Julian Vale arrived at 7:12 the next morning.
He walked into the mansion demanding answers.
“What the hell happened?”
Dominic watched from the library.
His younger brother looked exactly as he always did: expensive coat, perfect haircut, controlled confidence.
Julian was thirty-seven.
Six years younger.
Their father had treated Dominic like an heir and Julian like a spare.
Dominic had spent years trying to compensate for that cruelty.
He gave Julian businesses.
Authority.
Money.
Respect.
Maybe he had given him too much.
Julian entered the library.
Vincent closed the door.
“What’s going on?”
Dominic gestured toward a chair.
Julian didn’t sit.
“Arthur’s being held downstairs. Half the staff says there was a fire. Peter disappeared. What happened?”
“My brace was tampered with.”
Julian’s reaction looked genuine.
“What?”
“Repeatedly.”
“By who?”
“Arthur. Peter.”
Julian stared.
“Why?”
“To weaken me before the council vote.”
Julian swore.
Then Dominic said, “They also caused my crash.”
Julian stopped.
That reaction was different.
Too still.
Dominic noticed.
“Surprised?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t look surprised.”
“What am I supposed to look like?”
Dominic stood.
“Who changed my schedule that night?”
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“You called me.”
“I call you every day.”
“You told me to meet you at the warehouse.”
Julian stared at him.
Dominic remembered the evening clearly now.
Julian had called at 10:06.
Emergency.
Shipping problem.
Meet me at the river warehouse.
Dominic changed routes.
Twenty minutes later, another vehicle forced his car into a concrete barrier.
Julian never arrived at the warehouse.
At the hospital, he claimed the problem had resolved before Dominic got there.
Dominic had forgotten that detail beneath pain, surgery, medication, and weeks of recovery.
Now it screamed at him.
“You sent me there.”
Julian shook his head.
“Dominic, stop.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t know anyone would attack you.”
That wasn’t a denial.
Vincent heard it too.
Dominic’s voice became almost a whisper.
“Anyone?”
Julian closed his eyes.
He had made the mistake.
Dominic stepped forward.
“What did you know?”
“Nothing.”
“You just said you didn’t know anyone would attack me.”
“I misspoke.”
“No.”
Dominic stared at his brother.
“You confessed.”
Julian sat.
For the first time, he looked tired.
“I wanted you out of the council meeting.”
“Why?”
“Arthur said he needed time.”
“For what?”
“To reorganize votes.”
Dominic laughed without humor.
“So you created a fake emergency.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know about the crash?”
“No.”
“Brace?”
“No.”
“Peter?”
“I knew Arthur paid him for information.”
Vincent cursed.
Dominic felt something worse than anger.
Disappointment.
“You knew someone inside my house was selling information and said nothing.”
“I thought it was business.”
“This is my home.”
Julian looked up.
“You made business and home the same thing years ago.”
The words landed.
Dominic couldn’t entirely deny them.
Julian stood.
“Arthur came to me six months ago. He said you controlled everything. Every company. Every vote. Every decision.”
Comments (0)