Chapter 5 - What Dominic’s Father Never Told Him
Finding a cassette player in 2026 was harder than Dominic expected.
Carlo had one.
Of course he did.
They returned to his house that evening.
Claire sat on the sofa.
Dominic stood by the window.
Carlo placed the tape into an old portable recorder.
His hands shook.
“Did you know about this?”
Dominic asked.
Carlo shook his head.
“No.”
Claire pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a man’s voice.
Older than Claire remembered.
Younger than Dominic imagined.
Thomas Dawson.
“If you’re hearing this, Antonio either finally told you the truth, or he didn’t live long enough to.”
Claire pressed both hands over her mouth.
Dominic went perfectly still.
The tape continued.
“Dominic, you probably don’t remember me well. That’s fine. You were young when all this started.”
A breath.
“I want you to understand something before you decide what kind of man your father was.”
Dominic’s eyes hardened.
Thomas continued.
“Antonio was my friend long before he was your father in the way you know him. We were stupid together. We were broke together. We fought. We stopped talking. We found our way back.”
Another pause.
“He made a bad decision.”
Dominic looked toward Carlo.
Carlo stared at the floor.
Thomas described the route change.
The missing shipment.
The financial panic.
The impending audit.
Antonio’s fear that an investigation would expose not only him but the wider Russo organization.
Then Thomas said something Dominic would remember for the rest of his life.
“Your father wasn’t most afraid of prison. He was afraid of you.”
Dominic’s brow tightened.
“He said if he fell, you’d step into his place before you were ready. He believed loyalty would get you killed.”
Claire looked at Dominic.
Dominic did not move.
“I told him that was his problem to solve.”
A faint laugh on the tape.
“He told me fathers don’t always get to solve the problems they create.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
That sounded exactly like Antonio.
The recording went on.
Thomas had agreed to alter building access records.
He would appear to have removed documents.
He would confess.
In exchange, Antonio promised three things.
Claire would be protected financially if Thomas lost his livelihood.
Thomas’s name would be restored after the immediate crisis passed.
Dominic would be told the truth once Antonio believed he was mature enough to understand it.
None of those promises had been kept.
Claire’s eyes were wet now.
Thomas’s voice softened.
“And Antonio, if you’re listening too, the ring isn’t yours.”
Dominic opened his eyes.
“I gave it to you because Claire was too young to understand what any of this meant.”
A slight pause.
“When she’s old enough, give it back.”
Claire looked at the ring.
Dominic slowly closed his fist.
“It belonged to my grandfather. Then my father. Then me.”
Thomas coughed.
“I had Claire’s initials put inside it the week she was born.”
Claire started crying silently.
Thomas continued.
“She used to wrap her whole hand around my finger and try to pull it off. Strong kid.”
Claire laughed through tears.
“A pain in the neck already.”
Dominic looked away.
The tape crackled.
“Dominic, I don’t know what Antonio will tell you about me.”
Thomas’s voice changed.
More serious.
“But if he tells you I betrayed him, understand this.”
Silence.
Dominic felt his pulse in his throat.
“I chose his son over his reputation.”
No one moved.
“I don’t regret protecting you.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“I regret trusting your father to make it right afterward.”
The recording stopped for several seconds.
Then Thomas’s voice returned.
“If you ever meet Claire…”
Claire bent forward.
“…don’t give her money because you feel guilty.”
Dominic almost laughed.
Claire wiped her eyes.
Thomas continued.
“She’ll hate that.”
Claire whispered, “He knew me.”
Carlo smiled faintly.
“He did.”
“Tell her the truth.”
Thomas said.
“And if she still wants nothing to do with your family, respect that.”
The tape hissed.
Then came the final words.
“Names matter, Dominic. But not more than what’s true.”
Click.
Silence.
Nobody rushed to fill it.
Claire finally stood.
“I need air.”
She walked outside.
Dominic remained by the window.
Carlo removed the tape.
“You all right?”
Dominic laughed once.
It sounded wrong.
“My father let me hate that man.”
Carlo said nothing.
“Twenty-five years.”
“Yes.”
“He let me repeat the story.”
“Yes.”
“I told people Dawson was a rat.”
Carlo’s face tightened.
“I know.”
Dominic looked at him.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was loyal to Antonio.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
“Was that loyalty?”
Carlo had no answer.
Dominic walked outside.
Claire was sitting on the front steps.
He stood beside her.
For a moment, they looked like two strangers waiting for a bus.
Claire wiped her face.
“He sounded like him.”
Dominic sat one step below.
“I’m sorry.”
Claire gave a tired smile.
“That’s a dangerous phrase.”
“Why?”
“Because people say it when they want the conversation to end.”
Dominic nodded.
“Then I won’t use it that way.”
Claire looked at him.
“My dad took the blame to protect you.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t know.”
“No.”
“But after he died…”
Dominic knew what she was asking.
“I still believed the lie.”
“You wore his ring.”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever ask where it came from?”
“No.”
Claire looked away.
Dominic rubbed his hands together.
“I thought it belonged to my family.”
“It did.”
He looked at her.
“For twenty-two years.”
“That doesn’t make it yours.”
“No.”
Claire looked surprised.
Dominic removed the ring.
For several seconds he held it in his palm.
Claire watched.
He almost handed it to her.
Almost.
Then he closed his fingers again.
Claire’s face hardened.
“What?”
Dominic looked at the ring.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because returning it doesn’t fix anything.”
“I didn’t say it did.”
“I know.”
Dominic stood.
“My father did three things wrong.”
Claire looked up.
“He let your father carry the blame. He broke his promise to protect you. And he made sure my family remembered Thomas Dawson as a traitor.”
Dominic slid the ring into his pocket.
“If I hand you this tonight and walk away, I’m doing the easy part first.”
Claire studied him.
“What are you planning?”
Dominic’s expression became cold in a way she had not seen since the restaurant.
But this time it wasn’t directed at her.
May you like
“I’m going to change the story.”
---
