Chapter 19 - THE LAST LETTER
Three weeks later, Samuel called Dominic into the library.
He carried a sealed envelope.
“Gerald Pike surrendered this.”
Dominic recognized the handwriting before Samuel spoke.
Catherine’s.
The envelope read.
FOR DOMINIC IF I AM WRONG.
His hands stopped.
Natalie entered moments later.
Together, they opened it.
My darling Dominic,
If you are reading this, I was either wrong about Brooke or too late to prove I was right.
I hope desperately that I was wrong.
You love deeply even when you pretend you do not.
That is why betrayal will always hurt you more than violence.
Do not let what someone does with your trust teach you never to trust again.
That would give them more than money.
It would give them the best part of you.
Protect Natalie.
Protect Noah.
But do not imprison them with protection.
Let them live.
And live yourself.
Love,
Mother.
Dominic stopped reading.
Natalie was crying openly.
He handed her the letter.
“She knew.”
Natalie nodded.
“She knew enough to be afraid.”
Dominic looked toward Catherine’s portrait.
For years, he had treated power like armor.
Money.
Security.
Influence.
Control.
Brooke had almost destroyed his family without needing to break any of those defenses.
She had simply learned where trust lived.
Natalie folded the letter carefully.
“What are you going to do with the mansion?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve barely slept here since the arrests.”
Dominic smiled faintly.
“I’ve been busy.”
“You’ve been avoiding it.”
He looked at her.
She raised an eyebrow.
“You’re not the only Mercer who can interrogate people.”
Dominic laughed quietly.
Then he looked around the library.
“I thought about selling it.”
Natalie’s face changed.
“And?”
“No.”
He walked toward the window.
“Mother built too much here.”
“Brooke doesn’t get to be the reason we abandon it.”
Natalie nodded.
“So what happens?”
Dominic looked toward the eastern gardens.
“We change it.”
Over the following months, Catherine’s cottage was restored.
Her clothing that could be recovered was returned.
The missing jewelry was tracked through private collectors and auction houses.
Most pieces eventually came home.
The emerald necklace went into a new vault.
Natalie refused to wear it.
“Not yet.”
She said.
“When?”
Dominic asked.
Natalie smiled.
“Forty.”
Exactly as Catherine intended.
Noah’s stolen trust funds were restored.
Michael’s death certificate was amended to reflect a criminal act.
And for the first time, Natalie was able to tell her son the truth.
His father had not simply lost control of a car.
Someone had taken him from them.
But his father had also left behind evidence that protected them.
Noah cried.
Then he asked to see Michael’s letter.
Natalie gave it to him.
He read one line three times.
Protect Natalie and Noah first.
Then he looked at Dominic.
“Dad trusted you.”
Dominic could not answer immediately.
Finally, he said.
“I wish I had known sooner.”
Noah shook his head.
“He knew you would come.”
May you like
Those five words stayed with Dominic for a long time.
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