CHAPTER 8 — THE WOMAN WHO KNEW WHY MY FATHER DISAPPEARED
Vanessa Whitmore stood beneath the flickering archive light.
Perfect hair.
Perfect makeup.
Perfect black dress.
And a gun pointed directly at me.
For several seconds, none of us moved.
Then Dominic stepped in front of me.
“Put it down, Vanessa.”
She laughed softly.
“You still think you can order me around.”
“You broke into my archive.”
“No.”
She tilted her head.
“I used a key.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“What key?”
Vanessa smiled.
“The same kind your father gave Michael.”
My heart hammered.
“You knew my father?”
She looked at me.
“I knew Michael Carter very well.”
“You were at Northstar.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he was investigating the network.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he wasn't killed in an accident.”
Her smile faded.
“Yes.”
The word hit harder than the slap she had given me at the mansion.
Eight years.
Eight years of believing my father died because machinery failed.
Eight years of believing his death was an accident.
And this woman had known.
I stepped forward.
“You watched him die.”
Vanessa's eyes hardened.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
“I watched him disappear.”
Dominic's voice became dangerous.
“Stop playing games.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You really don't know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“Your father didn't disappear because he was killed.”
Dominic froze.
“He disappeared because he made a deal.”
“With who?”
Vanessa looked at me.
“With the people your father was trying to destroy.”
I felt sick.
“My father made a deal?”
“He had no choice.”
“What deal?”
Vanessa lowered the gun slightly.
“His life for yours.”
The world seemed to tilt.
“No.”
“He was given two options,” she continued. “Give them the Black Ledger, or watch them kill his daughter.”
Dominic stared at her.
“And Anthony?”
“Anthony refused to cooperate.”
“So they took him.”
Vanessa nodded.
“They took both men.”
I could barely breathe.
“But the ledger survived.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Vanessa looked at the black key around my neck.
“You've been carrying it for eight years.”
My fingers closed around the key.
“This?”
“Not the key itself.”
She smiled.
“The key is only the lock.”
Dominic moved suddenly.
Vanessa raised the gun.
“Don't.”
Dominic stopped.
She looked at me.
“Your father knew you would eventually come looking.”
“Then why didn't he contact me?”
“Because every time he tried, someone died.”
I stared at her.
“Who?”
“People who helped him.”
My mother.
The answer appeared in my mind instantly.
Linda.
Vanessa saw my expression.
“Yes.”
My blood ran cold.
“You threatened my mother.”
“I didn't.”
“You kidnapped her.”
“I moved her.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“It is when you're trying to keep someone alive.”
Dominic's voice was ice.
“You expect us to believe you?”
“No.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“I expect you to remember who your father trusted.”
Dominic said nothing.
She slowly reached into her purse and removed a photograph.
She threw it onto the floor.
It slid across the concrete.
I picked it up.
My breath caught.
It showed my father.
Alive.
Older.
Standing beside a man whose face I had never seen before.
And behind them was a warehouse.
On the wall was the same black circle.
But there was something else.
A date.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2026.
Today's date.
My hands started shaking.
“He's alive,” I whispered.
Vanessa nodded.
“He has been alive this entire time.”
“Where?”
She looked toward Dominic.
“Ask him.”
I turned.
Dominic's face was unreadable.
“Dominic?”
He didn't answer.
“Do you know where my father is?”
Silence.
“Dominic.”
Finally, he spoke.
“I know where he might be.”
My heart cracked.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“For how long?”
“Three days.”
I stared at him.
“You knew my father might be alive for three days and didn't tell me?”
“I didn't have proof.”
“You had a suspicion.”
“I had a photograph.”
My eyes widened.
“You had another photograph?”
He nodded.
“Taken three days ago.”
The room spun.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought it was bait.”
“And now?”
“Now I think it's an invitation.”
Vanessa smiled.
“Finally.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Who sent you?”
She didn't answer.
“Vanessa.”
She raised the gun again.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
She looked directly at me.
“Who owns Whitmore Holdings?”
I frowned.
“Your father.”
Vanessa smiled.
“No.”
She paused.
“My father owns the company.”
Dominic's expression changed.
“Charles Whitmore.”
“Yes.”
I felt a chill.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“Then he was involved.”
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“He built it.”
The truth landed like a bomb.
Whitmore Holdings wasn't merely another shell company.
It was one of the largest corporations connected to the money trail.
The same network Michael had been investigating.
The same network that had supposedly disappeared eight years ago.
My father hadn't just uncovered a criminal organization.
He had uncovered the empire belonging to Vanessa's father.
Dominic stepped toward her.
“Where is Charles?”
Vanessa's eyes flickered.
“Dead.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
“Convenient.”
She looked at me.
“He was supposed to die.”
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
Vanessa's voice dropped.
“It means someone has been using his name ever since.”
Dominic went still.
“Who?”
Vanessa looked toward the ceiling.
Then back at me.
“Your father knows.”
Suddenly—
the lights went out.
A gunshot exploded.
I dropped.
Dominic pulled me behind the steel cabinet.
Another shot.
Then another.
Vanessa screamed.
I looked toward her.
She had been hit.
She collapsed against the wall.
“Vanessa!”
I moved toward her.
Dominic grabbed my arm.
“Don't.”
“She’s bleeding.”
“She could be bait.”
“I don't care.”
I pulled free and reached Vanessa.
The bullet had grazed her shoulder.
She was alive.
Barely.
She grabbed my wrist.
Her fingers were cold.
“Avery…”
“What?”
“Your father…”
She struggled to breathe.
“He didn't disappear.”
I leaned closer.
“He went into hiding because…”
Her eyes moved toward Dominic.
“Because the person who betrayed him…”
She swallowed.
“…was your father's closest friend.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Vanessa's lips parted.
“Gabriel.”
Then she passed out.
I looked at Dominic.
He didn't move.
“Gabriel is dead,” he said.
I shook my head.
“No.”
“What?”
“You told me your father buried Gabriel.”
“Yes.”
“But Vanessa said he betrayed my father.”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“And if Gabriel was never dead…”
We both looked at the photograph of my father.
The picture dated today.
Avery Carter.
Michael Carter.
Gabriel.
Three men who were supposed to be dead.
One of them was alive.
And one of them had betrayed the others.
Then Dominic's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
A pause.
“Where?”
Another pause.
“I'm coming.”
He hung up.
I stared at him.
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“Your mother is gone.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“The hospital security cameras were shut down four minutes ago.”
“Where is she?”
Dominic's voice was barely above a whisper.
“Someone left a message.”
He turned the phone toward me.
There was a photograph.
My mother was sitting in a wheelchair.
Alive.
Terrified.
And standing behind her—
was my father.
Michael Carter.
Under the photograph were six words.
BRING THE BLACK KEY. COME ALONE.
My fingers tightened around the key.
Dominic looked at me.
“This time, you're not going alone.”
I looked into his eyes.
For the first time, I wasn't sure whether I was afraid of Dominic—
or afraid of what would happen if I trusted him.
But one thing was certain.
May you like
After eight years of believing my father was dead…
I was finally going to meet him.
