Chapter 2 - No One Leaves the Mansion
Dominic turned his head slowly and looked at Marcus’s hand.
Marcus followed his gaze.
For the first time that night, genuine unease crossed his face.
The reaction vanished quickly.
“I cut myself opening a wine crate,” he said.
Dominic took Marcus’s wrist before he could lower it.
The silver ring carried an engraved wolf’s head, a gift Dominic’s father had given Marcus when the two young men were first admitted into the inner circle.
A dark stain filled the carved grooves.
It did not look fresh enough to have come from a recent cut.
And there was no injury on Marcus’s hand.
“Where is the wound?” Dominic asked.
Marcus smiled faintly.
“It closed.”
“That much blood does not come from a scratch that disappears.”
“Dom, Elena needs a doctor.”
“She does.”
Dominic released his wrist.
“Which is why no one is leaving this property.”
Marcus stared at him.
“You’re locking down the estate?”
“I am preserving a crime scene.”
“This is a family misunderstanding.”
Dominic looked toward Elena’s swollen face.
“Does she look misunderstood?”
He carried Elena toward the private medical suite beside the east library.
His late wife had installed it after Dominic was injured years earlier.
It contained hospital-grade equipment and was staffed by Dr. Lena Hart, a trauma physician who had treated members of the household without asking unnecessary questions.
Dominic no longer intended to reward silence.
Tonight, he wanted answers.
Dr. Hart ordered everyone out except Sophie and a nurse.
Sophie refused to release her mother’s hand.
Dominic knelt beside her.
“The doctor needs room to help your mommy.”
“I’m staying.”
“You can sit behind the glass.”
“What if she disappears again?”
The question struck harder than an accusation.
Dominic removed the watch from his wrist.
It was a heavy black timepiece worth more than many homes.
He placed it in Sophie’s palm.
“This is connected to every guard on the property. Press the side button and Aaron will come to you.”
“Even if Grandma is dead?”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“Especially then.”
She studied his face.
“Do you promise?”
“Yes.”
Sophie finally allowed the nurse to guide her into the observation room.
Dominic returned to the foyer.
Every employee had been gathered beneath the chandelier.
Aaron stood near the front doors with four guards.
“All exterior gates are closed,” Aaron reported. “Phones are restricted to internal calls. No vehicles leave without your authorization.”
Claire remained on the staircase.
Marcus stood near the fireplace.
The distance between them looked intentional.
Dominic addressed the staff.
“Elena Brooks was found imprisoned beneath this house.”
Several employees looked down.
A young kitchen maid began to cry.
Dominic noticed.
“Who knew she was missing?”
No one answered.
“You will not protect yourselves by protecting the person who did this.”
His house manager, Mrs. Lawson, stepped forward.
“Mr. Reed told us Elena had taken emergency leave.”
“Did anyone see her leave?”
“No.”
“Did anyone pack her belongings?”
“No.”
“Did anyone drive her to a station or airport?”
Silence.
Dominic looked toward Marcus.
“You informed the entire staff?”
“I prevented gossip.”
“You prevented a search.”
Marcus’s voice remained measured.
“I relied on information Claire gave me.”
Claire came down the final step.
“That is a lie.”
Marcus looked at her with quiet disappointment.
“You were the last person seen with Elena.”
“I took her downstairs because you asked me to.”
A murmur moved through the staff.
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“What did Marcus ask you to do?”
Claire looked at him.
“Three nights ago, he said Elena had discovered a bottle of wine Rebecca ordered before her death. He claimed you would want it served at the wedding rehearsal.”
Dominic felt the name of his late wife cut through the room.
“What bottle?”
“Château Margaux, 1990. He told me it was in the old cellar.”
“Did you enter with Elena?”
“No. Marcus was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He told me the cellar had water damage and asked me to return upstairs.”
Marcus gave a short laugh.
“Convenient.”
Claire turned on him.
“You told me Elena received a call after I left.”
“I told you what she told me.”
“She never came upstairs.”
“Maybe she used the service exit.”
“There is no service exit from that cellar.”
Marcus’s expression hardened.
Dominic studied Claire.
She was frightened, but fear alone did not prove innocence.
“Why didn’t you ask Elena’s daughter where her mother had gone?”
Claire’s eyes shifted toward Sophie behind the glass.
“I did.”
Sophie had been told Elena went to Milwaukee.
“She said Marcus had already explained it to her. He warned me not to upset the child.”
“You accepted that?”
Claire’s voice broke.
“I accepted too many things because everyone in this house acts as though questioning Marcus is the same as questioning you.”
Dominic looked at the employees.
Several avoided his eyes.
The statement was true.
For nearly twenty years, Marcus had spoken with Dominic’s authority.
If Dominic was absent, Marcus’s word became law.
Dominic had created the conditions that allowed the cellar door to remain closed.
Dr. Hart entered the foyer.
“Elena is severely dehydrated. She has bruising, a fractured wrist, and signs that she was sedated before being restrained.”
“What sedative?” Dominic asked.
“I need laboratory confirmation, but the injection mark and symptoms suggest ketamine or a related veterinary anesthetic.”
Aaron looked toward the west windows.
“The estate stables stock ketamine for emergency procedures.”
“Who has access?” Dominic asked.
“The veterinarian, stable manager, and senior security.”
Marcus folded his arms.
“Half the property could have obtained it.”
“Not half,” Aaron said. “Seven people.”
Dominic turned to him.
“Collect the access records.”
Marcus stepped away from the fireplace.
“You are treating me like a suspect because there is blood on a ring.”
“I am treating everyone as a suspect.”
“Including Claire?”
“Yes.”
Claire flinched.
Marcus almost smiled.
Dominic noticed that too.
Dr. Hart lowered her voice.
“Elena regained consciousness briefly.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked whether Sophie was safe. Then she repeated one sentence.”
“What sentence?”
“Do not let the silver wolf near my daughter.”
Every eye moved toward Marcus’s ring.
He slowly removed it and placed it on the mantel.
“If Elena believes I harmed her, she is confused.”
Dr. Hart’s expression became cold.
“Trauma may disrupt details. It does not create knowledge of a ring she could not see from inside a locked cellar.”
Marcus looked at Dominic.
“You know me.”
Dominic did.
That was what made the moment dangerous.
He knew Marcus had carried him from a restaurant after a rival ambush.
He knew Marcus had stood beside him at Rebecca’s funeral.
He knew Marcus had taught Dominic’s men that loyalty was worth more than fear.
But Dominic also knew betrayal never entered through a stranger.
It entered through a trusted door.
Aaron returned carrying a tablet.
“The stable records were altered.”
“By whom?”
“The user credentials belong to Elena Brooks.”
Claire shook her head.
“Elena has never entered the stable office.”
Marcus looked almost relieved.
“Perhaps she was involved in something we don’t understand.”
Aaron continued.
“The access time was three hours after Elena disappeared.”
Dominic’s gaze moved toward Marcus.
“Who knew Elena’s staff password?”
“Human resources,” Aaron said. “The house manager. Senior security. Mr. Reed.”
Marcus stared at Aaron.
“You are enjoying this.”
“No.”
Aaron’s voice was flat.
“I am ashamed I did not search the cellar when Sophie came to me yesterday.”
Dominic looked at him sharply.
“She spoke to you?”
Aaron’s face tightened.
“She told a junior guard first. The message was passed to Marcus because I was handling your Washington security.”
Marcus raised his hands.
“A child said she heard her mother in a wall.”
“She gave the exact location,” Dominic said.
“She was frightened.”
“You dismissed her because searching would expose the door.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“This is madness.”
Dominic did not move.
“Give Aaron your phones.”
“My phones contain sensitive information.”
“So does Elena’s blood.”
For several seconds, Marcus stood perfectly still.
Then he removed one phone from his pocket and handed it over.
Aaron waited.
“The other one,” Dominic said.
Marcus’s gaze sharpened.
“I carry one phone.”
Dominic reached into Marcus’s jacket and removed a small encrypted device from an inner pocket.
Claire inhaled sharply.
Marcus seized Dominic’s wrist.
The guards raised their weapons.
Dominic looked down at Marcus’s hand gripping him.
“Release me.”
Marcus did.
Dominic passed the phone to Aaron.
“Open it.”
“It is protected by biometric encryption.”
Dominic held the screen toward Marcus’s face.
The device unlocked.
The most recent message had been sent forty minutes before Dominic arrived.
D.V. RETURNING EARLY. CLEAN CELLAR. MOVE WOMAN BEFORE 11.
The sender was saved only as C.
Claire stepped forward.
“That isn’t me.”
Marcus looked at her.
“No one said it was.”
Dominic opened the reply.
TOO LATE. CHILD WON’T STOP ASKING.
A second incoming message appeared below it.
THEN MOVE THE CHILD TOO.
Sophie stood behind the observation glass, holding Dominic’s watch in both hands.
She could not hear the conversation.
But she could see every adult looking toward her.
Dominic lifted his eyes to Marcus.
“Who is C?”
Marcus said nothing.
Dominic took one step closer.
“Who ordered you to move Sophie?”
Marcus’s calm expression finally disappeared.
The medical-suite alarm sounded before he could answer.
Dr. Hart turned toward the glass.
Elena’s heart rate had suddenly spiked.
Sophie screamed.
A nurse ran from the room.
“Someone changed the medication pump!”
Dominic looked toward the hallway.
During the questioning, every employee had been in the foyer.
Everyone except the person who had entered Elena’s medical room through the hidden service passage.
Aaron rushed inside and disconnected the infusion.
Dr. Hart began emergency treatment.
Dominic turned back toward Marcus.
The silver wolf ring was no longer on the mantel.
May you like
Marcus was no longer standing by the fireplace.
And the west-corridor door was slowly swinging shut.
