Chapter 5 - The Ghost in the Machine
Gabriel kept his gun trained steadily on Luca's chest.
He demanded an explanation for why a dead man was driving his wife's getaway car.
Luca raised his hands slowly, his voice trembling with genuine panic.
He swore on his mother's grave that he had seen Dominic die in a warehouse fire.
He swore he had personally identified the dental records before the funeral.
Gabriel searched Luca's eyes for any sign of deception.
He saw only the raw, agonizing shock of a man seeing a ghost.
Gabriel lowered his weapon but kept it firmly gripped in his hand.
He ordered Luca to pull every file they had on Dominic's supposed death.
They left Bianca at the warehouse with two guards and sped back to the estate.
Gabriel locked himself in his study and booted up his secure computer network.
He hacked into the city's municipal archives to review Dominic's autopsy report.
The file had been digitally altered by an administrator account.
Gabriel tracked the IP address that had made the changes.
The address traced back to a private art studio in the downtown arts district.
It was the studio Gabriel had purchased for Norah two years ago.
Gabriel shattered his keyboard with a violent punch.
Norah had not just learned of Dominic's survival recently.
She had been the one hiding him for years.
Gabriel grabbed his coat and ordered a tactical team to the art studio.
They kicked down the door of the elegant, sunlit loft.
Canvases and expensive paints were scattered everywhere.
Gabriel tore through the room, smashing framed paintings and flipping tables.
He found a hidden wall safe concealed behind a large portrait.
He blew the lock off with a shotgun blast.
Inside the safe was a thick file folder containing medical records.
Gabriel opened the file and began to read the clinical notes.
Norah had not been carrying his children naturally.
The records proved the twins were implanted via in vitro fertilization.
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Gabriel turned to the final page to see the donor information.
The DNA used to create the embryos did not belong to him.
