Chapter 10 — The Wedding Trap
Chapter 10 — The Wedding Trap
The stranger smiled at Dominic.
Not nervously.
Not cautiously.
As if the gun pointed at his chest was nothing more than an inconvenience.
Dominic stared at him.
The resemblance was impossible.
The same dark eyes.
The same sharp jaw.
The same faint scar beneath the left eyebrow.
The same expression Richard had worn in old photographs.
But there was something else.
Something Dominic couldn't explain.
Recognition.
Not because he remembered the man.
Because some part of him felt as though he should.
"You said you're my brother."
The stranger nodded.
"Yes."
"Your name."
"Adrian."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"Adrian Vale?"
Adrian smiled.
"No."
A pause.
"Adrian Moretti."
Behind him, Margaret closed her eyes.
Alexander whispered:
"Adrian."
Dominic looked at him.
"You know him."
Alexander nodded.
"He was supposed to be dead."
Adrian laughed.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Dominic kept his weapon raised.
"Why are you here?"
Adrian's eyes moved toward Harper.
"Because she belongs to me."
Mia immediately pulled Harper closer.
"No."
Adrian looked at her.
"You don't understand what she is."
"I understand she's my daughter."
"Biologically."
His voice was cold.
"Not legally."
Dominic stepped forward.
"She doesn't belong to anyone."
Adrian's smile disappeared.
"That's where you're wrong."
A siren sounded outside.
Then another.
Daniel's voice came through Dominic's earpiece.
"Sir, we've got vehicles approaching."
"How many?"
"Six."
Dominic's eyes remained on Adrian.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
Adrian smiled.
"They're mine."
Dominic glanced at him.
"You planned this."
"Of course."
"What do you want?"
"Something simple."
Adrian reached into his coat.
Every guard raised their weapons.
He slowly removed an envelope.
"The wedding."
Dominic frowned.
"What wedding?"
Adrian tossed the envelope onto the table.
Dominic didn't move.
Adrian said:
"Yours."
Silence.
Mia looked at Dominic.
"You're not getting married."
Adrian smiled.
"Not yet."
Dominic opened the envelope.
Inside was an invitation.
Elegant black paper.
Gold lettering.
THE MARRIAGE OF DOMINIC VALE AND CLAIRE BENNETT.
Dominic's face hardened.
"Claire."
Adrian nodded.
"She's waiting."
"Where?"
"At the church."
Dominic looked toward Daniel.
"Find her."
Daniel spoke into his radio.
"Already trying."
Adrian continued.
"You have forty-eight hours."
"For what?"
"To marry Claire."
Dominic laughed.
"You've lost your mind."
"No."
Adrian's gaze moved toward Harper.
"I'm giving you a choice."
"What choice?"
"Marry her."
He pointed toward the envelope.
"Or watch the Vale estate disappear."
Dominic's expression didn't change.
"You think I care about the estate?"
"You don't."
Adrian smiled.
"But you care about the people inside it."
Dominic's eyes hardened.
Adrian continued.
"Every employee."
"Every guard."
"Every account."
"Every person connected to your name."
He leaned closer.
"I can destroy them all."
Mia whispered:
"Dominic, don't."
Adrian looked at her.
"She's the reason you won't say no."
Dominic stepped between them.
"Leave her out of this."
"Then marry Claire."
The church stood at the edge of the Hudson Valley.
Old stone.
Black iron gates.
No guests.
No priest.
Only Claire.
She stood beneath the altar wearing a white dress.
Dominic arrived alone.
At least, that was what Adrian had demanded.
He walked through the doors.
Claire looked at him.
She was crying.
"You came."
Dominic stopped several feet away.
"Where is everyone?"
"Adrian sent them away."
"Why are you here?"
Claire looked down.
"Because I didn't have a choice."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"You always have a choice."
"Not this time."
"Why?"
Claire swallowed.
"Because he has my sister."
Dominic froze.
"You have a sister?"
"I did."
"Did?"
Claire looked away.
"She's alive."
"Where?"
"Somewhere Adrian controls."
Dominic studied her.
"You've been working for him."
Claire shook her head.
"Not willingly."
"How long?"
"Three years."
"Why?"
"Because I owed him."
"For what?"
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
"My father's death."
Dominic said nothing.
Claire continued.
"Adrian saved me."
"And now he owns you."
"Yes."
Dominic looked toward the altar.
"What does he want from me?"
"You know."
"Say it."
Claire whispered:
"The Moretti inheritance."
Dominic's expression changed.
"What inheritance?"
"The original estate."
"What does that have to do with marriage?"
Claire stepped closer.
"The marriage isn't about me."
"Then what?"
"You."
She reached into her dress and pulled out a small key.
"This is what Adrian wants."
Dominic stared at it.
"What is it?"
"The key to the Moretti vault."
"Where is the vault?"
"Under the church."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know?"
"Because I was there."
"When?"
"Last year."
"What did you see?"
Claire's voice trembled.
"Records."
"What records?"
"Birth records."
Dominic's expression changed.
"Whose?"
"Yours."
Back at the estate, Mia sat beside Harper.
The little girl slept.
Margaret stood near the window.
Alexander remained by the door.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Mia asked:
"Why didn't you tell Dominic?"
Alexander looked at her.
"Tell him what?"
"About Adrian."
"He wouldn't have believed me."
"He's his brother."
"Exactly."
Mia frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Alexander looked toward Harper.
"Adrian was the first."
"The first what?"
"The first child created by Project 17."
Mia's face went pale.
"Then Dominic?"
"The second."
"And Harper?"
Alexander hesitated.
"The third."
Mia hugged Harper tighter.
"What does that mean?"
"It means Richard wasn't trying to create an heir."
"What was he trying to create?"
Alexander looked at Margaret.
She answered.
"An empire that could never die."
At the church, Dominic held the key.
He examined it.
There was a symbol engraved into the metal.
The black bird.
But beneath it was another mark.
A letter.
M.
"Moretti."
Claire nodded.
"The vault only opens when the bloodline is present."
Dominic looked at her.
"Whose bloodline?"
"Yours."
"Why mine?"
Claire hesitated.
"Because Richard altered the records."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"Explain."
"Your DNA isn't purely Moretti."
"What?"
"Richard combined your DNA with Alexander's."
Dominic stared.
"Why?"
"To make you impossible to trace."
"To whom?"
"To the original Moretti family."
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"So my entire identity is fabricated."
Claire nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why can I open the vault?"
"Because despite everything Richard did..."
She looked at him.
"...you're still Moretti."
The church doors slammed shut.
Dominic turned.
Six armed men entered.
Claire stepped backward.
Adrian's voice came from the balcony.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Dominic looked up.
Adrian stood above them.
"You brought me here."
"Of course."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you away from your guards."
Dominic looked around.
"How many people are outside?"
"Enough."
"And Mia?"
Adrian smiled.
"Safe."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"You'd better be telling the truth."
"I am."
"Then let her go."
"After the wedding."
Dominic looked at Claire.
She was crying.
"Claire."
She looked up.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For what's about to happen."
The church lights went out.
A single spotlight illuminated the altar.
A priest appeared.
Dominic recognized him.
Father Marcus.
The man who had buried Richard Vale twelve years ago.
Dominic stared.
"You're alive."
The priest smiled.
"I never died."
Dominic's face hardened.
Another lie.
Another person.
Another piece of his life that had been manufactured.
Adrian spoke.
"Stand at the altar."
Dominic didn't move.
"Now."
Dominic slowly walked forward.
Claire joined him.
The priest opened a book.
"Dominic Vale—"
Dominic interrupted.
"No."
Adrian frowned.
Dominic turned toward him.
"My name isn't Vale."
Silence.
Adrian smiled.
"Then what is it?"
Dominic looked directly at him.
"Moretti."
The expression on Adrian's face changed.
For the first time, fear appeared.
Dominic continued.
"You wanted me to come here because you thought I was still Richard's puppet."
He stepped closer to the altar.
"You made one mistake."
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"You forgot I learned how to manipulate people too."
Dominic looked at Claire.
"Did you tell him about the key?"
Claire's eyes widened.
"Yes."
Dominic smiled.
"But you didn't tell him there were two."
Adrian's expression changed.
Dominic pulled another key from inside his coat.
Identical.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Where did you get that?"
"From Nathan."
"He's dying."
"I know."
"Then he couldn't have given it to you."
Dominic's smile disappeared.
"He did."
A voice came from the back of the church.
"Actually..."
Everyone turned.
Nathan stood there.
Blood still covered his shirt.
He was pale.
But alive.
Dominic stared.
"You."
Nathan smiled weakly.
"Sorry."
Adrian's face hardened.
"You were supposed to be dead."
Nathan looked at him.
"Apparently that's becoming a family tradition."
Dominic walked toward Nathan.
"You were shot."
"Yes."
"You survived."
"Yes."
"You knew about the second key."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Nathan looked at him.
"Because I needed you to come here."
Dominic's expression changed.
"The wedding."
Nathan nodded.
"It's a trap."
"I know."
"No."
Nathan's voice became serious.
"You don't understand."
He looked toward the altar.
"The wedding itself is the trap."
Dominic frowned.
"How?"
Nathan looked at Claire.
Then Adrian.
Then the priest.
"They need you to say the vows."
"Why?"
"Because the moment you legally marry Claire..."
Nathan's face became grim.
"...you transfer control of the Vale-Moretti inheritance to her."
Dominic stared.
"That's impossible."
"Read the contract."
Claire stepped forward.
"There is no contract."
Nathan shook his head.
"There is."
He pointed toward the priest.
"The marriage certificate."
Dominic looked at Father Marcus.
The priest's expression changed.
Nathan continued.
"Your father created a legal clause twenty years ago."
"What clause?"
"Any Moretti heir who marries outside the bloodline automatically transfers ownership of the original estate."
Dominic stared.
"And Claire?"
"Is not a Moretti."
Adrian smiled.
"Exactly."
Dominic looked at Claire.
She was crying.
"Did you know?"
Claire shook her head.
"I swear."
Dominic believed her.
For the first time.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Enough."
He raised his weapon.
"Sign the certificate."
Dominic didn't move.
"Or?"
Adrian looked toward the church doors.
A screen lit up.
Mia appeared.
She was tied to a chair.
Harper was beside her.
Dominic's blood ran cold.
"No."
Mia shook her head.
"Don't do it."
Adrian smiled.
"Choose."
Dominic stared at the screen.
Mia looked directly into the camera.
Then she whispered:
"Remember your promise."
Dominic froze.
"What promise?"
Mia's eyes filled with tears.
"The one you made me."
He remembered.
The night in the basement.
He had promised Harper would never be taken.
Dominic looked at Adrian.
Then the marriage certificate.
Then Claire.
He smiled.
Adrian frowned.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Because you made another mistake."
"What?"
Dominic took the certificate.
Adrian relaxed.
"Good."
Dominic tore it in half.
Then again.
And again.
Paper fell to the floor.
Adrian's face turned furious.
"You idiot."
Dominic raised his weapon.
"You thought the only way to protect them was to obey you."
Adrian's men raised their guns.
Dominic continued.
"But I don't need your rules."
The church erupted in gunfire.
Dominic dove behind the altar.
Nathan fired back.
Claire screamed and dropped to the floor.
Father Marcus disappeared through a side door.
Adrian ran toward the basement.
Dominic followed.
The secret vault was beneath them.
The wedding had never been about marriage.
It had been about opening the vault.
And now Dominic finally understood.
The only reason Adrian had needed him alive...
was because the vault could only be opened by blood.
Dominic reached the stairs.
Adrian stood at the bottom.
A steel door waited behind him.
"Come on, brother."
Adrian smiled.
"You wanted the truth."
He placed his hand against the door.
"Now you're going to get all of it."
The door opened.
And beyond it was a room filled with thousands of files.
At the center sat a single glass chamber.
Inside was a photograph.
A woman.
A newborn child.
And a name written beneath it.
DOMINIC MORETTI.
Dominic stopped breathing.
Because the woman holding the baby wasn't Isabella.
Wasn't Margaret.
Wasn't anyone he recognized.
It was Mia.
And the photograph had been taken...
twenty-seven years ago.
Dominic stared at it.
Impossible.
Mia was too young.
The date couldn't be real.
Then he saw the second line.
SURROGATE: MIA CARTER.
Dominic slowly turned toward Adrian.
"What did you do?"
Adrian's smile vanished.
"Nothing."
"Then who?"
A voice came from behind them.
"Me."
Dominic turned.
Richard stood at the top of the stairs.
Alive.
Holding a gun.
His eyes were fixed on Dominic.
And he said the words that destroyed the last certainty Dominic had left:
"Because Mia isn't Harper's mother."
May you like
He looked toward the photograph.
"She's yours."
