Chapter 4 - The Lie Dominic Buried
For several seconds nobody moved.
Anaëlle could hear the faint hum of fluorescent lights.
The distant rhythm of trains.
Her own heartbeat.
Then she looked at Dominic.
“Tell me he’s lying.”
Dominic did not answer quickly enough.
That was the problem.
Anaëlle stepped backward.
“Dominic.”
Gabriel smiled.
“There it is.”
Dominic turned toward his uncle.
“Shut up.”
Gabriel lifted both hands.
“No threats necessary. The truth is already doing the work.”
Anaëlle’s voice shook.
“Who followed my father?”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“I did.”
The words hit like a slap.
Anaëlle stared.
“You?”
“I was trying to find him.”
“You followed him.”
“Yes.”
“The night of the explosion.”
“Yes.”
She could barely breathe.
“You said he saved your life.”
“He did.”
“You said Gabriel ordered him killed.”
“He did.”
Gabriel laughed softly.
“According to Dominic.”
Dominic ignored him.
Anaëlle looked between them.
“Tell me everything.”
“This isn’t the place.”
“I am done letting men decide when I’m allowed to hear the truth.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Fine.”
He pulled out a chair.
Anaëlle remained standing.
Dominic began.
“Twelve years ago, I discovered Gabriel was moving money through three Vale companies. Julien was helping me gather evidence.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes.
“My nephew always preferred dramatic versions.”
Dominic continued.
“Julien learned Gabriel had discovered what we were doing. He planned to disappear.”
“With my father?”
“No. Alone.”
“Why?”
“To keep you away from us.”
Anaëlle swallowed.
“Then why did you follow him?”
“Because I thought he had the ledger.”
“Did he?”
“I didn’t know.”
Gabriel interrupted.
“Dominic believed Julien might use the evidence to control the Vale family.”
Dominic glared at him.
“I believed he was in danger.”
“Both can be true.”
Anaëlle looked at Dominic.
“Was that why?”
Dominic remained quiet.
Then:
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more than another lie.
“I didn’t completely trust him.”
Anaëlle laughed bitterly.
“My father saved your life and you didn’t trust him.”
“I was twenty-one.”
“That isn’t an excuse.”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice became softer.
“It’s an explanation.”
He continued.
“I had two men follow Julien.”
“Who?”
“Marco’s brother, Antonio. And another man named Vincent Russo.”
Anaëlle looked toward Marco.
Marco stared at the floor.
“My brother died that night.”
Anaëlle’s anger softened for one moment.
“I’m sorry.”
Marco nodded.
Dominic continued.
“They followed Julien to an industrial road near the river. His car exploded.”
Gabriel leaned against the wall.
“Convenient.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Gabriel’s men were nearby.”
“So were yours,” Gabriel replied.
Anaëlle rubbed her forehead.
“Did your people cause the explosion?”
“No.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Antonio called Marco thirty seconds before it happened. He said three vehicles were approaching.”
Marco nodded.
“He gave me a license plate.”
Gabriel’s smile disappeared.
Dominic noticed.
“We traced that plate three years later.”
“To who?” Anaëlle asked.
Dominic looked at Gabriel.
“A shell company controlled by him.”
Gabriel shrugged.
“Vehicles get stolen.”
Anaëlle turned toward Gabriel.
“If you didn’t order the explosion, why are you here?”
Gabriel smiled again.
“To protect myself.”
“From what?”
“The contents of that case.”
Anaëlle clutched it tighter.
“So there is something on these tapes.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Gabriel glanced at Dominic.
“Evidence that could destroy every Vale.”
“Including Dominic?”
“Especially Dominic.”
Anaëlle looked at him.
Dominic did not react.
Gabriel continued.
“Your father recorded conversations for years.”
“With whom?”
“Judges. Police. Contractors.”
He smiled.
“And one very ambitious twenty-one-year-old named Dominic Vale.”
Anaëlle looked at Dominic.
“What did you say on those recordings?”
Dominic’s eyes met hers.
“Things I regret.”
“What things?”
“Play the tapes.”
Gabriel frowned.
Dominic continued.
“Listen to everything.”
Anaëlle studied him.
He was not trying to stop her.
That mattered.
Gabriel noticed too.
“Very noble.”
Dominic ignored him.
“But listen to them in order.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel will show you the worst ten seconds and pretend the rest doesn’t exist.”
Anaëlle took the first cassette.
Numbers were handwritten on each.
One through seven.
The railway club still had an old tape machine in the office.
Marco brought it.
Anaëlle inserted tape one.
Her father’s voice filled the corridor.
“October fourth. Meeting with D.V.”
Dominic’s younger voice followed.
“He needs to be stopped.”
Julien answered.
“You mean Gabriel?”
“Yes.”
“Dominic, you understand what happens if you challenge him?”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
“I want every account.”
“That could take months.”
“Then take months.”
Anaëlle glanced at Dominic.
Tape one contained nothing criminal.
Tape two.
More conversations.
Tape three.
Dominic asking Julien to hide documents.
Tape four.
Then the tone changed.
Young Dominic sounded furious.
“If he runs, follow him.”
Julien’s voice:
“You mean me?”
Dominic:
“I mean anyone.”
Julien:
“Even me?”
Pause.
Then Dominic:
“Especially you.”
Anaëlle stopped the tape.
Dominic looked down.
Gabriel smiled.
“There it is.”
Anaëlle’s voice trembled.
“You ordered him followed because you thought he might betray you.”
“Yes.”
“So my father was right not to trust a Vale.”
“Yes.”
Dominic did not defend himself.
That somehow made Anaëlle angrier.
“You brought me to that piano knowing this recording existed?”
“I suspected.”
“And you still brought me.”
“You deserved to know.”
“After twelve years.”
“I only found the piano six months ago.”
“How?”
“Your father’s old storage records.”
Anaëlle stepped away.
“I can’t do this.”
Dominic nodded.
“You don’t have to.”
Gabriel stepped forward.
“You can come with me.”
Dominic immediately moved between them.
Gabriel smiled.
“Still pretending to protect her?”
Anaëlle looked at Gabriel.
“You want the tapes.”
“I want the truth contained.”
“That means destroyed.”
“That means prevented from ruining people who have nothing to do with mistakes made twelve years ago.”
Dominic laughed.
“You’ve never cared about innocent people.”
Gabriel’s face hardened.
Anaëlle looked at the remaining tapes.
“What about tape seven?”
Gabriel said nothing.
Dominic looked at him.
“You’re afraid of that one.”
Gabriel smiled without humor.
“No.”
“Yes, you are.”
Anaëlle inserted tape seven.
Static.
Then her father.
“This is the final recording.”
Anaëlle held her breath.
“If I fail, the truth must reach my daughter.”
A long pause.
“There is something she does not know about her mother.”
Anaëlle’s stomach twisted.
Dominic looked at her.
Julien continued.
“Claire made a choice to save Anaëlle.”
Anaëlle whispered, “Mom.”
“She agreed to work with Gabriel.”
Gabriel’s expression changed.
Dominic turned toward him.
The recording continued.
“She gave him information about me.”
Anaëlle’s eyes filled.
“No.”
“She believed it was the only way to keep our daughter alive.”
A cough.
Then:
“I forgave her.”
Anaëlle pressed a hand over her mouth.
“But Gabriel never kept his promise.”
Dominic’s face darkened.
“He continued watching Anaëlle.”
The recording crackled.
“And there is one final truth.”
Silence.
Anaëlle leaned closer.
“If Dominic Vale is listening, tell him this.”
Julien’s voice became weaker.
“The explosion was not ordered by Gabriel.”
Everyone froze.
Gabriel’s smile returned.
Dominic stared at the recorder.
Julien continued.
“It was ordered by someone closer.”
Anaëlle whispered, “Who?”
Then the tape clicked.
Nothing.
The recording stopped.
Anaëlle stared at the machine.
“That’s it?”
Marco checked the cassette.
“It’s damaged.”
Gabriel laughed softly.
Dominic looked furious.
“Closer to whom?” Anaëlle asked.
No one answered.
Then the railway corridor lights flickered.
Marco’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
“What?”
Dominic stepped closer.
Marco put the call on speaker.
A woman’s voice came through.
Trembling.
Familiar.
Anaëlle’s heart stopped.
“Annie?”
Anaëlle grabbed the phone.
“Mom?”
Claire Laurent began crying.
“Anaëlle, listen to me.”
“Where are you?”
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“I thought I could fix this.”
“Mom, where are you?”
Claire’s breathing became uneven.
Then she said:
“Your father came home tonight.”
Anaëlle nearly dropped the phone.
Dominic stared at her.
May you like
Claire whispered one final sentence.
“And he isn’t alone.”
