Chapter 12 — The Gun Beneath the Table
Chapter 12 — The Gun Beneath the Table
The first thing I noticed was the silence.
The second was the gun.
It was lying beneath the table.
Not pointed at me.
Pointed at Dom.
I could see only the edge of the barrel through the gap between the chairs.
Dom couldn't.
He was standing across from me, staring at the man seated at the head of the table.
Daniel.
His supposed dead brother.
His newly discovered blood relative.
And the person who had invited us into a private room beneath an abandoned riverfront restaurant.
“You said you wanted to tell me the truth,” Dom said.
Daniel nodded.
“I do.”
“Then start.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Nema has to leave.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
Daniel's eyes remained on me.
“She shouldn't be here.”
Dom stepped forward.
“She stays.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“No.”
Daniel leaned back.
“You understand that someone betrayed the family. You understand that our father lied. You understand that Adrian Reyes may have been your biological father.”
He paused.
“But you don't understand what happens when Nema learns the rest.”
I stared at him.
“What rest?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Dom did.
“Tell her.”
Daniel looked at his brother.
“You really want that?”
“Yes.”
“Even if it destroys her?”
“Yes.”
Daniel sighed.
“Then you're both going to hate me.”
I glanced toward Dom.
Something felt wrong.
Not because of Daniel.
Because of the room.
The air.
The locked door.
The silence.
And then I saw it.
The gun beneath the table.
My heart stopped.
Someone had placed it there.
I couldn't see who.
I looked at Dom.
He was still talking.
“Who killed Adrian?”
Daniel's answer was quiet.
“Our father.”
Dom's jaw tightened.
“And why?”
“Because Adrian discovered the account.”
“What account?”
“The one holding the Reyes fortune.”
I stared.
“My inheritance?”
Daniel nodded.
“But that's not all.”
“What else?”
Daniel looked directly at me.
“The account also contains evidence proving who your biological father was.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“Adrian?”
Daniel nodded.
“And proving that your grandfather knew.”
I looked away.
My entire life seemed to be made of secrets.
My mother.
My father.
My grandfather.
The Vasquez family.
The Caldwells.
Everyone had known something.
Everyone except me.
Then Daniel said something that made the room go cold.
“There's one problem.”
“What?”
“The evidence was stolen.”
“By whom?”
Daniel looked at Dom.
“Your father.”
Dom's expression changed.
“When?”
“Twenty years ago.”
“Why?”
“To erase Adrian's identity.”
I frowned.
“Why would he care who my father was?”
Daniel's eyes moved toward me.
“Because if the truth became public, the entire Vasquez organization would have collapsed.”
I didn't understand.
“How?”
“Because Adrian wasn't just your father.”
He paused.
“He was the rightful heir to the Vasquez network.”
Silence.
I stared at him.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if you know who Adrian's mother was.”
I looked at Dom.
He was staring at Daniel.
“Who?”
Daniel whispered:
“Our grandmother.”
Dom went still.
I felt dizzy.
“So Adrian was…”
“Your father's half-brother.”
Dom closed his eyes.
“Which means…”
Daniel finished:
“You and Nema share blood through Adrian.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I couldn't breathe.
Dom looked at me.
Neither of us spoke.
Then a soft metallic click came from beneath the table.
The gun.
My eyes dropped.
Daniel saw me looking.
His expression changed.
He whispered:
“Don't move.”
Dom turned slightly.
“What?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing.”
Daniel's eyes remained on me.
He understood.
Someone had planted the gun.
And whoever had done it wanted Dom dead.
I tried to think.
The door was behind Daniel.
One window.
Two exits.
The gun beneath the table.
Daniel's hand was resting beside his chair.
Dom was standing directly in the line of fire.
If I warned him too loudly, whoever held the gun could shoot.
If I ran, I might survive.
If I stayed, I could be killed.
For one horrible second, I considered leaving.
I had spent my entire life running from secrets that weren't mine.
Maybe this wasn't my fight.
Maybe I could walk away.
Find somewhere quiet.
Start over.
No Vasquez.
No Caldwell.
No Reyes.
No guns.
No dead relatives.
No men who lied about everything.
Then Dom looked at me.
Not as a protector.
Not as a dangerous man.
Just as someone who was waiting to see whether I would leave.
Something inside me broke.
I stayed.
“Dom.”
He turned.
I smiled.
It was the smallest smile I could manage.
“Sit down.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Just sit.”
He hesitated.
Then sat.
The gun beneath the table shifted.
I felt my heart pounding.
Daniel stared at me.
“What are you doing?”
I answered calmly.
“Buying us time.”
Dom sat opposite me.
Daniel remained at the head of the table.
I could see his hand now.
He was gripping the edge of his chair.
“Who else knows we're here?” Dom asked.
Daniel answered:
“No one.”
“That isn't true.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because someone planted that gun.”
Silence.
I felt my blood freeze.
Daniel's eyes moved beneath the table.
Dom saw it.
His hand moved toward his jacket.
Daniel shook his head.
“Don't.”
A voice came from the corner.
“Good advice.”
A man stepped out of the darkness.
I recognized him.
Vincent.
My stomach dropped.
He was holding a gun.
Dom stood.
“Vincent.”
“Sit.”
Dom didn't.
Vincent raised the weapon.
“I said sit.”
Dom slowly sat.
I stared at Vincent.
“You betrayed him.”
Vincent looked at me.
“No.”
“Then why are you holding a gun?”
“Because I'm trying to keep him alive.”
Dom laughed bitterly.
“You have a strange way of showing it.”
Vincent looked at Daniel.
“Tell him.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father is coming.”
Dom froze.
“When?”
“Now.”
A loud sound echoed above us.
Footsteps.
Several people.
Then the door opened.
A group of armed men entered.
At the center was Miguel Vasquez.
Dom's father.
The man everyone had believed was dead.
Dom stared.
Miguel looked at him.
“My son.”
Dom's voice was barely audible.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me.”
“I protected you.”
“You abandoned me.”
“I saved you.”
Dom stood.
“You let me believe you were dead for fifteen years.”
Miguel's face remained emotionless.
“You were safer believing I was gone.”
“Safer from what?”
Miguel looked at me.
“From her.”
I froze.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Dom stepped between us.
“Don't.”
Miguel's eyes narrowed.
“You still don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Miguel pointed toward me.
“She is the reason Adrian died.”
My blood went cold.
“What?”
Dom shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
Miguel looked at me.
“Your father didn't die because he betrayed us.”
“Then why?”
“Because he chose you.”
I couldn't breathe.
Miguel continued.
“He knew what the Reyes trust contained.”
“He knew what your grandfather planned.”
“He knew the Caldwells wanted you.”
“And he refused to give you to them.”
I stared at him.
“So you killed him?”
Miguel's expression hardened.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He looked at Daniel.
“Your brother.”
I turned toward Daniel.
Daniel's face was pale.
“No.”
Miguel continued.
“Daniel was there.”
Daniel whispered:
“I was a child.”
“You were old enough to remember.”
“I didn't kill him.”
“You opened the door.”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know what they were going to do.”
Dom stared at his brother.
“You opened the door?”
Daniel looked at him.
“I thought they wanted to talk.”
Miguel nodded.
“They came to kill Adrian.”
I couldn't speak.
The gun beneath the table suddenly moved.
A hand reached for it.
I reacted.
I kicked the weapon away.
It struck the opposite wall.
Everyone turned.
Vincent shouted:
“DOWN!”
Gunfire exploded.
Dom tackled me to the floor.
Daniel pulled the table over.
Miguel's men fired toward the doorway.
Glass shattered.
Someone screamed.
I covered my head.
Dom grabbed my hand.
“Stay with me.”
“I am.”
“Don't let go.”
“I won't.”
We crawled behind the overturned table.
Daniel was bleeding from the shoulder.
Vincent fired twice.
Then silence.
One by one, the attackers stopped.
Miguel stood in the center of the room.
His men surrounded him.
Then he looked at Dom.
“You need to come with me.”
Dom shook his head.
“No.”
“You don't understand what is coming.”
“I understand enough.”
Miguel's eyes moved to me.
“She will destroy you.”
Dom stepped closer.
“She isn't the enemy.”
Miguel stared at him.
“You're choosing her.”
Dom answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
Miguel's expression hardened.
“Then you're choosing death.”
He turned toward the door.
Before leaving, he looked at me.
“You want the truth about your father?”
I stared at him.
“Yes.”
“Then come to the old Reyes estate before sunrise.”
Dom stepped forward.
“No.”
Miguel ignored him.
“Come alone.”
The door closed.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Dom turned toward me.
“You're not going.”
I looked at him.
“I need answers.”
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“You can't go.”
“Why?”
“Because I can't protect you there.”
I stared at him.
“Maybe I don't need you to protect me.”
His face changed.
“That isn't what I meant.”
“Then what?”
He looked away.
“I've spent my entire life thinking protecting people meant deciding what they were allowed to know.”
He paused.
“My father did it.”
“My mother did it.”
“Your mother did it.”
“Everyone lied.”
I stepped closer.
“But you don't have to.”
He looked at me.
“I won't.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
“I will.”
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
I held his gaze.
“Then I'm going.”
Dom closed his eyes.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“I won't let you go alone.”
“You heard Miguel.”
“I don't care.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because every person who told us to separate has been lying.”
He took my hand.
“And I don't intend to make the same mistake.”
We left the restaurant at 4:11 a.m.
The city was still dark.
The river was covered in mist.
Daniel and Vincent followed behind us.
No one spoke.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE.
Another message appeared.
NOW TRUST NO ONE.
Then a photograph.
My mother.
Standing beside Adrian.
Both alive.
And between them was a child.
A little boy.
I stared.
The boy was holding Adrian's hand.
He had Dom's eyes.
I looked at Dom.
He saw the photograph.
His face went pale.
“That's me.”
I couldn't speak.
Another message appeared.
YOUR FATHER DIDN'T DIE.
HE DISAPPEARED.
Then:
AND HE HAS BEEN WATCHING YOU BOTH FOR YEARS.
I looked toward the dark road leading to the old Reyes estate.
The truth was waiting there.
So was Miguel.
And somewhere beyond the mist was the man who might have been my father.
For the first time, I understood the choice I had made.
I could have run.
I could have left Dom behind.
I could have pretended none of this belonged to me.
Instead, I had stayed.
Not because I trusted his family.
Not because I trusted my own.
But because I had finally realized something.
Running would never make the truth disappear.
It would only leave the truth in the hands of people who wanted me dead.
Dom opened the car door.
“Ready?”
I looked at the photograph one last time.
Then at him.
“No.”
He nodded.
“Neither am I.”
I got into the car.
The engine started.
Behind us, Frank's Diner disappeared into the darkness.
Ahead of us waited the Reyes estate.
The man who might be my father.
The man who had ordered Adrian's death.
And the final secret my mother had spent twelve years trying to bury.
But as we drove toward the estate, none of us noticed the second car following us.
Inside it sat a woman.
She watched our taillights disappear into the fog.
Then she made one phone call.
“He chose her.”
A pause.
The voice on the other end answered:
“Then we kill them both.”
The woman smiled.
“Not yet.”
She looked at the photograph in her hand.
It showed my mother.
Adrian.
And the two children.
“We still need the girl alive.”
May you like
She folded the photograph.
“Because she is the only one who can open the door.”
