Chapter 12: The Man Who Came Back From the Dead
Chapter 12: The Man Who Came Back From the Dead
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The entire hangar felt frozen in time.
Dominic stared at the man standing in front of him.
Victor Sloan.
His former head of security.
The man whose body he had seen.
The man whose death had started this nightmare.
But Victor was alive.
Standing.
Breathing.
Smiling.
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"No."
Victor tilted his head.
"That's not the reaction I expected."
Dominic slowly raised his weapon.
"You're dead."
Victor looked down at himself.
"Apparently not."
"You saw the body."
Dominic's voice became colder.
"I saw your body."
Victor smiled.
"Did you check the pulse?"
Silence.
The question hit harder than expected.
Dominic remembered.
The underground room.
The sheet covering Victor.
The bullet wound.
The blood.
But he had trusted Dr. Ellis's report.
He had trusted what he saw.
And Nathan had taught him the most painful lesson.
Never trust what is placed in front of you.
Victor walked closer.
"You always believed you could read people."
"You were wrong."
Dominic kept his gun aimed.
"Explain."
Victor looked at Nathan.
Then back at Dominic.
"Because the person who betrayed you wasn't the only person playing."
Nathan's face tightened.
"Victor."
"You should have stayed hidden."
Victor laughed.
"That's funny coming from you."
"The man who spent twelve years pretending to be loyal."
Dominic looked between them.
"You two know each other."
Victor nodded.
"Very well."
"Much better than you thought."
Nathan's expression changed.
"Don't."
Victor ignored him.
"Tell him."
Nathan remained silent.
Victor looked at Dominic.
"Your best friend wasn't the only person inside your organization."
Dominic's grip tightened.
"Who else?"
Victor glanced toward the armed people behind him.
"Everyone has a price."
Dominic looked around.
Some of the faces were familiar.
Too familiar.
People who had worked around him for years.
Victor continued.
"Nathan recruited people."
"But someone else funded him."
Dominic already knew the answer.
"Helena."
Victor nodded.
"The woman behind the Raven network."
Dominic looked at the screen where Helena had disappeared.
"Why?"
Victor sighed.
"Because you were never the target."
Dominic frowned.
"What?"
"You were the opportunity."
Twelve years earlier...
Victoria had discovered Helena's organization was using Dominic's empire as a foundation.
Not to expand.
To infiltrate.
They didn't want Dominic's money.
They wanted his influence.
His connections.
His reputation.
Dominic Vale was powerful because people feared him.
But Helena understood something.
People feared Dominic.
They trusted Nathan.
That made Nathan more valuable.
Victor continued explaining.
"Victoria found evidence."
"She was going to expose everything."
"Nathan panicked."
"He arranged the explosion."
Dominic looked at him.
"But you said Nathan didn't kill her."
Victor nodded.
"He didn't."
"He only helped Helena remove her."
Dominic looked confused.
"Then why save her?"
Victor looked away.
"Because Nathan wasn't ready to become a monster."
A bitter smile appeared.
"He still had one weakness."
"Victoria."
Dominic remembered Nathan's reaction earlier.
The anger.
The fear.
The hesitation.
Victor continued.
"Nathan saved Victoria because he loved her."
The room became silent.
Dominic looked stunned.
"No."
Victor looked at him.
"Yes."
"That was the one thing Helena couldn't control."
Nathan suddenly shouted.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned.
Nathan's face was filled with anger.
Not the calm mask.
Not the perfect adviser.
The real Nathan.
"You don't know anything."
Victor laughed.
"I know everything."
Nathan pointed his gun.
"You were supposed to disappear."
Victor smiled.
"And you were supposed to remain useful."
The two men stared at each other.
Dominic understood.
They were not partners.
They were enemies.
Both had been pretending.
Suddenly...
The hangar lights flickered.
A loud explosion shook the building.
Glass shattered.
People screamed.
Dominic immediately moved.
He grabbed the nearest weapon from the floor and pulled himself behind cover.
Gunfire erupted.
Everyone scattered.
Daniel's voice came through Dominic's hidden communication device.
"Boss!"
Dominic froze.
He still had a connection.
Daniel was alive.
"We tracked your signal."
"We're outside."
Dominic whispered:
"How?"
Daniel answered:
"We found the old emergency transmitter in your vehicle."
Dominic almost smiled.
Nathan had planned for everything.
Except loyalty.
Outside the hangar...
Daniel and Marcus led Dominic's remaining guards toward the building.
They had discovered the abandoned airport through a forgotten security channel Victor had secretly left behind.
The plan was collapsing.
Inside...
Dominic moved through the smoke.
He saw Claire.
Still alive.
Still tied.
But she was not alone.
A man stood beside her.
Holding a gun.
Dominic recognized him.
A former guard.
Someone who had worked for him for eight years.
"Thomas."
The man looked ashamed.
"Boss."
Dominic stared at him.
"You?"
Thomas lowered his eyes.
"I didn't have a choice."
"Everyone says that."
Dominic stepped closer.
"What did they threaten?"
Thomas hesitated.
"My daughter."
Dominic's expression changed.
A child.
Again.
Always children.
The same weakness Helena kept using.
"Where is she?"
Thomas looked toward Nathan.
"Ask him."
Everyone turned.
Nathan stood near the exit.
The chaos around him didn't matter.
Because he had finally made his decision.
He pointed his gun at Dominic.
"You're still trying to save everyone."
Dominic stared at him.
"Yes."
Nathan shook his head.
"That's why you'll never win."
He pulled the trigger.
The shot exploded.
But Dominic wasn't the one who fell.
A person stepped in front of him.
Victoria.
Dominic caught her before she hit the ground.
"Victoria!"
She looked up weakly.
"I'm sorry."
"Again..."
"I couldn't let them take you from me twice."
Dominic held her tightly.
Nathan stood frozen.
Because even after everything...
Victoria still chose Dominic.
Sirens sounded outside.
Daniel and Marcus had arrived.
Nathan looked around.
His army was falling.
His secrets were exposed.
His empire was collapsing.
But then...
Helena's voice came through every speaker in the hangar.
"Congratulations, Dominic."
"You survived the first game."
Everyone froze.
Dominic looked toward the speakers.
Helena continued.
"But now..."
"...you discover why Victoria was never the real secret."
A large screen turned on.
A picture appeared.
A young woman.
Dominic recognized her immediately.
His daughter.
A daughter he was told had died before she was born.
His entire world stopped.
Helena whispered:
"Meet the person you've spent your entire life trying to protect."
"Your daughter is alive."
The screen changed.
A location appeared.
And beneath it...
May you like
A countdown.
48 HOURS REMAINING.
