Chapter 8 - The Stranger at the Gate
Dominic read the ledger three times.
Vittorio Russo had been more than an uncle.
He had been the man who taught Dominic how to survive after his father was killed.
The man who showed him which associates could be trusted.
The man who stood beside him at Elena’s funeral.
The man Lily called Uncle Vito even though he was technically her great-uncle.
Norah watched Dominic’s face become progressively colder.
“This could be fake,” Mateo said.
Dominic looked at him.
“You believe that?”
Mateo did not answer.
Norah touched the desk.
“What does succession mean?”
Dominic closed the laptop.
“A power struggle that isn’t supposed to exist.”
“Because of Lily?”
“Because of me.”
He walked toward the window.
“Vittorio has always believed the organization needs traditional leadership.”
Norah understood immediately.
“A man.”
Dominic nodded.
“If he learned I was having another child—”
“He thought it might be a boy.”
“Yes.”
“But now they know it’s a girl.”
“That may not matter.”
“Why?”
Dominic turned.
“Because two children give him two ways to control what happens after me.”
Norah’s stomach tightened.
“After you?”
“People like Vittorio plan generations ahead.”
Mateo’s phone rang.
He answered briefly.
“We have a visitor.”
“Who?”
“Thomas Hayes.”
Norah stood so quickly the chair scraped backward.
“Where?”
“At the outer gate.”
Dominic looked at Mateo.
“Alone?”
“Claims he is.”
“Search everything.”
Norah was already moving.
Dominic stepped in front of her.
“You stay behind me.”
“I’m not a child.”
“No. You’re pregnant and emotionally compromised.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You really know how to comfort someone.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
They reached the security vestibule five minutes later.
Thomas Hayes stood behind reinforced glass.
He looked older than Norah remembered.
Thinner.
A scar ran from his temple into his hairline.
When he saw her, tears filled his eyes.
“Norah.”
She stopped.
The sound of her name in his voice broke something open.
“You’re dead.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“You let me bury you.”
“I know.”
“Seven years.”
“I know.”
Norah stepped closer to the glass.
“Stop saying that.”
Thomas nodded.
Dominic stood beside her.
“Why are you here?”
Thomas looked at him.
“To keep my daughter alive.”
“You’ve done an interesting job of it.”
“I deserved that.”
Norah stared at her father.
“Why did you leave?”
Thomas took a slow breath.
“Because your uncle Daniel got involved with people he shouldn’t have.”
Norah’s face tightened.
“What people?”
Thomas looked at Dominic.
“Russo people.”
Dominic became still.
“Names.”
“Vittorio.”
The room went silent.
Thomas continued.
“Daniel owed money. Then he started doing favors instead of paying.”
“What kind of favors?” Norah asked.
“Moving medical supplies. Information. People.”
“You were a paramedic.”
“Yes.”
“Did you help him?”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“At first I didn’t understand what he was doing.”
Norah stepped back.
“When I found out, I tried to expose it.”
“To police?”
“Federal agents.”
Dominic’s eyes sharpened.
“What happened?”
“The agent I contacted was compromised. Vittorio knew within twenty-four hours.”
Norah understood.
“You faked your death.”
“I was told you’d be killed if I didn’t disappear.”
“You believed him?”
“I had already seen what happened to Daniel.”
“What happened to Uncle Daniel?”
Thomas looked away.
“He didn’t have a heart attack.”
Norah covered her mouth.
Dominic watched Thomas carefully.
“Why come back now?”
“Because Vittorio found her.”
Norah froze.
“He knew where I was?”
“Not until you began working here.”
“How?”
Thomas glanced at Dominic.
“Your background screening.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
Every employee underwent extensive screening.
Vittorio had access to those systems.
Thomas continued.
“When her name entered Russo records, Vittorio connected her to me.”
“Why wait years?”
“Because she wasn’t useful to him until now.”
Norah’s hand moved protectively toward her stomach.
Thomas saw it.
His face changed.
“You’re really pregnant.”
Norah’s eyes hardened.
“You already knew.”
“I suspected. I didn’t know until the clinic.”
“You followed me?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By watching me from shadows?”
“I couldn’t approach.”
“You could have called.”
“And risk Vittorio tracing it?”
Norah’s anger returned.
“You always have a reason.”
Thomas flinched.
Dominic said quietly, “Let him inside.”
Norah turned.
“You trust him?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I’d rather have a possible liar where I can watch him.”
Thomas was searched thoroughly.
Then brought into Dominic’s office.
For two hours, he explained everything he knew.
Vittorio had quietly built a network inside Dominic’s organization.
Lawyers.
Accountants.
Security contractors.
People who believed Dominic was weakening the family by legitimizing its businesses.
Vittorio planned to remove Dominic eventually.
The pregnancy accelerated the timetable.
“If the baby had been a boy,” Thomas said, “Vittorio would have used him as a figurehead.”
Norah felt sick.
“And now that she’s a girl?”
“He’ll use the threat to force Dominic to step aside.”
Dominic’s eyes were ice.
“He underestimates me.”
Thomas looked directly at him.
“No. That’s the problem.”
Dominic frowned.
“He knows exactly what you’ll do.”
“Meaning?”
“You’ll protect the children first.”
Dominic said nothing.
Thomas nodded toward Norah.
“He expects you to make every decision emotionally now.”
Norah almost laughed.
“You clearly don’t know Dominic.”
“I know men who love their children.”
The sentence landed quietly.
Dominic looked away.
That evening, Thomas was given a guarded room.
Norah refused to see him again.
She sat outside on the terrace instead.
Dominic joined her.
“You believe him?” she asked.
“Most of it.”
“Why?”
“Because the lies are too expensive.”
She understood.
“You think Vittorio will move soon.”
“Yes.”
“How soon?”
Dominic looked toward the gates.
“As soon as he realizes your father talked.”
A security alarm sounded.
Both stood.
Mateo came through the terrace doors.
“We have movement at the north gate.”
Dominic’s hand went instinctively toward Norah.
“What kind?”
“Vehicle.”
“Who?”
Mateo looked grim.
“Vittorio.”
Norah’s heart stopped.
“Why would he come here?”
Dominic looked toward the driveway.
“Because he doesn’t know we know.”
Then he buttoned his jacket.
May you like
“And that gives us exactly one advantage.”
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