CHAPTER 10 — DOMINIC'S LAST CHANCE
CHAPTER 10 — DOMINIC'S LAST CHANCE
My father’s words stayed in the air long after the speakers went silent.
You were not born Vivienne Laurent.
I looked at Dominic.
Then at my mother.
Then back at my father.
No one moved.
The ballroom that had once been filled with music and champagne now felt like a courtroom where every person I loved was waiting to be sentenced.
“What was my real name?” I asked.
My father didn't answer.
“Dad.”
His jaw tightened.
“Not here.”
I almost laughed.
“Why not?”
“Because we're being watched.”
I looked at the cameras.
“Let them watch.”
My father shook his head.
“You don't understand what this means.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“That's the problem.”
I pointed toward the hidden vault beneath the floor.
“You've spent my entire life deciding which truths I was strong enough to hear.”
My voice cracked.
“And now I find out that even my name is a lie?”
My mother began crying.
“Vivienne…”
“Don't call me that.”
She froze.
I immediately regretted the words.
But I couldn't take them back.
My father looked at me.
“There are things I did because I believed they would keep you alive.”
“Then tell me everything.”
He hesitated.
Before he could answer, Dominic stepped forward.
“She's right.”
My father looked at him.
“You don't know what you're asking.”
“I know exactly what I'm asking.”
Dominic's voice was steady.
“You owe her the truth.”
My father stared at him for several seconds.
Then he said:
“You have one chance to decide whether you're still on her side.”
Dominic frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your family has already chosen theirs.”
The words landed heavily.
I turned toward Dominic.
He looked confused.
My father continued.
“Your mother has been using your company.”
“I know.”
“She has been moving Laurent money through your accounts.”
“I know.”
“She has been tracking Vivienne.”
Dominic nodded.
“I know.”
My father stepped closer.
“And she has been preparing to take control of the trust through your marriage.”
Dominic looked at me.
“I know.”
My father stopped.
“Then you also know what happens if Vivienne dies before the baby is born.”
Silence.
Dominic's face changed.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What happens?”
My father answered.
“The trust transfers to your husband.”
I stared at Dominic.
He looked horrified.
“That's not what I want.”
“I know.”
“But legally…”
My father nodded.
“You become the beneficiary.”
Dominic looked at me.
“I would never—”
“I know.”
I held up my hand.
“I believe you.”
He looked relieved.
But my father wasn't finished.
“That's why your marriage was arranged.”
Dominic went still.
“By whom?”
My father answered:
“Eleanor.”
Dominic shook his head.
“She didn't arrange our meeting.”
“No.”
“She didn't arrange the university.”
“No.”
“She didn't arrange my job.”
“No.”
My father looked at him.
“She arranged the circumstances.”
Dominic's face went pale.
“She knew Vivienne was the heir.”
“Yes.”
“She knew I was connected to the Caldwell family.”
“Yes.”
“She knew the trust required a Laurent marriage.”
“Yes.”
Dominic whispered:
“And she expected me to betray her.”
My father didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
Dominic walked away from the group.
He stood near the windows, staring at the empty street outside.
I followed him.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Finally he said:
“I didn't know.”
“I believe you.”
“I should have seen something.”
“So should I.”
He looked at me.
“I was so angry about my family.”
“Why?”
“Because they always treated you like you weren't good enough.”
He laughed bitterly.
“And I kept telling myself I was different.”
“You were.”
“Was I?”
I looked at him.
“You stayed silent when Chloe accused me.”
His eyes dropped.
“That was my biggest mistake.”
“Yes.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“My mother.”
I shook my head.
“You weren't afraid of your mother.”
He looked at me.
“You were afraid of losing your family.”
He didn't deny it.
“And you chose them.”
“For a few minutes.”
“It only takes a few minutes to destroy someone's trust.”
His eyes filled with regret.
“I know.”
I turned away.
“I don't need apologies anymore.”
“What do you need?”
“The truth.”
He nodded.
“Then I'll give it to you.”
He took out his phone.
“There is something I never told you.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“The night before our wedding, I met Clara.”
My heart stopped.
“Clara?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because she threatened to expose my mother.”
“What did she say?”
“That Eleanor was using my company to move money.”
I stared at him.
“What else?”
“She said you were in danger.”
“Did she say why?”
“She said she had proof.”
“Where?”
Dominic swallowed.
“She told me to meet her the next night.”
“But she disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told anyone?”
“I was scared.”
I stared at him.
“You went to the meeting?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Clara never arrived.”
“What about Gabriel?”
Dominic shook his head.
“I didn't know about him then.”
I looked at him.
“Then what did you find?”
“A car.”
“Whose?”
“Clara's.”
“Was she inside?”
“No.”
“Was there blood?”
“No.”
“Then why did you believe she was dead?”
He looked at me.
“Because Eleanor showed me a photograph.”
My stomach tightened.
“What photograph?”
“Clara lying unconscious.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Who took it?”
“I don't know.”
I stepped closer.
“Dominic.”
He looked at me.
“I have been lying by omission for three years.”
“Yes.”
“But I never knew Clara was alive.”
I believed him.
But one question remained.
“Why did you marry me?”
He looked devastated.
“Because I loved you.”
“And now?”
His voice broke.
“Now I love you enough to lose everything.”
My father called us back into the room.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
He handed me a tablet.
A live bank notification was flashing.
ACCOUNT 17 — ACCESS ATTEMPT.
I stared.
“Someone is trying to open the reserve.”
My father nodded.
“Can you stop it?”
“Not remotely.”
“Then who can?”
He looked at me.
“Only you.”
I approached the terminal.
A message appeared.
PRIMARY BENEFICIARY CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.
I placed my hand on the scanner.
The system accepted me.
Then another message appeared.
SECOND AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
Dominic stepped forward.
He placed his hand beside mine.
The screen changed.
MARRIAGE VERIFIED.
Then:
FINAL AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
I frowned.
“What now?”
My father looked at the screen.
“It's asking for a witness.”
“Who?”
The system displayed a name.
MARIANNE LAURENT.
My mother's face went white.
“Me?”
My father nodded.
She stepped forward.
The scanner recognized her.
The screen turned green.
Then the vault opened.
Not the physical vault.
The digital one.
Thousands of documents appeared.
Financial transfers.
Witness protection records.
Private correspondence.
Medical files.
Birth certificates.
Marriage records.
Everything.
I searched my name.
The first file opened.
VIVIENNE MARIANNE LAURENT.
The second:
VIVIENNE MARIANNE VALE.
I froze.
“Vale?”
My mother began crying.
My father looked away.
I opened the file.
My birth date.
My photograph.
And underneath:
Biological father: Gabriel Vale.
I couldn't breathe.
“No.”
My mother whispered:
“Vivienne…”
“No.”
I backed away.
“Gabriel?”
My father nodded.
“Your brother?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
I looked at the file again.
Gabriel Vale was my father.
Not my brother.
Not my fiancé.
Not a missing sibling.
My father.
The entire story had been built on a lie.
I looked at my mother.
“You married Dad after I was born.”
She nodded.
“I was seventeen.”
“And Gabriel?”
“He was eighteen.”
“Where is he?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“Dead.”
I felt my knees weaken.
“When?”
“Shortly after you were born.”
“How?”
“An accident.”
My father finally spoke.
“It wasn't an accident.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“He was killed.”
“By whom?”
My father hesitated.
“Your grandmother.”
Silence.
I couldn't understand the words.
“My grandmother killed my father?”
“She ordered it.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel discovered what the family was doing.”
“What were they doing?”
My father looked at the documents.
“Your grandmother had built the entire trust around a secret.”
“What secret?”
He looked at me.
“Gabriel was the rightful heir.”
My stomach twisted.
“But I was his daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then why wasn't I the heir?”
“Because your grandmother believed a child couldn't protect the empire.”
I stared at him.
“So she created the trust.”
“Yes.”
“Used my name.”
“Yes.”
“Forged my signature.”
“Yes.”
“Then arranged my marriage.”
“Yes.”
“To Dominic.”
“Yes.”
“And his family wanted the money.”
“Yes.”
I laughed.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
It was the sound of someone realizing that her entire life had been a carefully constructed maze.
“So everyone has been fighting over an inheritance that was never supposed to belong to them.”
My father nodded.
“It was supposed to belong to you.”
I looked at Dominic.
“And now our child.”
“Yes.”
A warning appeared on the screen.
UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFER DETECTED.
My father moved toward the terminal.
“Someone is inside.”
“Can we trace them?”
“Yes.”
He opened the security interface.
A location appeared.
My heart stopped.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
“The access point.”
I pointed.
“It isn't Eleanor.”
My father stared.
“Then who?”
I whispered:
“Dominic's office.”
He turned toward Dominic.
Dominic's face drained of color.
“I wasn't there.”
“I know.”
“Someone is using my credentials.”
My father nodded.
“Your mother.”
Dominic immediately reached for his phone.
“No.”
I stopped him.
“If you call her, she'll know we found the account.”
He froze.
“What do we do?”
I looked at my father.
“Let her access it.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because now we know what she's looking for.”
My father smiled.
“Good.”
Dominic looked at me.
“You're going to let her steal the money?”
“No.”
I looked at the screen.
“We're going to let her think she did.”
We created a false account.
A fake transfer.
A fake password.
A fake balance.
Three billion euros.
Enough to make anyone desperate.
My father asked:
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
Dominic stared at the screen.
“And then?”
“We trace the connection.”
The system showed an active login.
Someone was entering the credentials.
The false account opened.
The transfer began.
My father's security system captured the connection.
He stared at the data.
“Got it.”
“Who?”
He turned the screen toward me.
The location was inside the Caldwell estate.
Eleanor.
I exhaled.
“We have her.”
My father nodded.
Then another connection appeared.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Someone else is connected.”
“Who?”
The system displayed another location.
A private clinic.
My stomach tightened.
“Why would someone at a clinic access the account?”
My father enlarged the map.
The location belonged to an obstetric facility.
I instinctively placed a hand over my stomach.
Dominic stared.
“They're tracking the pregnancy.”
My father nodded.
“That's what it looks like.”
Then the system revealed the user's identity.
My heart stopped.
The name was:
DR. HELENA VOSS.
I knew that name.
She was my obstetrician.
The woman who had been treating my pregnancy for months.
The woman I trusted.
The woman who had seen my medical records.
My father looked at me.
“Do you know her?”
“Yes.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“What is she doing?”
I stared at the screen.
“I don't know.”
My phone rang.
Dr. Voss.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Her voice was calm.
“Vivienne, you need to come to the clinic immediately.”
“Why?”
“There's a problem with your pregnancy.”
My heart raced.
“What kind of problem?”
She paused.
Then whispered:
“Your baby is not safe.”
The call ended.
Dominic grabbed my hand.
“We're going.”
My father shook his head.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Dad—”
“If someone has compromised the clinic, you don't walk into their trap.”
I stared at the screen.
The false account was still active.
The money was still moving.
And suddenly, another message appeared.
FINAL TRANSFER INITIATED.
Destination:
HELENA VOSS MEDICAL TRUST.
My blood ran cold.
Dr. Voss wasn't simply watching my pregnancy.
She was receiving the money.
My father reached for his phone.
“Security is going to the clinic.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I want to go.”
“Absolutely not.”
I looked at Dominic.
Then at my father.
“This is my child.”
My voice was firm.
“And I'm done letting other people decide where I go, what I know, and who I trust.”
My father stared at me.
Finally, he nodded.
“But Dominic stays with you.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“I wasn't planning on leaving.”
We headed for the door.
Then my phone buzzed again.
A message.
No number.
Just one sentence.
IF YOU GO TO THE CLINIC, YOU WILL NEVER MEET YOUR BABY.
I stared at it.
Dominic read it over my shoulder.
His face hardened.
“Then we're definitely going.”
I looked at him.
“Are you sure?”
He took my hand.
“This time, Vivienne…”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“I choose you.”
Behind us, my father quietly locked the ballroom doors.
Because he knew what I was only beginning to understand.
Dominic had been given one last chance.
Not to save our marriage.
Not to save his reputation.
May you like
But to prove that when his family came for me and my child…
he would finally stand on the right side of the door.
