Chapter 10 - major reveal
Dominic stared at the lipstick mark in the ashtray, his grip tightening on Julian’s jacket until the seams strained.
"She was here," Dominic said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "Vivienne was here before my men locked her in the cellar."
Julian swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the side. "Dominic... let me explain."
Dominic shoved Julian backward into the chair and pointed his weapon directly at his chest. "Talk. Now."
Julian took a shaky breath, smoothing his suit jacket. "Vivienne didn't act alone. She came to me two days ago because she was terrified. She realized Moretti wasn't just using her to get to your money—Moretti was planning to eliminate her the moment Maisie died."
"Why did she abuse Maisie at dinner?" Dominic demanded.
"Because she was desperate!" Julian confessed. "Moretti told her that if Maisie didn't show signs of severe illness by midnight tonight, he would leak photos of Vivienne meeting with Moretti's underboss to you! She knew you'd kill her!"
Dominic lowered his weapon, pieces of the puzzle suddenly locking together in his mind.
"Maisie isn't fake," Dominic said, realization hitting him. "She really is my biological daughter."
"Of course she's your daughter!" Julian shouted. "The fake blood report was created by Moretti’s hacker to make you doubt your own bloodline! They wanted you to tear your own family apart from the inside while they seized the Bellaro docks!"
Dominic stood tall, his mind clearing. The short-term mystery of Vivienne’s cruelty was exposed: she was a desperate puppet caught between Dominic's wrath and Moretti's blackmail.
"Where is Moretti staging the dock takeover?" Dominic asked.
Julian reached into his inner pocket slowly and pulled out a black encrypted flash drive. He held it out to Dominic.
"Everything is on this drive," Julian said softly. "The shipping manifests, Moretti's safehouse locations, and the name of the traitor inside the syndicate council who signed off on the shipment."
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Dominic grabbed the drive. "If you lied to me, Julian, I'll execute you myself."
"I didn't lie," Julian said, looking straight into his eyes. "But Dominic... check file number four on that drive. You need to see who paid Moretti to start this war seven years ago."
