parking garage.
He was trying to leave.
She stepped in front of his car.
He hit the brakes.
“Move.”
“They took my mother.”
Dominic went still.
Riley held up the phone.
He read the message through the windshield.
His face changed.
He shut off the engine.
“Get in.”
“No.”
“Riley.”
“They want you.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Dominic looked away.
“Because I know where the missing trust money is.”
Riley stared.
“You said it was in the bank.”
“The documents are.”
“And the money?”
“Moved.”
“Where?”
Dominic stepped out.
“If I tell you, you become even more dangerous to them.”
Riley laughed bitterly.
“They kidnapped my dead mother ten minutes after I found out she wasn't dead.”
He had no answer.
“Where is the money?”
“Distributed through eighteen accounts.”
“Can you access them?”
“Some.”
“Enough to bargain?”
“Yes.”
Marco appeared behind her.
“No.”
Dominic looked at him.
Marco continued.
“You don't bargain with people who already proved they'll take hostages.”
Dominic nodded.
“For once, we agree.”
Riley folded her arms.
“So what's your plan?”
Dominic looked at both of them.
“I go alone.”
Marco laughed.
“You?”
“They asked for me.”
“They asked Riley to bring you.”
“They're expecting her.”
Riley studied Dominic.
“Why would you do this?”
He smiled faintly.
“You think I'm incapable of doing anything that doesn't benefit me?”
“Yes.”
“Fair.”
The answer almost surprised her.
Dominic looked toward the garage exit.
“My father built East Mercer with partners. After he died, I thought I controlled them.”
“You didn't.”
“No.”
“What changed?”
“Money.”
Riley waited.
Dominic continued.
“When I diverted the restitution fund, I promised them a cut. Then I kept more than agreed.”
Marco shook his head.
“Of course you did.”
Dominic ignored him.
“They've wanted leverage against me ever since.”
“And now we're handing you to them.”
“Yes.”
Riley watched him.
A few hours earlier, he had walked into her shop to humiliate her.
Now he was volunteering to walk into a warehouse full of people who wanted him dead.
People were rarely one thing.
Riley hated discovering that.
Dominic looked at Marco.
“If I don't come back, there is a storage unit on Halsted. Number 219.”
“What's inside?”
“Files.”
“More files?”
“Enough to finish East Mercer.”
Marco stared.
“You had evidence this whole time.”
“Insurance.”
“And you did nothing with it.”
Dominic smiled bitterly.
“I'm not pretending to be a good man.”
Riley said, “Good.”
He looked at her.
“Because you're not.”
“No.”
“But you can do one good thing.”
Dominic's gaze shifted.
Riley continued.
“Bring my mother home.”
Dominic nodded.
He left at 9:27.
Alone.
At least, he thought he did.
Riley, Marco, Elena, Anthony, and Vincent followed at a distance.
Elena objected.
Riley ignored her.
The old Mercer warehouse sat beside the river.
Its windows had been boarded years ago.
Dominic entered through a side door.
Riley and Marco reached an adjacent loading dock.
Elena whispered into her radio.
“Federal units are three minutes out.”
Riley looked at her.
“You called them?”
“You gave me thirty-two million reasons.”
Inside the warehouse, voices echoed.
Riley found a broken window.
Dominic stood in the center of the floor.
Four men surrounded him.
Evelyn sat in a chair nearby.
Her hands were tied.
A gray-haired man stood beside her.
Riley recognized him.
The man from Samuel's photograph.
The one her father had stood beside.
Teresa arrived behind Riley.
She saw him.
Her face went white.
“Caleb Mercer.”
Riley whispered, “Mercer?”
Teresa nodded.
East Mercer.
Not a company name.
A family name.
Caleb Mercer had been Salvatore Castelli's silent partner.
Dominic had never controlled East Mercer.
He had merely inherited a seat at its table.
Caleb smiled at Dominic.
“You've caused a great deal of inconvenience.”
Dominic looked at Evelyn.
“Let her go.”
“You've become sentimental.”
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To give you access.”
Caleb smiled.
“The accounts?”
“Yes.”
“Codes?”
“After she walks out.”
Caleb laughed.
“You're still negotiating.”
Dominic shrugged.
“Habit.”
Caleb nodded toward one of the men.
He untied Evelyn.
Riley almost moved.
Elena stopped her.
“Wait.”
Evelyn stood.
Caleb caught her arm.
Dominic's expression hardened.
“I said let her go.”
“And I said you don't give orders here.”
Something changed in Dominic.
Riley watched it from the window.
His shoulders relaxed.
His face became calm.
He had spent years trying to dominate everyone around him.
Now, faced with someone he could not intimidate, he finally did something unfamiliar.
He surrendered.
Dominic took his phone from his pocket.
He placed it on the floor.
Then his wallet.
Then the pistol from his waistband.
Caleb smiled.
“Much better.”
Dominic kicked the weapon away.
“Now let her go.”
Caleb released Evelyn.
She walked toward the exit.
One of his men followed.
Dominic raised a hand.
“No.”
Caleb nodded.
The man stopped.
Evelyn reached the door.
Riley moved.
She caught her mother outside.
Evelyn stared.
“You shouldn't be here.”
Riley pulled her into an embrace.
The contact surprised both of them.
For a second, twenty-eight lost years disappeared.
Then a gunshot echoed inside.
Riley froze.
Evelyn gripped her.
“Dominic.”
Riley turned.
Elena and federal agents moved.
“Go!”
Everything erupted.
Riley stayed outside with Evelyn while officers entered from three directions.
She heard shouting.
Glass breaking.
Another shot.
Then silence.
Long silence.
Marco stood beside her.
His face was rigid.
Agents began bringing men out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Caleb Mercer emerged in handcuffs.
Then Anthony.
Vincent.
Elena.
No Dominic.
Riley looked at Marco.
He ran inside.
Riley followed despite Elena shouting at her.
They found Dominic behind a stack of pallets.
He was sitting against the wall.
Blood stained one sleeve.
But he was conscious.
Marco crouched.
“You idiot.”
Dominic smiled weakly.
“That heartfelt?”
“Don't push it.”
Riley knelt beside him.
“Is it bad?”
Dominic looked at his arm.
“I've had worse.”
Elena arrived.
“Ambulance is coming.”
Dominic looked at Riley.
“Your mother?”
“Safe.”
He closed his eyes.
“Good.”
Riley stared at him.
There were a thousand things she could have said.
Instead:
“Thank you.”
Dominic opened his eyes.
“You don't owe me that.”
“No.”
Riley stood.
“But I said it anyway.”
Hours later, federal agents opened storage unit 219.
They found account records, deeds, payoff lists, recorded calls, and enough documentation to dismantle East Mercer.
The trust funds were traced.
Twenty-six million remained recoverable.
The rest had been spent, hidden, or transferred.
But the evidence gave prosecutors leverage.
Caleb Mercer accepted a plea.
Several officials resigned.
Investigations spread across three counties.
And Dominic Castelli faced charges of his own.
He did not receive immunity.
Riley insisted on that when federal prosecutors asked for her cooperation.
Dominic had helped save Evelyn.
That did not erase the people he'd threatened.
The businesses he'd taken.
The lives he'd damaged.
Dominic himself agreed.
That surprised Riley more than anything.
Three weeks later, Riley received a letter.
Not from Dominic.
From federal authorities.
A sealed witness-protection identity had been voluntarily released.
Nicholas Bellini.
Alive.
Living in Oregon.
Marco stood in Hayes Prime Cuts when Riley handed him the letter.
His hands shook.
“Is this real?”
“Yes.”
A phone number was attached.
Marco stared at it for almost a minute.
Then dialed.
The call connected.
Marco said nothing.
A voice spoke.
Riley couldn't hear the words.
Marco closed his eyes.
“Nicky?”
His knees buckled.
Anthony caught him.
Marco began to cry.
Seven years of anger collapsed in seconds.
Riley turned away to give him privacy.
Her own phone rang.
Elena.
Riley answered.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing yet.”
“What does that mean?”
“There was something in box 731 we didn't expect.”
Riley looked toward the counter.
“What?”
“A second codicil.”
“To Salvatore's trust?”
“Yes.”
“What does it say?”
Elena paused.
“You need to come down here.”
Riley's stomach tightened.
“Just tell me.”
“I can't.”
“Elena.”
“The document names a single controlling beneficiary.”
Riley frowned.
“Evelyn?”
“No.”
“Teresa?”
“No.”
Riley went still.
“Who?”
Elena hesitated.
May you like
Then said:
“You.”
