Chapter 8: The Conversation Before the Murder
Dominic did not remember leaving the bedroom.
He remembered the sound of his own breathing.
He remembered Anna saying his name.
He remembered Marcus Vale placing the flash drive into his hand.
But after that, everything became a blur.
His mind refused to accept the sentence.
Your mother was the last person to speak to him alive.
Because there were lies.
And then there were truths that felt like lies because they were too painful to exist.
His mother.
The woman who taught him how to ride a bicycle.
The woman who stayed awake beside him when he had pneumonia as a child.
The woman who sat beside his hospital bed after the accident.
The woman who cried when doctors said his recovery would be difficult.
Her.
Dominic stood in the abandoned living room, staring at the old fireplace.
“Tell me exactly what happened.””
His voice sounded different.
Colder.
Marcus stood across from him.
“You deserve to know.””
“No.””
Dominic turned.
“I deserve the truth.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Your father discovered the financial crimes inside Vane Holdings nineteen years ago. He thought Marcus Vale was responsible.””
“Because of the evidence.””
“Yes.””
“And you weren’t.””
“No.””
“Then why did he believe it?””
Marcus looked down.
“Because someone made sure he did.””
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Someone framed you.””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Marcus looked at him.
“Your mother.””
The room went silent.
Anna inhaled sharply.
Dominic did not react.
Not immediately.
His brain simply refused to process another blow.
Then he laughed.
A quiet, broken sound.
“No.””
Marcus said nothing.
“No.””
Dominic shook his head.
“You’re wrong.””
“I wish I was.””
“You expect me to believe that Eleanor Vane framed her husband’s closest friend?””
“I expect you to listen.””
“My mother loved my father.””
Marcus’s expression softened.
“I know.””
That answer surprised Dominic.
“What?””
“I know she loved him.””
“Then why are you saying this?””
“Because love and betrayal can exist in the same person.””
Dominic looked away.
He hated that the sentence made sense.
Because he had spent his entire life learning that people were complicated.
But he never imagined his own family would be the proof.
“Show me.””
Marcus nodded toward the flash drive.
“Your father recorded everything.””
Dominic looked at the device.
“Why?””
“Because he knew someone was coming for him.””
“Why didn’t he give it to the police?””
Marcus looked toward the dark hallway.
“Because he didn’t know who he could trust.””
Dominic stared.
The same sentence again.
Trust.
Everyone kept talking about trust.
Everyone had broken it.
He inserted the flash drive into the old laptop Marcus had left on the table.
The screen flickered.
A folder appeared.
*ALEXANDER VANE — FINAL RECORDS*
Dominic hesitated.
Then opened it.
There were dozens of files.
Financial documents.
Emails.
Audio recordings.
One file caught his attention.
*LAST CONVERSATION.*
His hand froze.
Anna whispered, “Dominic…”
He clicked.
The recording began.
Static.
Then a familiar voice.
His father.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakable.
“If you are hearing this, something has gone wrong.””
Dominic closed his eyes.
His father’s voice.
After nineteen years.
It felt impossible.
“I don’t know who I can trust anymore.””
A pause.
Then another voice.
A woman’s voice.
Dominic’s blood turned cold.
Because he recognized it.
His mother.
“Alexander, you’re making this worse than it is.””
Dominic opened his eyes.
Anna looked at him.
Neither of them moved.
The recording continued.
“You knew about the accounts,” Alexander said.
Eleanor’s voice trembled.
“I knew there were problems.””
“You knew Marcus was being framed.””
Silence.
Then:
“Yes.””
Dominic stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
“Why?””
Alexander’s voice was broken.
“Why would you do that?””
Eleanor whispered:
“Because I was trying to protect our family.””
Dominic gripped the edge of the table.
The recording became louder.
“Protect them from what?””
“From losing everything.””
“You should have come to me.””
“I couldn’t.””
“Why?””
A long pause.
Then Eleanor said:
“Because Charles already knew.””
Dominic froze.
His uncle.
Again.
The recording continued.
“Charles threatened you?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
“He threatened Dominic.””
The room disappeared.
Dominic stared at the laptop.
His father’s voice became sharper.
“My son?””
“He said if you exposed the truth, Dominic would suffer.””
A chair scraped.
The sound came from the recording.
Alexander standing.
“You should have told me.””
“I was trying to handle it.””
“You lied to me.””
“I was scared.””
A pause.
Then Alexander said:
“Eleanor, if anything happens to me, you need to protect Dominic.””
Dominic’s eyes burned.
Because for nineteen years, he had remembered his father’s death.
But he had never imagined his father knowing he might die.
The recording continued.
“I need you to leave the house tonight.””
Eleanor’s voice became panicked.
“No.””
“Go.””
“Alexander—”
“Go now.””
Then a sound.
A door opening.
Then silence.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Dominic stared at the screen.
“That’s it?””
Marcus nodded.
“That’s all your father recorded.””
“But he wasn’t killed in that recording.””
“No.””
“Then how do you know my mother wasn’t the one who killed him?””
Marcus looked at him.
“Because I arrived five minutes later.””
Dominic turned.
“You were there?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you stop it?””
Marcus’s expression changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
“Because I was too late.””
Dominic looked away.
The man in front of him was not the villain from the family stories.
He was a man carrying nineteen years of regret.
“Who killed him?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked toward the door.
“Someone who wanted you to believe your mother was guilty.””
Dominic frowned.
“What?””
“The entire plan was designed to destroy trust inside your family.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Your father had one weakness.””
“What?””
“He believed people could change.””
Dominic thought about the recording.
His mother’s fear.
Not hatred.
Fear.
“She didn’t kill him.””
“No.””
Marcus looked at him.
“But she knows who did.””
Before Dominic could respond, his phone rang.
The caller ID appeared.
*Mother.*
Everyone stared.
Dominic almost didn’t answer.
Then he did.
“Hello.””
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then Eleanor’s voice.
“Dominic.””
He closed his eyes.
“Where are you?””
“Why?””
“Because I need to tell you the truth.””
He almost laughed.
“Now?””
“Please listen.””
“No.””
His voice hardened.
“You listen.””
A pause.
Then Eleanor whispered:
“I never changed your brace.””
Dominic went still.
“What?””
“I knew someone was hurting you.””
“Then why didn’t you stop them?””
“Because I didn’t know who it was.””
“You knew.””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“I suspected.””
Dominic looked at Marcus.
Marcus said nothing.
“What did you suspect?””
Eleanor took a breath.
“Dr. Mercer wasn’t working alone.””
“Who was he working with?””
Silence.
Then she answered.
“Someone inside the family.””
Dominic tightened his grip on the phone.
“Who?””
Eleanor whispered:
“I found out tonight.””
“Who?””
The answer came quietly.
But it changed everything.
“It was Adrian.””
Dominic looked at his brother’s empty place in the room.
His heart dropped.
“No.””
“I’m sorry.””
“No.””
“Dominic—”
He ended the call.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Anna whispered:
“Adrian?””
Dominic looked at Marcus.
The old man’s face had gone pale.
“Impossible.””
Dominic stared.
“You know something.””
Marcus didn’t answer.
“Marcus.””
The man looked at him.
“Adrian was the one person your father trusted after everything happened.””
Dominic’s chest tightened.
“Then why would he do this?””
Marcus looked toward the window.
“Because sometimes the person closest to you is the person who knows exactly where to hurt you.””
A noise came from outside.
A car door closing.
Dominic turned.
Through the broken window, headlights appeared.
Someone had arrived.
Marcus looked at the driveway.
His expression changed.
“Leave.””
Dominic frowned.
“What?””
“Now.””
“Why?””
Marcus whispered:
“Because whoever came here…”
He looked toward the entrance.
“…is not here to talk.””
The front door slowly opened.
Footsteps entered the house.
Slow.
Confident.
Familiar.
Dominic’s hand tightened around the flash drive.
Then a voice echoed through the hallway.
“Dominic.””
He froze.
Because he knew that voice.
His brother.
Adrian Vane.
May you like
And this time, Adrian was not asking him to listen.
He was holding a gun.
