CHAP 6 — DOMINIC RAINER
Dominic Rainer chose a church for their meeting.
Nathan found the irony insulting.
St. Andrew’s sat empty at noon.
Dominic waited in the third pew wearing a charcoal suit.
He was forty-six.
Elegant.
Calm.
Dangerous in the way only patient men could be dangerous.
Nathan sat one pew behind him.
“You used Victoria.”
Dominic looked toward the altar.
“She used herself.”
“You put her in my house.”
“I introduced her to people.”
“You paid Malcolm.”
“Malcolm came cheaper than I expected.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“Why Margaret?”
Dominic finally turned.
“Because Thomas Ellis’s daughter should have been dealt with thirty years ago.”
Nathan’s eyes became still.
Dominic smiled.
“That bothered you.”
“You’re talking about a child.”
“I’m talking about history.”
“Your father murdered Thomas Ellis.”
Dominic’s smile disappeared.
“Is that what Eleanor wrote?”
Nathan said nothing.
Dominic continued.
“My father ordered a fire. Thomas was supposed to be frightened, not killed.”
“You expect that distinction to impress me?”
“No.”
Dominic leaned back.
“But Richard Whitmore had advance warning.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
“Your father knew the warehouse would burn.”
“You’re lying.”
“Of course you think that.”
Dominic removed a small recorder from his pocket.
He pressed play.
A man’s voice filled the empty church.
Richard Whitmore.
You said the building would be empty.
Another voice.
Vincent Rainer.
It should have been.
Thomas went back inside.
Richard again.
Then God help us both.
The recording stopped.
Nathan’s hands were motionless.
Dominic watched him.
“Your mother gave you half the story.”
“Where did you get that?”
“My father.”
“Why show me?”
“Because I want you angry at the right ghost.”
Nathan’s voice lowered.
“My father is dead.”
“So is mine.”
Dominic smiled slightly.
“We inherited their sins along with their companies.”
“Then why continue them?”
“Because your family got the empire.”
Dominic leaned closer.
“Mine got blamed.”
“Your father burned the warehouse.”
“And yours profited from the body.”
Nathan said nothing.
Dominic stood.
“The board meets tomorrow.”
“You don’t have the votes.”
“I don’t need all of them.”
“Then you’re wasting my time.”
Dominic buttoned his coat.
“You still think this is about removing you.”
He shook his head.
“I want the Ellis covenant.”
Nathan’s expression changed.
Dominic knew.
“How?”
“Victoria heard you opening Eleanor’s box.”
Nathan remembered the elevator.
Victoria hadn’t escaped alone.
Malcolm had helped.
Dominic continued.
“Give me Margaret’s thirty-eight percent when it activates.”
Nathan laughed once.
“You’ve mistaken me for my father.”
“No.”
Dominic’s eyes sharpened.
“I think you’re exactly like him when frightened enough.”
Nathan stood.
“And if I refuse?”
“I destroy Whitmore Logistics.”
“Try.”
“I already have.”
Dominic handed him a phone.
A video was playing.
One of Nathan’s largest distribution facilities.
Federal agents entering.
Trucks being sealed.
Employees standing outside.
Nathan looked at Dominic.
“What did you do?”
“I gave investigators evidence that your network moved restricted cargo through three states.”
Nathan’s face hardened.
“False evidence.”
“Some of it.”
That was the problem.
Nathan’s empire had a shadow side.
For years, he had maintained relationships with men who lived beyond clean corporate lines.
He had never trafficked narcotics.
Never exploited women.
Never allowed weapons around civilians.
But he had moved money for people who did not ask banks for permission.
Dominic knew exactly where the gray areas were.
“You want war,” Nathan said.
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
He stepped into the aisle.
“I want inheritance.”
As he passed Nathan, he stopped.
“And one more thing.”
Nathan turned.
Dominic smiled.
“Ask Margaret why my father paid for her college.”
Then he walked out.
Nathan stood alone.
Another secret.
Another unanswered question.
When he returned to Whitmore House, Margaret was waiting in the library.
Nathan closed the door.
“Did Vincent Rainer pay for your education?”
Margaret’s face told him the answer before she spoke.
“Yes.”
Nathan felt the first real crack of distrust.
“And you never thought that was worth mentioning?”
May you like
Margaret whispered:
“Because until last year, I didn’t know the scholarship came from him.”
