Chapter 14 - what Vincent left behind
Dominic read the letter alone.
Everyone else waited downstairs.
Son,
If you are reading this, then I failed to fix what I created.
Dominic paused.
He had imagined his father’s voice countless times since his death.
Never apologizing.
Vincent Vance had not been a man who apologized.
The letter continued.
You will be tempted to blame Richard, Adrian, Daniel, Isabella, your mother or yourself.
Do not.
The beginning belongs to me.
I built a family that confused fear with loyalty.
I taught people that love could be measured by obedience.
I hid children.
I lied to your mother.
I forced Isabella to disappear.
I left you an empire before I taught you whether it was worth inheriting.
Dominic swallowed.
Outside the lighthouse windows, waves struck the rocks below.
The next paragraph hurt more.
You always wanted my approval.
I used that.
A father should not turn a son’s love into leverage.
Dominic stopped reading.
For years he had remembered Vincent as powerful.
Controlled.
Certain.
Now the dead man’s words exposed something smaller.
Fear.
Regret.
Recognition.
Dominic continued.
If Isabella is alive when you read this, listen to her.
She sees the exits you ignore.
If Sophia is alive, forgive her.
She carried secrets I was too cowardly to carry myself.
If Daniel has family, do not punish them for my sins.
They are Vances whether the name is used or not.
And if the ledger is still in your hands, burn the empire before you let the empire burn all of you.
Dominic read that sentence again.
Burn the empire.
At the bottom was one final line.
Power is what men like me leave our sons when we are too ashamed to leave them wisdom.
Dominic folded the letter.
Then he opened the door.
Everyone looked toward him.
Isabella stood first.
“What did he say?”
Dominic handed her the letter.
She read silently.
Halfway through she began crying.
Sophia sat beside her.
Elena remained near a medic while Paul was prepared for transport.
He had survived the gunshot.
The doctors believed he might live.
Vanessa had been placed in federal custody.
Marcus sat handcuffed near the entrance.
Catherine approached Dominic.
“We need to discuss the ledger.”
Dominic nodded.
“I know.”
“It implicates judges, elected officials, law enforcement officers, corporate executives and members of your organization.”
“Including me.”
Catherine did not lie.
“Yes.”
“What happens if I give it to you?”
“We investigate.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I cannot promise you immunity.”
Dominic almost smiled.
“Good.”
Catherine looked surprised.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Dominic looked toward Marcus.
“For twenty years I built my life around controlling what everyone knew.”
Marcus met his eyes.
Dominic continued.
“That ends tonight.”
Marcus shook his head.
“You hand that over and half our world collapses.”
Dominic said, “That might be the point.”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You think becoming honest at forty two makes you innocent?”
“No.”
The simple answer silenced him.
Dominic walked toward the table.
Placed the ledger before Catherine.
“This belongs to everyone who was hurt by what’s inside.”
Catherine looked at him.
“Once I take this, I cannot give it back.”
Dominic thought of his father.
His sister’s empty coffin.
Daniel’s hidden childhood.
Sophia’s secrets.
Caroline leaving.
Elena inheriting a war.
Emma throwing herself over an old woman because everyone more powerful had failed to protect her.
Dominic pushed the ledger forward.
“Take it.”
Catherine did.
Something ended in that moment.
Not the Vance family.
Something older.
A way of surviving.
Catherine’s agents began cataloging the documents.
Dominic went to Vanessa.
She sat inside a vehicle with her wrists restrained.
When she saw him, anger replaced fear.
“You’re giving them everything?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll destroy yourself.”
“Possibly.”
“My father will drag you down with him.”
“Possibly.”
Vanessa stared.
“Then why?”
Dominic looked at her for a long moment.
“Because you were standing over my mother with a weapon and still thought you were the strongest person in the room.”
Her face tightened.
“You were wrong.”
“About what?”
“Strength.”
Dominic stepped back.
Vanessa shouted after him.
“You loved me.”
Dominic stopped.
He did not turn around.
“No.”
Vanessa froze.
Dominic looked over his shoulder.
“I loved the person you performed.”
Then he walked away.
Marcus watched him approach.
“What happens to me?”
Dominic stood before the man who had once been his closest friend.
“You answer for what you did.”
Marcus laughed.
“That’s it?”
“What were you hoping for?”
“A threat.”
Dominic shook his head.
“I’m done giving men reasons to feel important.”
For the first time, Marcus looked genuinely defeated.
Emma appeared nearby.
She had a blanket around her shoulders.
Dominic walked toward her.
“You saved my mother.”
Emma shrugged.
“She needed help.”
“You recorded Vanessa.”
“Yes.”
“You triggered the alarm.”
“Yes.”
“You survived being kidnapped.”
“Barely.”
Dominic studied her.
“You’re terrible at being invisible.”
Emma smiled.
“You’re terrible at noticing people who want to be.”
He accepted that.
“Fair.”
Sophia called his name.
Dominic went to her.
His mother touched his face.
“You gave them the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“Your father would have been proud.”
Dominic looked toward Isabella reading the letter.
“No.”
Sophia frowned.
May you like
Dominic smiled faintly.
“I think he would have been relieved.”
