Chapter 2 - The Silent House
The grand library of the Vale estate smelled of old leather and wood smoke, but the atmosphere inside was freezing. Mia had been taken to the private medical wing in the eastern wing, Harper refusing to leave her side, clutching the lapel of Dominic's heavy wool coat like a security blanket.
Nathan sat in one of the high-backed leather chairs, his ankles crossed carelessly, though his fingers were tightly interlaced. Claire stood by the fireplace, her body trembling so violently that the ice in her crystal water glass rattled against the rim.
Dominic stood behind his heavy mahogany desk, his hands resting flat on the surface. He hadn't sat down since entering the room.
"Seventeen years, Nathan," Dominic said quietly, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the gray Hudson Valley fog. "We buried my wife together. We built the shipping terminals from nothing. I gave you twenty percent of the casino revenue in Atlantic City. It wasn't enough?"
Nathan let out a short, bitter laugh. "Twenty percent? You think this is about money, Dom? You’ve gotten soft. Ever since you brought that maid and her kid into this house three years ago, you’ve been looking for a way out. You’re turning legitimate. You’re selling off the docks. You’re leaving the rest of us behind to face the federal indictments while you retire to the countryside with a clean record."
"The restructuring protects everyone, Nathan. You know that."
"It protects you," Nathan snarled, leaning forward, his composure completely breaking. "Claire and I saw the writing on the wall six months ago. The new contracts you’ve been signing—the ones Mia has been filing in your private safe—they don't include my name on the executive board. You were going to cut me loose."
Claire looked up, her voice shrill. "We were just protecting ourselves, Dominic! Mia saw us. She was cleaning the study late at night and she found the offshore routing numbers Nathan was using. She was going to tell you! We had to stop her until the Atlantic City deal was finalized!"
Dominic’s eyes shifted to Claire. The woman he had promised to marry looked like a stranger. "So you locked her in a vault to starve?"
"We weren't going to let her die!" Claire cried, her tears entirely fake, driven by the realization of her own legal jeopardy. "Nathan said we would let her out once the papers were signed this morning! He said he’d give her enough money to disappear to Mexico with the girl!"
"Nathan lied to you, Claire," Dominic said softly. He reached into his drawer and pulled out a manila folder, tossing it onto the desk. "Just like he lied to me."
Nathan stared at the folder. "What is that?"
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"The Atlantic City deal didn't close because of a delay with the gaming commission, Nathan," Dominic said, his voice dropping into a register that made Claire drop her glass. It shattered against the hearth. "It delayed because I spent the last four days in a private suite at the Borgata, reviewing the digital ledger from the Newark terminal. Someone has been skimming five percent off the top for three years. The signature authorizations were routed through an IP address registered to a townhouse in Hoboken."
Dominic looked directly into Nathan’s eyes. "A townhouse you bought for Claire eight months ago."
