Chapter 13 — The Woman Who Owned the House
Chapter 13 — The Woman Who Owned the House
Nathan hit the floor before Dominic could catch him.
The gunshot echoed through the chapel.
For one terrible second, everything became silent.
Then the little girl screamed.
"Mr. Dominic!"
Dominic dropped beside Nathan.
"Stay with me."
Nathan's hand pressed against his chest.
Blood spread between his fingers.
"I told you..."
"Don't talk."
"Last chance."
Dominic looked at him.
"You said it was your last chance."
Nathan smiled weakly.
"Exactly."
Outside, another gunshot shattered a window.
Dominic lifted his weapon.
Daniel shouted:
"Sir! We need to move!"
Dominic grabbed the little girl's hand.
"Stay behind me."
She nodded.
Nathan tried to rise.
Dominic pulled him up.
"You are not dying here."
Nathan looked at him.
"I've been dying for seventeen years."
"Not tonight."
They moved through the chapel's side entrance.
Behind them, Claire shouted:
"Dominic!"
He didn't turn.
"Give me the child!"
Dominic tightened his grip.
"Never."
The underground passage beneath the chapel was narrower than Dominic remembered.
The walls were ancient stone.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
The little girl walked beside him without crying.
That frightened him.
"What is your name?" he asked.
She remained silent.
"What's your name?"
She finally looked at him.
"Elena."
Dominic stopped.
Nathan stared at her.
"Elena?"
The child nodded.
"Like Grandma."
Nathan's face changed.
Dominic looked at him.
"You know her."
Nathan nodded.
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
Nathan swallowed.
"Elena Moretti."
Dominic froze.
"My grandmother."
"Yes."
"She's alive."
"Yes."
"Where?"
Nathan pointed ahead.
"At the end of this tunnel."
Dominic looked at the child.
"Then who is this?"
Nathan whispered:
"The first subject."
They reached a steel door.
There was no lock.
Instead, a black bird had been carved into the metal.
Dominic touched it.
The door opened.
Beyond it was a room filled with old furniture.
Not a laboratory.
Not a prison.
A home.
A fireplace.
Bookshelves.
Family photographs.
A piano.
A dining table.
And on the wall hung a portrait of a young woman.
Dominic stopped.
He knew that face.
He had seen it in his dreams.
The woman from the photograph.
The woman holding the newborn.
Mia.
But beside her stood another woman.
Older.
Elegant.
Dark-haired.
Her eyes were Dominic's eyes.
The name beneath the portrait read:
ELENA MORETTI.
A voice came from behind him.
"You took long enough."
Dominic turned.
The woman from the portrait stood in the doorway.
Older now.
But unmistakable.
Elena Moretti.
His grandmother.
She looked at Dominic.
Then Nathan.
Then the child.
Her expression softened.
"Come here, Elena."
The little girl ran toward her.
Dominic stared.
"That's my name."
The woman smiled.
"It was always meant to be."
Dominic stepped forward.
"Who is she?"
Elena looked at the child.
"Your aunt."
Dominic froze.
Nathan lowered his head.
"You knew."
"Of course."
Dominic looked at him.
"You knew this girl was my sister."
Nathan nodded.
"Yes."
"How many times were you going to lie to me?"
Nathan said nothing.
Elena answered for him.
"Until you were ready."
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"Ready?"
"You would have destroyed everything."
"Maybe it deserved to be destroyed."
Elena smiled.
"That's why I chose you."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"You chose me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you were the only one who could survive Richard."
Dominic stared.
"Then why did you let him raise me?"
"Because I needed you inside his empire."
"You used me."
"Yes."
"Just like everyone else."
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
Dominic looked around.
"How long has this house existed?"
"Before the Vale estate."
"Who owns it?"
Elena smiled.
"I do."
She walked toward the fireplace.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Elena opened it.
Inside were dozens of documents.
Land deeds.
Bank accounts.
Company records.
Trust agreements.
Dominic stared.
"The entire Vale empire."
Elena nodded.
"Legally."
"But Richard owned everything."
"No."
She handed him a document.
"The Moretti family never lost ownership."
Dominic read it.
His name appeared at the bottom.
PRIMARY BENEFICIARY: DOMINIC MORETTI.
He looked up.
"Why?"
"Because Richard could never inherit what wasn't his."
"Then why did he control it?"
"Because people believed him."
Dominic looked at the papers.
"Seventeen years."
"Yes."
"Seventeen years of lies."
"Yes."
"You could have stopped him."
"I could."
"Then why didn't you?"
Elena looked at him.
"Because I wanted you to learn something."
"What?"
"Power isn't the ability to control people."
She paused.
"It's the ability to walk away from control."
Dominic stared at her.
"Then why are you still controlling me?"
Elena smiled.
"Because you haven't walked away yet."
A gunshot echoed through the corridor.
Dominic turned.
Daniel's voice came through the radio.
"Sir!"
"Report."
"Claire found the entrance."
Dominic cursed.
"How long?"
"Two minutes."
Elena remained calm.
"Let her come."
Dominic stared.
"You expected her."
"Of course."
"Why?"
"Because Claire is not your enemy."
Dominic frowned.
"She kidnapped Mia."
"No."
"She threatened Harper."
"No."
"She worked for Richard."
Elena shook her head.
"Claire worked for me."
Dominic went still.
"What?"
Elena opened another file.
Inside was Claire's photograph.
Her real name.
Her history.
Everything.
Dominic stared.
"Claire Moretti."
Elena nodded.
"Her mother was my daughter."
Dominic's eyes widened.
"Then Claire is..."
"Your cousin."
Nathan whispered:
"That's why Richard chose her."
Dominic looked at him.
"To marry me."
"Yes."
"Because we're family."
"Yes."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Then the wedding wasn't about the inheritance."
Elena nodded.
"It was."
"But not the way I thought."
"No."
She looked toward the door.
"The wedding was designed to expose you."
"To whom?"
"To the people hunting the Moretti bloodline."
Dominic frowned.
"Who?"
Elena's face darkened.
"The Council."
The door exploded inward.
Dominic pulled Elena and the children behind the wall.
Men rushed inside.
Daniel and his security team returned fire.
Claire entered last.
Her white dress was torn.
Blood covered her sleeve.
Dominic aimed his gun.
"Don't move."
Claire raised both hands.
"I'm not here to fight you."
"Then why are you here?"
"To save you."
Elena stepped forward.
Claire looked at her.
"Grandmother."
Elena nodded.
"Claire."
Dominic stared between them.
"Everyone knew."
Claire shook her head.
"Not everyone."
"Then tell me."
Claire looked at him.
"Your wedding was never meant to happen."
"Why?"
"Because the Council needed you to sign the transfer papers."
"To take the empire."
"Yes."
"And you?"
"I was supposed to disappear afterward."
Dominic frowned.
"Why?"
Claire smiled sadly.
"Because they don't let witnesses survive."
A bullet struck the wall.
Everyone ducked.
Daniel shouted:
"More coming!"
Elena walked toward a panel.
She pressed her hand against it.
A section of the wall opened.
"Get the children inside."
Dominic grabbed Elena.
"You first."
She smiled.
"I'm not leaving."
"You're my grandmother."
"And you're my grandson."
She pushed his hand away.
"That means you should listen to me."
Dominic hesitated.
Elena pointed toward the passage.
"Go."
Mia's voice suddenly came through the radio.
"Dominic!"
He froze.
"Mia?"
"We're alive."
Dominic's heart stopped.
"Where are you?"
"Under the east wing."
"How?"
"I found a tunnel."
"Harper?"
"With me."
Dominic exhaled.
"Stay there."
Mia whispered:
"Dominic, there's something you need to know."
"What?"
"I remember."
Dominic froze.
"Remember what?"
"My first child."
Silence.
Mia's voice trembled.
"You."
Dominic closed his eyes.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The photograph.
The records.
The pendant.
The memories.
The way Mia had always looked at him.
Not like an employer.
Not like a stranger.
Like someone she had lost.
"Mia..."
She cried.
"I was seventeen."
Dominic's throat tightened.
"They took you from me."
"I know."
"Richard?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted my child."
Dominic whispered:
"Me."
"Yes."
"And Harper?"
Mia's voice broke.
"She was born from the same project."
Dominic looked at Elena.
His grandmother nodded.
Mia continued.
"But there's something else."
"What?"
"The child they took from me..."
Dominic waited.
"...wasn't you."
He froze.
"What?"
Mia cried.
"They told me you died."
Dominic's eyes widened.
"Then who did I raise?"
Mia whispered:
"I don't know."
The radio went silent.
Dominic stared at it.
Elena's expression changed.
"What did she say?"
Dominic looked at her.
"She said I wasn't the baby she raised."
Elena went completely still.
Then she whispered:
"Richard found him."
"Who?"
"Your twin."
Dominic's face hardened.
"The boy from the photograph."
Elena nodded.
"The original."
Dominic looked toward the little girl.
Then Claire.
Then Nathan.
"What happened to the baby Mia gave birth to?"
Elena didn't answer.
Dominic grabbed her arm.
"Tell me."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Richard took him."
"Why?"
"Because the child was different."
"How?"
Elena whispered:
"He remembered everything."
Dominic went still.
"At birth?"
"Not consciously."
"But his DNA..."
"Was unstable."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"Then what did Richard do?"
Elena looked toward the floor.
"He replaced him."
Dominic stopped breathing.
"With me."
The truth hit harder than any bullet.
Dominic had spent his entire life believing he was Richard's creation.
He wasn't.
He was a replacement.
A stolen child.
A false heir.
A boy placed into another child's life.
He looked at Elena.
"Where is the real child?"
She hesitated.
"Elena."
"I don't know."
"You know."
"I swear."
Dominic stared at her.
Then a small voice interrupted.
"He's here."
Everyone turned.
The little girl stood beside the fireplace.
Elena looked shocked.
"How do you know?"
The child pointed toward the wall.
"He's behind there."
Dominic walked to it.
He pressed his hand against the stone.
Nothing.
The little girl whispered:
"Push the bird."
Dominic found the carved symbol.
He pressed it.
The wall opened.
Behind it was a narrow room.
Inside sat a man.
Older.
Weak.
Connected to medical equipment.
Dominic stepped forward.
The man slowly raised his head.
Dominic stopped.
The face was his.
Not similar.
Identical.
The man smiled.
"You're late."
Dominic couldn't speak.
The man looked at him.
"I've been waiting seventeen years."
Nathan began to cry.
Dominic stared at his reflection.
"Who are you?"
The man answered:
"Your brother."
A pause.
Then:
"The one they stole your life from."
Suddenly, Claire screamed.
"Down!"
A bullet tore through the wall.
Elena fell.
Dominic caught her.
"Grandmother!"
Blood covered his hands.
Claire fired toward the corridor.
Daniel shouted:
"They're inside!"
Dominic looked at the wounded Elena.
Then the man in the hidden room.
Then the children.
Then Mia's voice echoed through the radio.
"Dominic, run."
He looked at the screen.
Mia was crying.
"There's a bomb."
Dominic froze.
"Where?"
"Under the house."
"How much time?"
Mia looked terrified.
"Three minutes."
Dominic turned toward the hidden room.
The man smiled.
"Now you understand."
"Understand what?"
"Why they wanted everyone inside."
Dominic looked at him.
"Who planted it?"
The man answered:
"Your father."
Dominic's face hardened.
"Richard."
"No."
The man shook his head.
"Not Richard."
He looked toward Elena.
"Her."
Dominic stared.
Elena closed her eyes.
And whispered:
"I'm sorry."
The lights went red.
A countdown appeared on the wall.
02:59
Dominic looked at his family.
For seventeen years, everyone had lied to him.
Now he had less than three minutes to decide who deserved to live.
And for the first time...
May you like
he realized the greatest betrayal had not come from his enemies.
It had come from the woman who claimed she had created him to save him.
