Chapter 8 - Clara’s Father Left More Than Secrets
Arthur asked them to return to the mansion before opening the drive.
Clara refused.
“No.”
“Clara—”
“Every time we wait, someone else decides what I’m allowed to know.”
Dominic watched her.
Then looked at Arthur.
“Open it here.”
They sat inside the armored SUV near the cemetery.
The flash drive contained encrypted folders.
One required a password.
Clara tried birthdays.
Nothing.
Dominic tried Robert’s company registration date.
Nothing.
Arthur suggested Mary’s birthday.
Rejected.
Clara stared at the screen.
Then remembered something her father always said.
“Your mother was the bravest person I ever knew.”
She typed:
BRAVERY
The drive opened.
Folders appeared.
Bank transfers.
Recorded calls.
Legal documents.
And a video.
Clara clicked it.
Her father appeared.
Older than in the previous recording.
Tired.
“If Clara or Ethan is watching this, I am probably gone.”
Clara swallowed.
Dominic sat beside her in silence.
Robert continued.
“I need you to understand something about Vittorio Rossi.”
Dominic’s father.
“When I discovered Victor’s laundering network, I approached Vittorio privately. I expected threats. Instead, he listened.”
Dominic frowned.
Robert said, “Vittorio knew Victor was manipulating his organization. He wanted proof.”
Clara looked at Dominic.
Their fathers had worked together.
“But we made a mistake. Someone learned about our arrangement.”
Robert leaned closer to the camera.
“The night Dominic was attacked, Vittorio believed I betrayed him.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“I didn’t.”
Robert continued.
“Victor forged documents making it appear I had disclosed the meeting location. Vittorio sent men to bring me in for questioning.”
Clara whispered, “Bring him in?”
Arthur looked ashamed.
Robert’s recorded voice answered.
“They frightened Mary.”
Clara froze.
“My wife was already ill. The men arrived at our home late at night. She collapsed during the confrontation.”
Clara stopped the video.
The SUV became completely silent.
She looked at Arthur.
“You told me my mother died because the ambulance took too long.”
“That’s what you believed.”
“Were you there?”
“No.”
“Did Vittorio send them?”
Arthur hesitated.
“Yes.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“Did my father know Mary was ill?”
“No.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Clara snapped.
Dominic looked at her.
“You’re right.”
No defense.
No excuse.
That somehow made her angrier.
She resumed the recording.
Robert explained Mary’s condition worsened.
The ambulance delay became fatal.
The men fled before help arrived.
Vittorio later learned Robert had not betrayed him.
He tried to apologize.
Robert refused.
Then something unexpected happened.
“He protected Clara afterward.”
Clara stared.
“Vittorio realized Victor knew my daughter had saved Dominic. He assigned people to watch from a distance. Clara never knew.”
Dominic looked toward Arthur.
Arthur nodded.
Robert continued.
“I hated Vittorio Rossi. Part of me still does. But I also know guilt changed him. He spent years making sure Victor could not reach my children.”
Clara’s emotions twisted together.
Rage.
Grief.
Confusion.
Her mother’s death had shaped her entire life.
It pushed her toward medicine.
It was the reason she stayed in the alley.
And the chain that led her to Dominic had begun with Dominic’s father sending men to her home.
She turned off the video.
“I need air.”
Dominic followed her out.
She walked among the cemetery trees.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
“Don’t follow me.”
“Fine.”
She took another few steps.
Then turned.
“Actually, no. Follow me.”
Dominic approached cautiously.
“My mother died because your father wanted answers.”
“Yes.”
“And seven years later you forced me into marriage because my brother owed you money.”
“Yes.”
“Do the Rossis ever enter my life without destroying something?”
The words hit him.
He didn’t defend himself.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s your answer?”
“What would you like me to say?”
“That none of this matters?”
“It matters.”
“That your father was different?”
“He wasn’t.”
“That you’re different?”
Dominic looked at her.
“I’m trying to be.”
Clara laughed bitterly.
“You don’t get credit for trying after trapping me in a marriage.”
“No.”
“Stop agreeing with me!”
A startled laugh escaped Dominic.
Clara stared.
He immediately became serious.
“Sorry.”
She looked away.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Then Dominic said:
“If I had known about Mary before the wedding, I would never have proposed the arrangement.”
Clara looked at him.
“You shouldn’t have proposed it anyway.”
“You’re right.”
She exhaled.
“God, you’re irritating.”
“I’ve been told.”
“Mostly by me.”
“Almost exclusively.”
Despite herself, Clara smiled.
It vanished quickly.
“What happens now?”
“Now we find Ethan.”
“And Victor?”
“We stop him.”
“Meaning?”
Dominic understood the question.
She did not want a war.
Did not want bodies.
Did not want Dominic becoming the man everyone feared.
“We use your father’s evidence.”
“To police?”
“Federal investigators.”
Clara raised an eyebrow.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Dominic Rossi voluntarily speaking to federal investigators?”
“Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation.”
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
Dominic watched her.
There it was again.
Something changing.
Something dangerous in a completely different way.
They returned to the SUV.
Arthur had opened another file.
His expression was grim.
“What?”
“There’s an audio recording.”
“Victor?” Dominic asked.
“Yes.”
The recording was eight years old.
Victor’s voice spoke to someone unidentified.
“Once Rossi and Hayes believe they betrayed each other, both become useful.”
Clara listened.
Victor had engineered the false evidence against Robert.
He had deliberately provoked Vittorio into sending men.
He knew Mary was ill.
And he used her death to deepen hatred between both families.
Then came the final sentence.
“If Dominic survives long enough to take power, we’ll need leverage. Robert’s daughter may eventually provide it.”
Clara felt sick.
Victor had been thinking about her before she even met Dominic.
Maybe before the alley.
Dominic’s face became unreadable.
Arthur whispered:
“This was never about the money.”
Clara looked at the drive.
“No.”
Victor’s plan had taken nearly a decade.
He manipulated their fathers.
Destroyed families.
Used Ethan.
Engineered debt.
And perhaps deliberately placed Clara in Dominic’s path.
But why?
The answer arrived from an unexpected source.
Marco called.
“We found Ethan.”
Clara stood.
“Where?”
“A private medical facility outside Chicago.”
“Is he hurt?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he walked in voluntarily.”
Everyone stared.
Marco continued.
“And he isn’t a prisoner.”
Clara’s voice went quiet.
“What are you saying?”
“He’s been meeting Victor Hale for months.”
The phone nearly slipped from her hand.
Dominic looked at Clara.
The brother she had been risking everything to rescue might not have been Victor’s captive at all.
May you like
He might have been working with him.
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