Chapter 3: The Toolbox Beneath the Garage Floor
Dominic Vane had walked through that garage hundreds of times.
He had walked through it wearing expensive suits before meetings.
He had walked through it half-asleep after late nights at the office.
He had walked through it carrying his daughter’s birthday gifts when his sister’s children visited.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, every shadow looked intentional.
The long row of black cars parked beneath the lights no longer represented luxury.
They looked like witnesses.
Dominic stood at the entrance to the underground garage, one hand gripping his cane, the other resting against the cold concrete wall.
Anna stood behind him.
“Please don’t do this.””
He didn’t turn around.
“You said it was here.””
“I said it was hidden here.””
“That means someone wanted it found later.””
Anna went silent.
Dominic looked at her.
“You know something else.””
Her eyes dropped.
“I know pieces.””
“Pieces are how people survive when they’re afraid to know the whole truth.””
The words hurt her.
He saw it.
But he didn’t apologize.
Not tonight.
Not after eleven weeks of being treated like a child in his own life.
The garage lights flickered once.
Dominic looked upward.
The movement was small.
But Anna noticed.
“What?””
“Nothing.””
She knew him too well.
“Dominic.””
He ignored her and continued forward.
His brace clicked softly with every step.
That sound had become his constant companion.
A reminder.
A warning.
A prison.
He reached the center of the garage where his SUV had been parked on the night of the crash.
He remembered almost nothing from that night.
Only fragments.
Rain.
Headlights.
The smell of gasoline.
A sharp pain in his leg.
Then darkness.
Everyone told him the same story afterward.
A wet road.
A careless driver.
Bad timing.
An accident.
But now he wondered how much of that story had been written for him.
“Where exactly?”” he asked.
Anna pointed toward the far wall.
“Behind the old storage cabinets.””
Dominic frowned.
“There’s nothing there.””
“There wasn’t supposed to be.””
They walked toward the cabinets.
Anna stopped several feet away.
“I never opened it.””
“Why?””
Her voice lowered.
“Because Dr. Mercer saw me.””
Dominic turned.
“What?””
“The morning after your accident.””
The words immediately changed the atmosphere.
“Tell me.””
Anna wrapped her arms around herself.
“I came here looking for your car keys. Your mother asked me to bring some documents to the hospital.””
“And?””
“I saw him.””
“Mercer?””
She nodded.
“He was standing right here.””
Her finger pointed toward the cabinets.
“Alone?””
“No.””
Dominic waited.
Anna swallowed.
“No.””
The garage seemed colder.
“Who was with him?””
“I don’t know.””
“You saw the sleeve.””
“Yes.””
“Anything else?””
Anna closed her eyes.
“I saw a ring.””
Dominic stared.
“What kind of ring?””
“A Vane family ring.””
His stomach tightened.
The Vane family crest was not something outsiders could easily copy.
It was passed down through generations.
Only five people currently owned one.
Dominic.
His mother.
His younger brother Adrian.
His sister Victoria.
And his uncle Charles.
A family secret suddenly had four possible faces.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Anna looked at him.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of Mercer?””
She hesitated.
“Of all of them.””
Dominic didn’t answer.
That was worse than any accusation.
Because Anna wasn’t accusing one person.
She was afraid of an entire family.
He turned toward the cabinets.
“Move them.””
Anna stepped forward.
“Dominic, you’re injured.””
“I know.””
“You shouldn’t be lifting anything.””
“I know.””
“Then why are you acting like you’re not?””
He looked back at her.
“Because everyone kept telling me what I couldn’t do.””
His voice hardened.
“I want to know what I can still do.””
For a moment, Anna said nothing.
Then she helped him.
Together, they pushed the old wooden cabinet aside.
Dust fell from the wall behind it.
And there it was.
A small metal panel.
Almost invisible.
Dominic stared.
“This wasn’t here before.””
Anna shook her head.
“No.””
He reached toward it.
The panel had a small lock.
Not a normal lock.
A combination lock.
Dominic looked at Anna.
“Did you know about this?””
“No.””
“Then how did you know there was something here?””
“Because I heard them.””
“Who?””
“Your mother and Dr. Mercer.””
Dominic stopped.
“When?””
“The day after your surgery.””
“What did they say?””
Anna looked away.
“I only heard one sentence.””
“What sentence?””
She whispered:
“Make sure the evidence disappears before Dominic remembers.””
The words hit harder than any physical pain.
Dominic stared at the lock.
Evidence.
Not records.
Not paperwork.
Evidence.
He pulled out his phone.
The unknown number was still there.
He typed:
*The panel is locked.*
A reply appeared.
*Birthday.*
Dominic frowned.
He tried his birthday.
Nothing.
He tried his company founding date.
Nothing.
Then he stopped.
“Family,” he whispered.
Anna looked at him.
“What?””
“The person sending these messages knows how my family thinks.””
He entered another number.
The year his father died.
The lock clicked.
Anna covered her mouth.
The panel opened.
Inside was a small red toolbox.
Exactly as the message had said.
Dominic reached for it.
His hand paused.
For the first time all night, he felt something close to fear.
Because the toolbox wasn’t dusty.
It was clean.
Someone had opened it recently.
Someone had placed it there.
Someone wanted him to find it.
“Dominic.””
“I know.””
He slowly opened the lid.
Inside were several items.
A screwdriver.
A pair of gloves.
A small flashlight.
And a folded piece of paper.
Dominic picked it up.
The paper was old.
The handwriting was not.
He unfolded it.
Three words were written across the page.
*HE KNOWS EVERYTHING.*
Anna stepped closer.
“Who wrote that?””
Dominic turned the paper over.
Nothing.
No name.
No date.
Only those three words.
Then he saw something else.
A small stain near the bottom corner.
Dark red.
Anna noticed his expression.
“What?””
Dominic held the paper tighter.
“This isn’t old.””
“How do you know?””
“Because the ink is old.””
He pointed.
“But this.””
His finger touched the stain.
“It’s not.””
Anna stepped back.
“What is it?””
Before Dominic could answer, his phone vibrated.
Another message.
This time, the sender included a photo.
Dominic opened it.
His face changed.
Anna looked over his shoulder.
The photo showed the inside of the red toolbox.
Taken moments earlier.
From inside the garage.
Someone had been watching them.
Dominic slowly turned around.
The garage was empty.
The rows of cars.
The dark corners.
The silent cameras.
Nothing moved.
Then another message appeared.
*You’re looking in the wrong place.*
Dominic stared.
A second message followed.
*The person who changed your brace didn’t hide the evidence.*
His pulse increased.
A third message appeared.
*They hid the person who saw it happen.*
Dominic felt a cold wave move through him.
He looked at Anna.
“Where is Lily?””
Anna’s face went pale.
“She’s upstairs.””
“Who is watching her?””
Anna didn’t answer.
And that silence was enough.
Dominic grabbed his cane.
Pain shot through his leg, but he ignored it.
“Take me upstairs.””
“Dominic—”
“Now.””
They rushed toward the elevator.
But before the doors closed, Dominic looked back at the garage.
At the toolbox.
At the dark space where someone had been standing.
Waiting.
Watching.
The elevator doors began to shut.
Then Dominic saw something on the security monitor above the garage entrance.
A figure.
Standing beside his car.
A person who had not been there a second earlier.
Dominic pressed the emergency stop button.
The elevator jolted.
Anna screamed.
“What happened?””
Dominic stared at the monitor.
The figure lifted their face toward the camera.
Even through the grainy image, Dominic recognized the person.
Because it was someone he had trusted more than anyone.
Someone who had sat beside his hospital bed.
Someone who had held his hand and promised he would recover.
Dominic whispered the name.
“No…”
May you like
The screen went black.
And from somewhere above them, the house alarm began to ring.
