Chapter 3 - The Voice from the Grave
Dominic crushed the plastic phone case in his grip, his knuckles turning white.
"Who is this?" Dominic growled into the receiver.
"Is that any way to speak to the boy you gave a St. Christopher medal to?" the voice replied.
The speaker coughed, a wet and painful sound that echoed through the speaker.
"Julian is dead," Dominic stated, refusing to let hope override his logic.
"I saw the car burn, and I buried the ashes myself."
"You buried a Moretti soldier wearing my watch," the voice whispered weakly.
Dominic’s breath caught in his throat as he looked at the baby in his arms.
Grace had stopped crying and was staring at the blinking red light on the phone.
"If you are really my brother, why didn't you come home?" Dominic demanded.
"Because if they knew I was alive, they would have hunted Hannah down," Julian replied.
Hannah gasped aloud, recognizing the voice of the man she loved.
She lunged toward the phone, but Dominic held out a hand to stop her.
"The Morettis found out about the baby today, Dom," Julian continued rapidly.
"They know she is inside your mansion right now."
"How could they possibly know that?" Dominic asked, scanning the room for hidden bugs.
"Because someone on your payroll told them," Julian revealed.
The line went completely dead.
Dominic stared at the disconnected phone, the terrifying truth sinking in.
His fortress was compromised from the inside.
He looked at Hannah, whose face was pale with shock and fresh tears.
"He is alive," Hannah whispered, her knees buckling in relief.
Dominic caught her arm, pulling her upright.
"He is alive, but he is in grave danger," Dominic said grimly.
He holstered his weapon and carried Grace toward the heavy oak door.
"We are moving to the subterranean panic room," he instructed the maid.
They rushed through the expansive corridors, avoiding the main halls entirely.
Dominic did not trust any of the guards rushing past them with assault rifles.
Any one of these men could be the traitor who sold out his niece.
They reached the basement level and stood before a massive steel door disguised as a wine rack.
Dominic pressed his hand to the biometric scanner.
The heavy steel vault hissed open, revealing a fully stocked survival bunker.
He ushered Hannah and Grace inside, turning to pull the door shut behind them.
Before the vault could seal, a bloody hand reached out and grabbed the metal frame.
Vincent Rizzo stumbled into the doorway, clutching a severe bullet wound in his stomach.
"Boss, it's a trap," Vincent coughed, spitting blood onto the concrete floor.
"They aren't trying to break into the mansion."
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Vincent collapsed onto the floor, revealing a blinking explosive charge attached to his back.
"They are trying to bury you under it."
