Chapter 5: The Name Buried With His Father
“Your father’s old enemy.””
The words stayed in the air.
Dominic stared at Adrian.
For a moment, he thought he had misunderstood.
Not because the sentence was unclear.
Because it was impossible.
His father had been dead for nineteen years.
The people who hated him were either gone, forgotten, or irrelevant.
At least that was what Dominic had always believed.
“Say the name,” Dominic said.
Adrian’s face tightened.
“I don’t think you understand what you’re asking.””
“I understand perfectly.””
Dominic stepped forward.
The brace on his leg clicked against the floor.
“You dragged me into a secret passage. You brought up my dead father. You stood beside the man who has been lying to me for eleven weeks.””
His eyes moved to Dr. Mercer.
“Now you’re going to tell me everything.””
Mercer looked uncomfortable for the first time.
Adrian glanced at him.
That small movement told Dominic more than any confession could.
They had not expected him to get this far.
They had expected him to remain confused.
Dependent.
Weak.
Dominic smiled coldly.
“That’s what this was.””
Nobody spoke.
“The medication.””
The pain.
The brace.
The endless appointments.
“You weren’t trying to help me recover.””
Mercer’s jaw tightened.
“Dominic—”
“No.””
His voice cut through the passage.
“You don’t get to use my name like you’re still my doctor.””
The silence that followed was heavy.
Eleanor stepped forward.
“Dominic, listen to me.””
He turned toward her.
“Why?””
Her expression changed.
“Because I am your mother.””
“Exactly.””
His eyes hardened.
“That’s why I need to know why you let me suffer.””
Eleanor looked away.
And that was the answer.
Not completely.
But enough.
Dominic had spent his entire life believing his mother was the strongest person he knew.
She negotiated impossible deals.
She survived scandals.
She controlled every room she entered.
But now she stood in a dark hidden hallway unable to look her own son in the eyes.
“Who is the enemy?”” Dominic asked again.
Adrian finally answered.
“Marcus Vale.””
The name meant nothing.
And somehow that scared Dominic more.
“Who?””
Adrian swallowed.
“Your father never told you about him.””
“My father never told me a lot of things.””
“That was intentional.””
Dominic laughed quietly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
He looked around.
“My whole life has become a collection of things people decided I didn’t need to know.””
Adrian’s expression softened.
For a moment, Dominic saw the younger brother he remembered.
The boy who followed him everywhere.
The boy who used to steal his jackets and blame the dog.
Then the moment disappeared.
Because that boy wouldn’t have stood beside Mercer.
“Tell me about Marcus Vale.””
Adrian looked at Eleanor.
She gave a small nod.
A defeated nod.
“Your father and Marcus were partners.””
Dominic frowned.
“What?””
“Yes.””
“That makes no sense.””
“It was before you were born.””
Eleanor’s voice was quiet.
“They built Vane Holdings together.””
Dominic stared.
His father had always been described as a brilliant businessman.
A man who created an empire alone.
But now another name appeared beside his.
Marcus Vale.
“What happened?””
Eleanor looked down.
“They disagreed.””
“That’s not enough to destroy a partnership.””
“No.””
She paused.
“They disagreed about control.””
Dominic crossed his arms.
“And?””
“And Marcus believed your father betrayed him.””
“Did he?””
Nobody answered.
Dominic looked at them.
“That’s not an answer.””
Adrian spoke.
“Your father found out Marcus was moving company money.””
Dominic froze.
“Stealing?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
Adrian looked away.
“Enough to destroy the company.””
Dominic processed that.
His father.
The legendary businessman.
The founder of an empire.
A man who supposedly built everything through discipline and honesty.
Had nearly lost it all because of his closest friend.
“What happened to Marcus?””
Eleanor’s face changed.
“He disappeared.””
“Disappeared?””
“After the investigation began.””
Dominic shook his head.
“So why have I never heard this name?””
“Because your father erased him.””
“From records?””
“From the family.””
Dominic looked at Adrian.
“You knew.””
Adrian hesitated.
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Years.””
The betrayal landed differently this time.
Because Adrian was not a doctor.
Not an employee.
Not someone hired to protect him.
He was his brother.
Dominic looked away.
“Everyone knew except me.””
Eleanor stepped closer.
“Dominic.””
“No.””
He held up a hand.
“Don’t.””
His voice lowered.
“I spent my entire life thinking people respected me because I was strong.””
He looked at the hidden hallway.
“At some point, I became the only person in my own family who wasn’t allowed to know anything.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Lily’s small voice broke the silence.
“Mr. Vane?””
Dominic looked down.
The little girl was still holding his hand.
“What?””
“Who is Marcus?””
He looked at her.
A six-year-old asking the question everyone else avoided.
Dominic crouched carefully.
“I don’t know yet.””
Lily frowned.
“But you’re going to find out?””
He looked toward the adults.
“Yes.””
Her expression relaxed slightly.
“Okay.””
The simplicity of her answer almost broke him.
Because she trusted him.
A child he barely knew trusted him more than the people who had known him his entire life.
They moved to the study.
The secret passage was locked behind them.
Security had finally stopped searching after Eleanor claimed Lily had wandered off.
Dominic noticed something.
Nobody questioned her.
Not the guards.
Not the staff.
Not even the police liaison.
His mother still had enough power that people accepted her explanations.
That realization disturbed him.
In the study, Adrian placed an old file on the desk.
Dominic stared at it.
“What is that?””
“Your father’s records.””
“I thought they were destroyed.””
“Most were.””
Adrian opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Letters.
Dominic picked up the first photograph.
Two young men stood beside a company building.
One was his father.
The other was a stranger.
Marcus Vale.
They were smiling.
They looked like brothers.
“Why show me this?””
“Because Marcus didn’t disappear.””
Dominic looked up.
“What?””
Adrian took a deep breath.
“He stayed close.””
The room became silent.
“How close?””
Adrian looked at him.
“Close enough to know everything about our family.””
Dominic flipped through the documents.
Then he found something.
A medical report.
His own name was written at the top.
His hand stopped.
“What is this?””
Nobody answered.
He read the first line.
*Patient: Dominic Alexander Vane.*
*Incident: Vehicle collision.*
His eyes moved downward.
Then he saw the date.
Not the night of his accident.
A week before.
His heartbeat changed.
“This isn’t from my crash.””
Eleanor went pale.
Dominic looked at her.
“What is this?””
She didn’t answer.
He continued reading.
The report was not about treatment.
It was about observation.
Someone had been watching him.
Studying him.
Preparing.
At the bottom of the page was a signature.
A name.
Dominic stared.
Because he knew that name.
He had seen it before.
On every medical bill.
Every prescription.
Every appointment.
Dr. Owen Mercer.
Dominic slowly looked toward the door.
Mercer was gone.
But the truth remained.
He wasn’t brought into Dominic’s life after the accident.
He had been there before.
Planning.
Waiting.
Dominic turned the page.
There was one final note.
Written in handwriting he didn’t recognize.
*If Dominic survives, begin Phase Two.*
Anna gasped.
“What is Phase Two?””
Nobody answered.
Then Dominic’s phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
He opened it.
One sentence.
*You finally found the beginning.*
A second message appeared.
*Now find out why your father wanted you dead.*
Dominic’s blood ran cold.
Because the sender knew something impossible.
His father had been dead for nineteen years.
And yet someone was writing as if he was still alive.
Then a final message appeared.
A photo.
Not of the garage.
Not of the toolbox.
Not of the hidden passage.
A photo of Dominic as a child.
Standing beside his father.
And behind them, blurred in the background, was a man Dominic had never forgotten.
Because he had seen him once before.
May you like
The night his father died.
Marcus Vale.
