Chapter 18 - The Man at the Gate
The guard's name was Samuel Pike.
He had worked for Dominic for seven years.
He had attended Elena's funeral.
He had carried Noah upstairs when the child fell asleep in the car.
He had stood beside Dominic during threats, business wars, and family dinners.
And he belonged to Victor Raines.
Mateo found Pike's room empty.
His phone had been destroyed.
His bank accounts showed regular deposits from an offshore company.
Dominic sat alone in the security room watching old footage.
Pike beside Noah.
Pike opening gates.
Pike talking privately with Hargrove.
Dominic looked at her.
"You suspected him?"
"Not specifically."
"You suspected someone."
"Yes."
"And instead of trusting me, you terrorized my son."
"I told myself it was temporary."
"For two years."
Her voice cracked.
"I was wrong."
Dominic did not forgive her.
But for the first time, he believed she might be telling the truth.
Mateo received a call.
A state trooper had found the SUV abandoned near Milwaukee.
Inside was Elena's hospital blanket.
And blood.
Dominic went pale.
"How much?"
"Not much."
"Was anyone found?"
"No."
Then Clara saw something in the photograph.
A corner of paper protruded beneath the passenger seat.
"Zoom in."
Mateo enlarged it.
Three handwritten numbers appeared.
4.
5.
6.
Clara whispered, "Room number?"
Dominic shook his head.
"Address?"
Mrs. Hargrove stepped closer.
Her face changed.
"No."
"What?"
"417 was Elena's code."
"For what?"
"For somewhere she believed Victor would never search."
Dominic stared.
"Where?"
"St. Catherine's."
Clara frowned.
"A hospital?"
"A church."
Elena and Dominic had been married at St. Catherine's Chapel outside Kenosha.
They drove there immediately.
No convoy.
No sirens.
Only Dominic, Mateo, Clara, and federal agents following at a distance.
The chapel doors were unlocked.
Inside, candles flickered near the altar.
A woman sat alone in the first pew.
Thin.
Dark hair touching her shoulders.
Hands trembling in her lap.
Dominic stopped walking.
The woman turned.
For two years, Dominic Vale had imagined what he would say if death ever returned what it had taken.
When Elena looked at him, he could say nothing.
Her lips trembled.
Then she whispered one word.
"Dominic?"
May you like
He fell to his knees.
---
