Chapter 6 - The Architect of Lies
Dominic yanked the hunting knife from the wall, tearing the photograph free.
He stared at the red ink, his knuckles turning white around the handle of the blade.
Nora stepped cautiously into the dimly lit cabin.
"Who lived here?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Silas Vance," Dominic replied grimly.
"He was my father's consigliere."
"He was supposed to be the architect of the Vale family's legitimate businesses."
Dominic tossed the photograph onto a dusty wooden table.
"Instead, he vanished the day after my father died."
"I tracked him here five years ago, but I let him live because he swore he knew nothing about Emily."
Nora walked over to the table and picked up the photograph.
She shuddered as she looked at the brutal burn mark on the pale skin.
"He lied," she stated.
"Silas didn't write this note," Dominic said, inspecting the dust on the floorboards.
"There are signs of a struggle."
"Someone took him."
He crouched down, examining a scuff mark near the fireplace.
"And they wanted me to find this."
Nora felt a rising sense of claustrophobia in the isolated cabin.
"Who would want to lure you here?"
Dominic stood up, his eyes scanning the tree line through the dirty windows.
"The same people who sent my sister's doppelgänger to the bank."
"The people who really own that ledger."
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the back of the cabin.
Dominic instantly shoved Nora to the floor, raising his weapon toward the hallway.
Silence stretched for ten agonizing seconds.
Then, a weak, raspy voice called out.
"Dominic?"
Dominic signaled Nora to stay down.
He moved silently down the narrow hallway, kicking open the door to a small bedroom.
Silas Vance was bound to a wooden chair, severely beaten.
He looked up at Dominic through swollen, bloodshot eyes.
"They knew you would come," Silas wheezed.
Dominic kept his gun raised, sweeping the corners of the room.
"Who took you, Silas?"
The old man coughed, a thin stream of blood running down his chin.
"The Syndicate," he whispered terrified.
"The Russian Syndicate."
Dominic lowered his weapon slightly, frowning.
"The Russians haven't operated in New York since my father pushed them out twenty years ago."
Silas let out a wet, rattling laugh.
"Your father never pushed them out, Dominic."
"He joined them."
Nora crept into the doorway, listening in horrified silence.
"That ledger," Silas continued, struggling to breathe.
"It doesn't just contain financial records."
"It contains the names of every politician, judge, and police commissioner the Syndicate owns."
"Your father was their primary launderer."
Dominic's face hardened into a mask of pure fury.
"You're lying."
"My father built this empire to protect our neighborhood."
"He was a monster," Silas countered fiercely.
"When the Syndicate demanded collateral to ensure his loyalty..."
Silas looked directly at Nora, his eyes wide with sorrow.
"He gave them his own daughter."
The words hit Dominic like a physical blow.
He staggered back, his gun hand dropping completely to his side.
"He gave Emily to the Russians?" Dominic choked out.
"Yes," Silas confirmed, tears finally spilling down his bruised face.
"They branded her."
"They wiped her memory."
"They turned her into a ghost."
Silas looked back at Nora, confusion suddenly crossing his features.
"But if she's the ghost..."
"Then who are you?"
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Before Silas could finish his thought, a massive explosion rocked the cabin.
The front wall blew inward in a shower of splintered wood and fire.
