THE POISONED INHERITANCE

"Don't shoot!" Paul screamed, his eyes wild with panic. "I didn't have a choice, Dominic! I swear on my life!"

Dominic stood in front of Sophia and the children, shielding them with his body. "Who put that vest on you, Paul?"

"The shadow man," Paul wept, his knees buckling. "He took my family. He took my wife and kids. He said if I didn't get him into the kitchen today, he would blow this vest and kill them too."

"You let an assassin near my son to save your own?" Dominic roared, the fury taking over.

"He wasn't trying to kill Ethan!" Paul cried out. "The poison in the frosting was a distraction! He needed the ballroom locked down! He needed you occupied!"

"Occupied for what?"

Paul reached into his pocket with trembling fingers. He tossed a heavy object onto the carpet.

It was another brass key. Identical to the one Ethan had found in his pocket. Number 402.

"He didn't want your son," Paul sobbed. "He wanted what you locked in the vault at the old Downtown Plaza Hotel. The safe deposit box. He forced me to give him the master passcode."

Dominic’s breath caught in his throat.

Box 402.

There was no money in that box. No syndicate secrets. No blackmail files.

There was only one thing in Box 402.

A delicate, diamond-encrusted ruby necklace. The necklace Dominic had given to his wife, Elena, on the night she was murdered three years ago.

"He took Elena's necklace," Dominic whispered.

"It's not just a necklace," Paul gasped. "He told me to give you a message. He said, 'Ask the ghost why she never rested.'"

Dominic froze. The ghost.

Elena.

"Marco, get the bomb squad here now. Keep Paul isolated." Dominic turned to Sophia. "Take the kids to the panic room. Do not open it for anyone but me."

As Sophia rushed the children down the hall, Dominic grabbed his weapon.

If the assassin wanted Elena’s necklace, this wasn't about syndicate power. This was a blood feud.