Chapter 13 — The Night the Mansion Turned Against Her
Chapter 13 — The Night the Mansion Turned Against Her
The message remained on Dominic's phone.
BEFORE I KILL HER FOR REAL.
He read it again.
And again.
His hands were cold.
His heart was pounding.
Behind him, Noah was asking a question.
“Dad?”
Dominic locked the screen.
“It's okay.”
But his voice betrayed him.
Natalie noticed.
“What happened?”
Dominic turned.
She saw his face and immediately understood that something had gone terribly wrong.
“What did you find?”
Dominic handed her the phone.
Natalie looked at the photograph.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Mom.”
“She may be alive.”
Natalie stared at the image.
“No.”
“I know.”
“But…”
She looked at him.
“That's impossible.”
Dominic nodded.
“So was my father being alive.”
Neither spoke.
Then Daniel entered the room.
He took one look at the photograph.
His face became completely still.
“You found her.”
Dominic turned sharply.
“You knew.”
Daniel didn't answer.
“You knew my mother was alive.”
“I suspected.”
“That's not what I asked.”
Daniel looked toward Noah.
“Not here.”
Dominic's eyes hardened.
“Where?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“The west wing.”
Dominic frowned.
“The west wing was sealed after Catherine died.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“It was sealed because that's where she disappeared.”
The Door That Was Never Supposed to Open
The west wing had remained untouched for twenty-five years.
Dust covered the corridor.
Old portraits watched from the walls.
Every clock had stopped at the same time.
2:17 a.m.
Dominic noticed it immediately.
“Why are all the clocks stopped?”
Daniel answered:
“Because that's when Catherine disappeared.”
Dominic stopped.
“Disappeared?”
Daniel nodded.
“Everyone was told she died at the hospital.”
“But?”
“She never made it there.”
Dominic stared at him.
“What happened?”
Daniel looked toward the end of the corridor.
“She was taken.”
“By whom?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Dominic grabbed his coat.
“We're going in.”
Natalie stepped forward.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“She's my mother.”
“And Noah needs you.”
Natalie looked at the boy.
Noah was standing beside Emma.
He looked frightened.
Natalie reluctantly nodded.
“Bring her home.”
Dominic looked at Daniel.
“You're coming.”
Daniel sighed.
“Yes.”
Emma stepped forward.
“So am I.”
Dominic shook his head.
“Stay with Natalie.”
Emma looked at him.
“You'll need someone who knows this house.”
Dominic hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Fine.”
The west-wing door had no handle.
Only a fingerprint scanner.
Dominic touched it.
Nothing.
Daniel stepped forward.
He placed his hand against the scanner.
The door opened.
Dominic stared at him.
“You've been here before.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Twenty-five years ago.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because this was the last place I saw your mother.”
They entered.
The temperature dropped immediately.
The corridor smelled of old wood and smoke.
At the end was a bedroom.
Dominic recognized it from childhood photographs.
Catherine's bedroom.
He pushed the door open.
Everything was exactly where it had been.
Her books.
Her jewelry box.
Her perfume bottle.
A photograph of Dominic and Natalie as children.
Dominic walked toward it.
He touched the frame.
A memory surfaced.
His mother laughing.
Her hand in his hair.
Her voice.
Promise me you'll protect your sister.
He closed his eyes.
Then Emma noticed something.
“Sir.”
A red light blinked beneath the desk.
Dominic crouched.
A small camera.
Still active.
He looked at Daniel.
“Someone's watching us.”
Daniel nodded.
“They've always been watching.”
Suddenly the door slammed shut.
The lights turned on.
A voice filled the room.
“Welcome back, Dominic.”
Gabriel.
Dominic raised his weapon.
“Where is my mother?”
Gabriel laughed.
“You're closer than you think.”
“Show me.”
“Look beneath the bed.”
Dominic hesitated.
Then crouched.
Underneath was a metal box.
Inside—
A photograph.
Catherine.
Alive.
Standing beside Gabriel.
The date was yesterday.
Dominic's heart stopped.
“She was here.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
“Where is she now?”
Gabriel's voice softened.
“Somewhere you can't reach.”
Dominic turned toward Daniel.
“You knew.”
Daniel's eyes filled with regret.
“I knew she was alive.”
“And you kept it from me?”
“Because she asked me to.”
“Why?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Gabriel did.
“Because your mother was afraid of you.”
Dominic froze.
“Why?”
“Because she knew what you would do when you learned the truth.”
Dominic's grip tightened.
“What truth?”
Gabriel laughed.
“That you're not the man she raised.”
Silence.
Dominic stared at the speaker.
“Then tell me who I am.”
“You are the son of a man who built an empire through fear.”
Gabriel paused.
“And the grandson of a woman who destroyed it through love.”
Dominic frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“You'll find out.”
The speakers went silent.
The Mansion Wakes Up
A loud alarm suddenly sounded.
Red lights flashed throughout the west wing.
Emma looked toward the ceiling.
“That's not the fire alarm.”
“What is it?”
“The security system.”
Dominic frowned.
“Why?”
Every door in the mansion locked simultaneously.
Then the lights turned red.
A mechanical voice announced:
INTRUDER DETECTED.
Natalie's voice came through Dominic's phone.
“Dominic!”
“What happened?”
“The doors locked.”
“Where's Noah?”
“With me.”
“Stay there.”
“We can't.”
“What?”
“The walls are moving.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
Natalie screamed.
“Dominic!”
The call disconnected.
He ran.
The mansion had become a maze.
Walls had shifted.
Hidden doors opened.
Others disappeared.
The architecture itself seemed to be changing.
Emma stared in disbelief.
“This house…”
Dominic interrupted.
“My mother designed it.”
“No.”
Emma shook her head.
“This isn't a security system.”
“What is it?”
“A containment system.”
Dominic stopped.
“Containment for what?”
Emma looked toward the west wing.
“People.”
They reached the main staircase.
Natalie stood at the top.
Noah was beside her.
Behind them, the wall slowly closed.
Dominic ran.
“Move!”
They jumped down the stairs.
The wall slammed shut.
Noah began crying.
“Dad!”
Dominic grabbed him.
“I'm here.”
Natalie looked around.
“What is happening?”
Dominic didn't know.
Then Daniel appeared.
His face was pale.
“Catherine activated the house.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“From whom?”
Daniel looked toward the front doors.
“Everyone.”
A pounding sound came from outside.
Then the front doors opened.
A group of armed men entered.
Dominic raised his weapon.
“Who are they?”
Daniel answered:
“Gabriel's men.”
The men spread through the mansion.
But before they could move—
The floor beneath them opened.
Two men disappeared into a hidden shaft.
Another door slammed shut.
A wall rotated.
The remaining men fired wildly.
The mansion responded.
Steel barriers dropped.
Security shutters descended.
Within seconds, every intruder was trapped.
Dominic stared.
His mother's house had become a weapon.
Daniel whispered:
“She built this for the day they came for Noah.”
Then the speakers activated again.
Catherine's voice.
“Dominic.”
He froze.
“Mom?”
Her recorded voice continued.
“If the house has activated, then you are in danger.”
Dominic looked around.
“Where are you?”
The recording continued.
“You cannot trust the people around you.”
Dominic looked at Daniel.
At Emma.
At Natalie.
Then the recording said:
“Not even yourself.”
Dominic frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the person controlling this house has already entered your mind.”
The recording stopped.
Everyone stared at each other.
Then Emma whispered:
“What did she mean?”
No one answered.
The Room of Mirrors
A hidden door opened behind the fireplace.
Dominic entered.
Inside was a circular room.
The walls were covered in mirrors.
Hundreds of them.
Each reflected a different angle of the room.
Some showed the present.
Others showed old recordings.
Dominic saw himself as a child.
Natalie at sixteen.
Catherine arguing with Gabriel.
Margaret meeting Victor.
Brooke signing documents.
Everything.
The entire history of the family.
Then one mirror showed something different.
Catherine.
Alive.
Sitting in a chair.
Dominic stepped closer.
“Mom.”
She looked directly at the camera.
“If you're seeing this, you're finally ready.”
Dominic touched the mirror.
Catherine continued:
“I didn't disappear.”
“I chose to disappear.”
“Because someone in our family was planning to kill Dominic.”
Dominic froze.
“Who?”
Catherine's eyes shifted.
“Your sister.”
Natalie gasped.
“No.”
Dominic turned.
The recording continued.
“Not because Natalie wanted him dead.”
“But because someone had taken control of her.”
Dominic's heart raced.
“Who?”
Catherine whispered:
“Gabriel.”
The screen changed.
A younger Natalie stood beside Gabriel.
Dominic stared.
The footage was dated twenty years ago.
Natalie was barely an adult.
Gabriel was whispering something to her.
Then he handed her a document.
Dominic looked at Daniel.
“What is that?”
Daniel answered:
“The original inheritance agreement.”
The footage continued.
Natalie signed.
Catherine entered the room.
She saw the document.
Her expression changed.
She grabbed it from Natalie.
Gabriel smiled.
Then the recording stopped.
Dominic turned toward Natalie.
“Did you remember this?”
Natalie was crying.
“No.”
“I don't understand.”
“I was nineteen.”
“I barely remember that year.”
Dominic looked at Daniel.
“Why?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Gabriel drugged her.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
“He manipulated her memories.”
“That isn't possible.”
“It was.”
“How?”
Daniel looked at the old equipment.
“Your grandfather's doctors experimented with memory suppression.”
Dominic stared.
“You're telling me my family erased memories?”
“Yes.”
“From Natalie?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make her believe she had betrayed Catherine.”
Natalie collapsed into a chair.
“I thought I was the problem.”
Dominic knelt beside her.
“You weren't.”
She cried.
“I thought Mom hated me.”
“She never did.”
“I thought I destroyed everything.”
“You didn't.”
Natalie looked at him.
“Then who did?”
Dominic stood.
“Gabriel.”
A gunshot sounded.
Everyone turned.
Emma fell.
Dominic caught her.
Blood appeared on her shoulder.
“Emma!”
She grimaced.
“I’m okay.”
Dominic looked toward the doorway.
A figure disappeared.
He ran after him.
The figure moved quickly through the corridor.
Dominic followed.
The man entered the basement.
Dominic slammed the door open.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Then a voice whispered behind him.
“Looking for me?”
Dominic turned.
Gabriel stood there.
Not on a screen.
Not through a speaker.
In the flesh.
Dominic raised his weapon.
Gabriel smiled.
“Hello, son.”
For a moment, Dominic couldn't move.
Gabriel looked older than he had in the photograph.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
Cold.
Intelligent.
Unapologetic.
“You.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes.”
“You've been inside my house.”
“Our house.”
“It belongs to Noah.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You still believe that?”
“I know the trust.”
“The trust is meaningless.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“Where is my mother?”
Gabriel smiled.
“She is watching.”
“From where?”
Gabriel pointed upward.
Dominic followed his finger.
A camera.
“She can see everything.”
Dominic's blood ran cold.
“You brought her here.”
“No.”
Gabriel smiled.
“She came willingly.”
“Why?”
“Because she wanted to see you.”
“Then take me to her.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Dominic raised his weapon.
“Now.”
Gabriel didn't move.
“Shoot me.”
Dominic hesitated.
Gabriel smiled.
“You won't.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother taught you better.”
Suddenly a voice filled the basement.
Catherine.
“Dominic.”
He turned.
A screen came alive.
Catherine was sitting in a hospital bed.
Alive.
Older.
Weak.
But smiling.
“Mom.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“My son.”
Dominic stepped toward the screen.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel is listening.”
Gabriel smiled.
Catherine continued:
“You must leave the mansion.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
“Dominic.”
“No.”
“I need you to listen.”
“I spent my entire life believing you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me mourn you.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
Catherine closed her eyes.
“You're right.”
She looked at him again.
“I was wrong.”
Dominic's voice broke.
“Come home.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I am the reason Gabriel has Noah.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
Catherine whispered:
“Your son.”
Dominic's face changed.
“My son?”
Catherine nodded.
“Noah isn't your biological son.”
Silence.
Natalie stared.
Emma froze.
Daniel looked down.
Dominic couldn't breathe.
Catherine continued:
“Gabriel is Noah's grandfather.”
Dominic's face went white.
“But that's not the truth that matters.”
“What matters?”
Catherine looked directly into the camera.
“Noah is the only person who can legally destroy the Mercer empire.”
The screen went black.
Dominic stood motionless.
Gabriel smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Dominic turned toward him.
“You used Noah.”
“Yes.”
“You used Natalie.”
“Yes.”
“You used Brooke.”
“Yes.”
“You used my mother.”
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
“She used me too.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“You're going to regret touching my family.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You still think this is about your family.”
“What is it about?”
Gabriel leaned closer.
“You.”
Dominic froze.
“Me?”
“You were never the heir.”
“You were the weapon.”
Gabriel stepped backward.
“And Catherine knew that.”
Before Dominic could respond, the basement doors slammed shut.
Gabriel disappeared into the darkness.
Dominic rushed forward.
Nothing.
Only a final message appeared on the screen.
MIDNIGHT.
THE WEST TOWER.
COME ALONE.
Then another line appeared.
BRING NOAH.
Dominic stared.
His blood ran cold.
Behind him, Natalie whispered:
“Don't go.”
Dominic looked at Noah.
The boy was sleeping in Emma's arms.
He looked so small.
So innocent.
And suddenly Dominic understood what Gabriel wanted.
Not money.
Not the mansion.
Not the trust.
Noah.
The child Catherine had chosen because he was innocent.
The child who could destroy the empire.
The child every enemy wanted to control.
Dominic picked him up.
“No one takes him.”
Natalie looked at him.
“Then what do we do?”
Dominic looked toward the west tower.
“We end it.”
Outside, thunder shook the mansion.
One by one, every light in the house went dark.
Except a single window at the top of the west tower.
A woman stood behind it.
Dominic couldn't see her face.
But he knew.
Catherine.
His mother was alive.
And someone was holding her prisoner.
Dominic tightened his arms around Noah.
The mansion had turned against the people who had controlled it for decades.
May you like
Now it was waiting for one final battle.
And somewhere in the darkness, Gabriel was waiting too.
