Chapter 6 - The Sister Nobody Knew Existed
Dominic put the call on speaker.
“Where are you?”
Rachel laughed softly.
“Still giving orders.”
“What do you want?”
“The same thing our mother wanted.”
Dominic looked at Sofia.
“What was that?”
“To destroy the empire before it destroyed us.”
Grace listened.
Something bothered her.
“You took Samuel?”
“No.”
“You planted cameras?”
“Some.”
“Which means not all.”
Silence.
Grace continued.
“You aren’t the person behind everything.”
Rachel laughed again.
“You really are smarter than they expected.”
“They?”
The line disconnected.
Dominic threw the phone onto the desk.
“Find her.”
Victor left.
Julian, patched up by the house doctor, remained seated.
Sofia finally told the complete truth.
Eva survived the original poisoning because Elias Martin secretly treated her.
They staged her death.
For four years she lived under another name in Connecticut.
She gave birth to Rachel during that time.
“Who was Rachel’s father?” Dominic asked.
Sofia hesitated.
“Carlo.”
Dominic stared.
“My uncle?”
“They were not blood relatives. Carlo was your father’s half-brother through marriage, not biology.”
Dominic rubbed his face.
Grace saw how exhausting family secrets could become when every answer created three new ones.
“Why hide Rachel?”
“Protection.”
“From my father?”
Sofia looked away.
“From everyone.”
Eva spent her remaining years gathering evidence against a criminal network using Valenti companies.
Then she died for real.
Cancer.
Rachel was placed with another family.
Carlo vanished from her life.
Rachel grew up knowing everything.
And hating Dominic for inheriting the empire Eva wanted destroyed.
“So Rachel wants revenge,” Grace said.
“No,” Sofia answered.
“She wants control.”
That distinction mattered.
Rachel had entered Dominic’s world years ago under false identities.
Accounting firms.
Legal offices.
Vendors.
Charities.
She knew the organization.
Its weaknesses.
Its enemies.
“She may have been feeding information to federal investigators,” Julian said.
Dominic shrugged.
“Then she can save them time. I’ll give them the files.”
Everyone stared.
Anthony laughed.
“You’re joking.”
“No.”
“You would hand over everything?”
“If this organization caused my mother’s death and nearly killed children, yes.”
Anthony stepped toward him.
“Our family built this.”
“Our family bled for it.”
“That’s the point.”
Grace watched Dominic.
For weeks he had been described as a mafia boss.
A king.
A man who possessed an empire.
Now he looked tired of owning it.
Anthony shook his head.
“You’ve changed.”
Dominic glanced at Grace.
“Maybe.”
That night Dominic found Grace feeding Samuel in the kitchen.
Elena had returned with the baby after Victor confirmed the mansion’s hidden surveillance system was disabled.
Leo came too.
He slept upstairs.
For the first time, the giant house sounded human.
A child laughed.
A baby cried.
Sofia complained about toys on the floor.
Grace warmed milk.
Dominic sat opposite her.
“You should leave.”
She looked up.
“You’ve said that before.”
“This time I mean it.”
“Why?”
“Rachel knows you matter.”
“To Samuel.”
“To me.”
Grace stopped.
Dominic looked away.
It was the closest he had come to saying anything personal.
“This began before I met you,” he continued.
“You stepped into it because you saw a child in trouble.”
“I made that choice.”
“And I keep letting you make it.”
“You don’t control my choices.”
“I’m learning.”
Grace smiled faintly.
Samuel finished his bottle.
Dominic watched her.
“Julian was right.”
“That sentence worries me.”
“The marriage.”
Grace nearly choked.
“What?”
“He suggested it because of Samuel’s foster placement.”
“I remember.”
“I thought it was ridiculous.”
“It was.”
“Still is.”
“Excellent proposal so far.”
Dominic smiled.
“Grace.”
She looked at him.
“I am not asking you because of Samuel.”
The room became very quiet.
“I’m also not asking because I need someone to cook.”
“Good. Your timing would be insulting.”
“I’m asking because this house changes when you’re here.”
Grace’s breath caught.
“Dominic—”
“It used to be quiet.”
“It’s a mansion full of armed men.”
“You know what I mean.”
She did.
“You don’t owe me an answer.”
“That’s convenient.”
“I’ve never proposed before.”
“I can tell.”
Samuel burped loudly.
Grace laughed.
Dominic did too.
For one brief moment the danger disappeared.
Then a window shattered.
Dominic pulled Grace down.
A bullet struck the cabinet.
Victor shouted from the hall.
More shots.
Security moved.
Dominic covered Grace and Samuel with his body.
The attack lasted less than thirty seconds.
Then silence.
Victor found the shooter’s position.
Empty.
One object remained on the lawn.
A white envelope.
Inside was a marriage certificate.
Already filled in.
Dominic Valenti.
Grace Holloway.
Across the bottom someone had written:
THE BRIDE DIES FIRST.
Grace stared.
Dominic’s face turned cold.
Rachel called one minute later.
“I warned you,” she said.
Grace took the phone.
“No.”
Rachel paused.
Grace continued.
“You threatened the wrong woman.”
“You think this is about jealousy?”
“I think you want us scared.”
“You should be.”
“Then come tell me why.”
Dominic shook his head sharply.
Grace ignored him.
“Face to face.”
Rachel laughed.
“You really did walk into a lion’s house.”
“No.”
Grace looked at Dominic.
“I walked into a house full of people who forgot they were still human.”
Silence.
Then Rachel gave an address.
A church in Manhattan.
Midnight.
She ended the call.
Dominic said, “You are not going.”
“I am.”
“No.”
“You proposed five minutes ago.”
“That does not make you invincible.”
“No. But it makes this my problem too.”
“You didn’t answer.”
Grace looked at him.
“Ask me again when this is over.”
At 11:48 p.m., Grace entered the church with Dominic.
It was empty.
One candle burned near the altar.
Rachel stood in the first pew.
She was thirty-three.
Dark hair.
Eva’s eyes.
Dominic stopped.
Rachel looked at him.
Then at Grace.
“You brought him.”
“You expected me to.”
Rachel nodded.
“I did.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“Who is trying to kill Grace?”
Rachel’s expression changed.
“I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?”
Rachel reached into her bag.
Dominic moved.
She slowly removed a file.
“Our mother wasn’t murdered because of the mafia.”
She handed it to Grace.
“She was murdered because she discovered what your legitimate companies were really moving.”
Grace opened the folder.
Names.
Photographs.
Children.
Dozens.
Her stomach turned.
Dominic read over her shoulder.
“No.”
Rachel said, “The network never ended.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Who runs it?”
Rachel’s eyes moved toward the church entrance.
The doors opened.
Footsteps entered behind them.
Rachel whispered:
“He does.”
May you like
Dominic turned.
And the man walking down the aisle was someone he had trusted his entire life.
