Chapter 4 - THE TATTOOED TRAITOR
"Marcus?" Dominic’s voice cracked, a rare fracture in his armor.
The chief of security stood rigid, the barrel of his rifle aimed dead center at Dominic’s heart. The double-headed eagle tattoo on his forearm seemed to mock them in the harsh fluorescent light of the basement.
"I’m sorry, Dominic," Marcus said flatly. "But Carmine offered me the one thing you couldn't. A way out."
On the floor, Carmine threw Isabella off him with a disgusted grunt. The beautiful woman slammed into the lockers and slid to the floor, unconscious and bleeding heavily. Carmine dusted off his tuxedo jacket, stepping over her body.
"Loyalty is a funny thing, isn't it?" Carmine sneered, taking the napkin with the cipher and waving it at Evelyn. "It always has a price. Marcus’s price was ten million and a clean passport. Now, Evie. The cipher. Translate the ledger, and the boy lives."
Evelyn stared at her six-year-old son. Leo was crying silently now, his small face pale with terror as the massive guard held him off the ground.
"Mommy," Leo whimpered, his voice tiny.
"It’s okay, baby," Evelyn choked out, forcing her voice to remain steady. She looked at Carmine, her mind racing at a million miles an hour. As a former black-market accountant, her brain processed variables under pressure. "The cipher on that napkin doesn't open the accounts, Carmine. It's just a warning message I wrote to Dominic."
Carmine’s smile vanished. "Don't play games with me, girl."
"I'm not," Evelyn insisted, taking a slow step forward. "My father’s code requires a master key. A physical ledger. Without it, the numbers are just gibberish. You can kill us all, but you'll never get the money."
"Where is the ledger?" Carmine demanded, pressing the barrel of his gun against Leo's small cheek.
Evelyn’s heart stopped. "It's hidden! Off-site. I can take you there."
Dominic caught Evelyn’s eye. A silent conversation passed between them in a fraction of a second. He knew she was lying. There was no ledger. She was buying time.
"Marcus," Carmine barked without looking away from Evelyn. "Tie Dominic up. Put a bullet in his kneecap so he doesn't get clever. We're taking the girl and the boy for a ride."
Marcus stepped forward, lowering the rifle slightly to reach for the zip-ties on his belt.
It was the mistake Dominic had been waiting for.
With blinding speed, Dominic kicked a heavy metal folding chair directly into Marcus’s shins. As the security chief stumbled, Dominic closed the distance, burying his shoulder into Marcus’s chest. The rifle discharged, a deafening blast that shattered the overhead lights, plunging the room into chaotic, flickering darkness.
"Leo!" Evelyn screamed.
She dove into the fray, ignoring the gunfire. She slammed her body into the legs of the guard holding her son. The massive man grunted, dropping Leo to swat Evelyn away.
Evelyn caught her son, wrapping her arms around his small body and rolling under the heavy steel of the industrial sinks.
Above them, the brutal sound of hand-to-hand combat echoed in the dark. Dominic was fighting like a man possessed, taking on Marcus and the second guard simultaneously.
A gunshot rang out. A body hit the floor with a sickening thud.
Silence fell over the room.
Evelyn held her breath, clutching Leo so tight the boy squeaked.
A flashlight clicked on. The beam cut through the dust and gun smoke.
Dominic stood in the center of the room, breathing heavily, his white tuxedo shirt soaked in blood. At his feet, Marcus lay dead, Dominic’s combat knife buried in his chest. Carmine's two guards were unconscious.
But Carmine was gone.
"He ran," Dominic spat, wiping blood from his mouth. He hurried over to the sinks, dropping to his knees. "Are you hit? Is the boy okay?"
"We're fine," Evelyn sobbed, crawling out and letting Dominic pull them to their feet.
Leo buried his face in Dominic’s bloody shirt, wrapping his little arms around the billionaire's neck. Surprisingly, Dominic didn't pull away. He held the back of the boy’s head, his large hand completely covering Leo’s messy hair. "I've got you, buddy. You're safe."
Evelyn looked at the dead chief of security on the floor. "Marcus had the tattoo. The double-headed eagle. The same one on your father's watch."
"It's the mark of my father's inner circle," Dominic said, his voice hollow. "Only five men ever had it. My father. Carmine. Marcus. And..."
"My father," Evelyn finished, the realization hitting her like a freight train. "Arthur had it. On his left shoulder. He told me it was a fraternity brand."
"Your father was inner circle," Dominic confirmed. "Which means he wasn't just an accountant. He was one of the founding architects of the syndicate."
Evelyn shook her head, unable to process the destruction of her father's memory. "We need to get out of here. Carmine will bring reinforcements."
"I have a safe house," Dominic said, lifting Leo effortlessly into his arms. "My personal car is in the underground garage. It’s armored."
They bolted from the breakroom, rushing through the dark corridors of the basement toward the private garage. The sleek, black SUV sat waiting. Dominic loaded Leo into the backseat, buckling him in with surprisingly gentle hands.
Evelyn opened the passenger door, but before she could get in, Leo reached into his small pocket.
"Mommy," Leo whispered, his voice trembling. "The nice lady told me to give this to you."
Evelyn froze. "What nice lady, baby?"
Leo opened his small hand. Resting in his palm was a heavy, tarnished silver rosary. The beads were black onyx, and the crucifix was intricately carved.
"The lady with the pretty dress," Leo said. "She was hiding in the dark before the bad men came. She said if I gave this to you, you would know how to fix it."
Isabella.
Evelyn stared at the rosary, her blood turning to ice. She recognized it instantly. It was the rosary her father used to pray with every night before bed. It had been missing since the day he died.
"Isabella knew," Evelyn whispered, showing the rosary to Dominic. "She didn't just target you tonight, Dominic. She knew exactly who I was. She planted me here."
Dominic stared at the crucifix, a dark, terrifying realization dawning in his eyes.
"Turn the cross over," Dominic ordered quietly.
Evelyn flipped the silver crucifix. Carved into the back of the metal was not a prayer, but a series of tiny, deeply etched numbers.
May you like
"It's a vault combination," Evelyn gasped.
"Answer one, open two," Dominic muttered darkly, slamming the car door shut. "Isabella wasn't trying to steal my empire tonight, Evelyn. She was trying to force us to find what our fathers hid."
