Chapter 3 - The Secret in Bruno’s Mouth
The mansion had survived bullets better than it survived gossip.
By sunrise, everyone knew Victoria Sloan was gone.
By breakfast, everyone knew money was missing.
By ten, half the staff believed she had betrayed Dominic.
The other half believed Dominic would find her before lunch.
Marin believed something did not make sense.
She sat at the long kitchen table reading Victoria’s note for the fifth time.
Ask the maid what Bruno found.
Rosa poured coffee beside her.
“You should stay out of this.”
“I’d love to.”
“Then do.”
Marin looked at the note.
“I don’t think I can.”
Dominic entered.
The kitchen went silent instantly.
He looked tired.
Not weak.
Not defeated.
Just like a man who had not slept and had no intention of admitting it.
“Marin.”
She stood.
“Office.”
Rosa whispered, “Good luck,” as Marin followed him.
The broken window had been replaced overnight.
The transmitter was gone.
Dominic placed Victoria’s note on the desk.
“What did Bruno find?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
Marin walked through the first morning in her head.
Bruno stole the document.
She chased him.
She fell.
Reading glasses.
Laughter.
Then—
“The document.”
Dominic looked at her.
“What about it?”
“When Bruno had it, there was something attached.”
“What?”
“I thought it was a paper clip.”
Dominic opened the folder.
Nothing.
Marin frowned.
“Maybe it fell.”
They searched beneath the desk.
Nothing.
Behind the chair.
Nothing.
Bruno entered carrying a tennis ball.
Marin stared at him.
“Where did you take the paper?”
The puppy wagged his tail.
Dominic folded his arms.
“You expect him to answer?”
“He’s been involved in more useful investigative work than most people here.”
Dominic actually nodded.
“Fair.”
Marin crouched.
“Show me.”
Bruno dropped the ball.
“Not that.”
He picked it up again.
“Bruno.”
He trotted toward the bookshelves.
Then toward a narrow cabinet beside the fireplace.
He scratched at the bottom drawer.
Marin opened it.
Inside were old dog toys.
A sock.
Two pens.
A leather glove.
And a tiny silver USB drive.
Dominic stopped breathing for half a second.
Marin picked it up.
“This?”
Dominic took it carefully.
There was dried puppy saliva on one end.
“He must have pulled it from the document.”
Dominic called his security chief.
Twenty minutes later, the drive was connected to an isolated laptop.
It contained financial records.
Hundreds of pages.
Transfers.
Shell companies.
Debt purchases.
Signatures.
And one recording.
Dominic pressed play.
Victoria’s voice filled the office.
“If you’re hearing this, something has gone wrong.”
Marin glanced at Dominic.
He did not move.
Victoria continued.
“Charles Vane approached me eleven months ago. He believed I could be bought. I allowed him to believe it.”
Dominic’s eyes sharpened.
“I began feeding him controlled information while documenting every transaction. My intention was to give Dominic enough evidence to destroy Vane legally before the board vote.”
Marin exhaled.
Victoria had not betrayed him.
At least not in the way everyone believed.
The recording continued.
“But three weeks ago, Vane discovered I was misleading him. He threatened my sister. He demanded access codes and twenty-three million dollars. I moved the money exactly where he instructed because the transfer contains a trace placed by Dominic’s own audit team years ago. It can lead directly to Vane’s hidden accounts.”
Dominic turned toward his attorney.
“Can it?”
The attorney nodded slowly.
“If the trace was still active.”
Victoria’s voice became quieter.
“Dominic will be angry that I acted alone. He should be. But if I told him, he would have confronted Vane immediately, and we would lose the evidence.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened because everyone knew she was right.
Then Victoria said something Marin did not expect.
“Marin Holloway is not involved. Leave her out of this.”
Dominic looked at Marin.
“Why mention you?”
Marin shook her head.
The recording answered.
“Vane became interested in her after he saw Dominic’s reaction to her. He believes she may become leverage.”
Marin went cold.
Dominic stopped the recording.
Silence.
“Leverage?” Marin whispered.
Dominic’s face had changed.
Whatever amusement Marin had once brought into that room was gone.
“Pack your things.”
She stared at him.
“You’re firing me?”
“I’m sending you home.”
“That sounds like firing with transportation.”
“You are in danger.”
“Because somebody thinks you like me?”
Dominic’s gaze met hers.
“That is enough.”
Marin laughed once in disbelief.
“So I lose my job because you laughed?”
“I will pay you for six months.”
“I don’t want six months of charity.”
“It is not charity.”
“It is absolutely charity.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You do not understand the people involved.”
“No. But I understand being told my life should stop because powerful people made dangerous decisions.”
His expression hardened.
“This is not a negotiation.”
“Then stop pretending you’re asking.”
For several seconds, they stood facing each other.
Dominic was used to people backing down.
Marin was used to having no one powerful enough to protect her.
Neither experience prepared them for the other.
Finally Dominic spoke.
“You have a brother.”
The words struck exactly where he intended.
Marin’s anger vanished.
“Eli.”
“If Vane believes you matter, he may investigate him.”
Fear replaced everything else.
Dominic continued.
“My people can move both of you somewhere secure until this is finished.”
Marin swallowed.
“Does Eli know?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She looked away.
“I’ll go.”
Dominic nodded.
But instead of satisfaction, his face showed something close to regret.
That afternoon, Marin and Eli were moved to a guarded apartment owned by Castellano Holdings.
Eli hated it immediately.
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“There are two guys with guns in the hallway.”
“They’re security.”
“That is not improving the sentence.”
Marin told him enough.
Not everything.
She said there had been a threat connected to Dominic’s business.
She did not mention that the threat existed because someone believed she mattered to Dominic.
Eli stared at her.
“You’ve known this guy a week.”
“I know.”
“And already we’re in protective custody.”
“I know.”
“Do you like him?”
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
Eli smiled.
“Oh, no.”
“Stop.”
“You like him.”
“I like that he pays employees on time.”
“Marin.”
“He is terrifying.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
She threw a pillow at him.
That night, she could not sleep.
At 1:13 a.m., there was a knock.
The guards checked first.
Then Dominic entered.
He wore a black coat damp from rain.
Marin stared at him.
“What are you doing here?”
“We found Victoria.”
“Is she okay?”
Dominic’s face answered before he spoke.
“She was in a car beneath the Queensboro Bridge.”
Marin’s stomach dropped.
“Dead?”
“Alive. Barely.”
“Who did it?”
“Vane’s men.”
Dominic walked to the window.
“She escaped before they could move her.”
Marin felt relief.
“Where is she?”
“Private hospital.”
“Can I see her?”
Dominic turned.
“No.”
“Why?”
“She asked for you.”
Marin frowned.
“That sounds like a reason to say yes.”
Dominic looked irritated because it was.
An hour later, Marin stood beside Victoria’s hospital bed.
The perfectly controlled estate manager looked almost unrecognizable.
Bruising covered one cheek.
Her arm was wrapped.
Her voice was weak.
“You found the drive.”
“Bruno did.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
Marin sat beside her.
“Why did you write my name?”
“Because Vane noticed Dominic.”
Marin lowered her voice.
“There is nothing to notice.”
Victoria opened her eyes.
“Do not insult both of us.”
Marin said nothing.
Victoria continued.
“Dominic has lived inside grief for a long time.”
“What happened?”
Victoria hesitated.
“His wife died seven years ago.”
Marin’s chest tightened.
“He was married?”
“Yes.”
“Why has nobody—”
“Because nobody in that house speaks her name unless Dominic does.”
Victoria looked toward the window.
“Isabella was kind. Too kind for that world. A car bomb meant for Dominic killed her.”
Marin felt sick.
“That’s why he’s like that.”
“That is part of why.”
“And Bruno?”
“Isabella loved dogs. Dominic refused to have one after she died. Then six months ago, a business partner gave him Bruno as a ridiculous peace offering. Dominic pretended to hate the animal for approximately four hours.”
Despite everything, Marin smiled.
Victoria did too.
Then her expression became serious.
“Vane wants Dominic angry. Angry men make mistakes.”
“What does he want?”
“Everything.”
“Company?”
“More.”
Victoria reached for Marin’s hand.
“Charles believes the Castellanos destroyed his father thirty years ago. He doesn’t want money. He wants Dominic humiliated before he loses everything.”
Marin thought of the sniper.
“He tried to kill him.”
“No.”
Victoria’s fingers tightened.
“The shooter was ordered to miss.”
Marin stared at her.
“What?”
“Vane wanted Dominic frightened. Distracted. Suspicious.”
“Why?”
“Because the real attack happens Monday.”
“The board vote.”
Victoria nodded.
“If Dominic walks into that room angry and unprepared, Vane wins.”
The hospital door opened.
Dominic entered.
Victoria looked at him.
“Still mad?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Means I’m alive.”
Dominic came closer.
“You could have told me.”
“You would have attacked him.”
“Yes.”
“And destroyed the evidence.”
“Possibly.”
Victoria smiled weakly.
“Definitely.”
Dominic’s eyes softened.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Marin looked away.
Whatever history they shared, it was deeper than jealousy.
Victoria had not hated Marin because she wanted Dominic romantically.
She had been protecting him.
Maybe even from himself.
As Dominic turned to leave, Victoria spoke.
“Take Marin with you Monday.”
Dominic stopped.
“No.”
“She sees things you don’t.”
“She is not part of this.”
Victoria looked at Marin.
“She already is.”
Monday morning arrived with rain.
Dominic Castellano entered the headquarters of Castellano Holdings surrounded by attorneys, security personnel, and executives.
Marin walked beside him wearing a borrowed navy suit Rosa had chosen.
“You realize I have no idea what I’m doing,” she whispered.
Dominic looked ahead.
“Neither do half the people in this building.”
“That is not reassuring.”
He glanced at her.
“It wasn’t intended to be.”
The boardroom doors opened.
Charles Vane waited at the opposite end of the table.
He smiled when he saw Marin.
“Ah,” he said. “The maid.”
Marin felt every eye turn toward her.
Dominic’s voice went quiet.
“Her name is Marin Holloway.”
Vane smiled wider.
“That seems to matter to you.”
Dominic pulled out a chair for Marin.
“More than you do.”
Vane’s smile disappeared.
And for the first time, Marin understood why powerful men feared Dominic Castellano.
He did not need to threaten anyone.
He only needed to decide they no longer mattered.
The meeting began.
Two hours later, Charles Vane revealed his final move.
He controlled forty-eight percent of the voting debt.
Dominic controlled forty-nine.
Three percent belonged to an unknown trust.
Whoever controlled it would control Castellano Holdings.
Vane smiled.
“I believe,” he said, “you know the trustee.”
The doors opened.
A woman entered.
Dominic stood so suddenly his chair struck the wall.
Marin looked at his face.
All color had disappeared.
The woman was blonde.
Elegant.
Around forty.
She carried a silver necklace in one hand.
Dominic whispered a name nobody in the room expected.
“Isabella?”
May you like
Marin’s heart stopped.
Because according to everyone she had spoken to, Isabella Castellano had been dead for seven years.
