Chapter 3 - THE WATCH THAT MADE HIM A TRAITOR
“You think I helped kidnap you?”
Dominic stared at his younger brother, the cracked silver watch resting between them.
Michael did not look away.
“I think someone wanted me to believe you did.”
“There's a difference.”
“I know. That's why I'm standing here instead of walking away.”
Caroline stepped forward.
“Matthew—”
“My name is Michael,” he interrupted.
She fell silent.
It was the first time Dominic had heard his brother claim the Moretti name.
For a moment, hope rose in his chest.
Then Michael opened the leather envelope again.
“Raymond came to Briarwood when I was ten,” he said. “He told me my father had died and my brother didn't want me back.”
Dominic felt sick.
“Our father was alive then.”
“I found that out later.”
“Why didn't you come home?”
“Because Caroline told me the people I remembered were dangerous. Then Raymond showed me that watch.”
Michael touched the cracked glass.
“He said you gave it to the men who took me. That it was proof you agreed to the arrangement.”
Dominic remembered the morning clearly.
He'd left the watch on his bedroom dresser while helping Michael repair his wooden airplane.
When he returned, the dresser drawer was open.
His watch was missing.
Their father's driver, Samuel, had been standing in the hallway.
Dominic looked toward Caroline.
“Who gave Raymond that watch?”
“I don't know.”
“You've had thirty years to find out.”
“And I've spent them trying not to get Michael killed.”
Michael's expression changed.
“Don't use me to excuse everything anymore.”
Caroline looked wounded.
“I raised you.”
“Yes,” Michael said. “You taught me to read, held me through nightmares, and stayed when I was sick. I love you.”
Her eyes filled.
“But you also lied to me every day.”
The words settled heavily between them.
Claire moved toward the window, giving the family a little space.
Then she noticed something through the glass.
Across the narrow courtyard, a man in a dark suit stood on the balcony of the adjacent wing.
He appeared to be looking directly at them.
She recognized him from the gala.
Raymond Vale.
“Mr. Moretti,” she said quietly.
Dominic followed her gaze.
Raymond lifted his champagne glass in a casual greeting.
Then he turned and disappeared inside.
Dominic reached for his phone.
Michael stopped him.
“If you send men after Raymond, he wins.”
“He knows you're here.”
“He's known for weeks.”
“How?”
Michael hesitated.
“Vanessa.”
Dominic's face tightened.
Michael continued.
“When I started looking into my childhood, Vanessa offered to help. She said she could get close to Raymond through you.”
“She became engaged to me.”
“I didn't know she would go that far.”
Dominic laughed without humor.
“You didn't know your wife would become my fiancée?”
“We were already separated. She moved out eight months ago.”
“But you were still married.”
“Yes.”
Michael looked ashamed.
“She told me you wouldn't trust her unless you believed she had a personal stake in the family.”
Dominic shook his head.
“You both used me.”
“I didn't ask her to marry you.”
“But you knew.”
“I found out three weeks ago.”
“And you said nothing?”
Michael's jaw worked.
“Because I thought you were the man who left me at Briarwood.”
The honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
Claire looked between the brothers.
“What was Vanessa trying to get from Raymond?”
Michael reached into his pocket.
“A record of the payments he made to Briarwood.”
He unfolded a faded receipt.
Several monthly payments had been made through a small charitable organization called the Vale Children's Trust.
Each payment carried the same authorization.
A.M.
Dominic recognized his father's initials.
Michael watched him carefully.
“That's why I believed Raymond.”
Claire examined the receipt.
“There's no bank account number.”
“It was a private trust,” Michael said.
“Then why was the payment recorded as tuition?”
Michael looked surprised.
“Briarwood wasn't a school,” Claire continued. “It was a residential home. The wording matters.”
Dominic glanced at her.
“My mother used to do bookkeeping,” Claire explained. “When someone calls a payment tuition, it often means they're trying to make it look like ordinary educational spending.”
Michael took the receipt back.
“So who was paying?”
“We don't know,” Claire said. “Not yet.”
Dominic returned to the ballroom with Michael and Caroline under the protection of two trusted guards.
The gala was winding down.
Guests stood in small groups, whispering about Vanessa's sudden illness and the waitress accused of poisoning her.
Raymond Vale waited beside the grand staircase.
His silver hair was perfectly arranged.
“Dominic,” he said warmly. “I heard there was a problem.”
Dominic stepped aside.
Michael moved into view.
For the first time that evening, Raymond's smile disappeared.
Only for a second.
Then he looked at Michael with theatrical disbelief.
“Antonio's boy?”
Michael studied him.
“Hello, Raymond.”
“My goodness.”
Raymond opened his arms.
Michael remained still.
Raymond slowly lowered them.
“I can hardly believe this.”
“Neither can I,” Michael replied.
Dominic watched Raymond closely.
“You recognize him.”
“Of course. He looks like his father.”
“Then why did you tell him his father was dead when he was ten?”
Raymond's face changed.
“Who told you that?”
“I did,” Michael answered.
Raymond glanced toward Caroline.
“You should never have brought him here.”
“Why?” Dominic asked.
“Because you don't understand the danger.”
“Then explain it.”
Raymond leaned closer.
“Your father made enemies who never forgot what he did. Bringing Michael back into public view puts him at risk.”
Dominic felt a terrible familiarity.
The same warning.
The same vague enemies.
The same convenient fear.
He stepped back.
“We'll discuss this tomorrow.”
Raymond seemed relieved.
“That's sensible.”
“But tonight, you're suspended from all foundation authority until the accounts are reviewed.”
The relief vanished.
“Dominic, don't be ridiculous.”
“I've spent thirty years listening to people explain why my brother couldn't come home. I'm finished listening.”
Raymond looked toward Michael.
“Careful. Your brother has no idea how much of this involved him.”
Before Dominic could answer, Raymond walked away.
Claire noticed the elderly man's hand trembling as he reached for his coat.
It wasn't the reaction of someone entirely in control.
Near midnight, Dominic finally reached Vanessa's private suite.
She sat on the edge of the bed wearing a white robe.
Her nude lipstick was gone.
Without makeup, she looked exhausted.
Dominic closed the door.
“Tell me about the champagne.”
Vanessa stared at her hands.
“I needed a public distraction.”
“You accused an innocent woman of drugging you.”
“I didn't expect it to go that far.”
“You demanded her arrest.”
“I panicked.”
Dominic waited.
Vanessa began crying.
“I saw Caroline at the gala. She wasn't supposed to come. Raymond had recognized her earlier, and I thought he'd have her removed.”
“So you switched glasses?”
“Caroline had written a note on a cocktail napkin. She put it under her glass. I changed glasses because I wanted the note.”
“And then?”
“I realized Raymond was watching. I pretended to be sick so everyone would focus on me while Caroline escaped.”
“By destroying Claire's reputation?”
Vanessa lowered her head.
“Yes.”
Dominic looked at her for a long moment.
“You could have told the truth.”
“Raymond told me if Michael went public, he'd lose the only evidence proving what happened to him.”
“Why would you trust Raymond?”
“Because he promised to help me find my husband.”
Dominic stopped.
“Find him?”
Vanessa looked up.
“Michael disappeared from our apartment six months ago. I thought Raymond had taken him.”
Dominic frowned.
“Michael says he left because you were investigating.”
“He's protecting me.”
“From what?”
Vanessa reached beneath her pillow and removed a folded hospital wristband.
The plastic had yellowed with age.
Printed across it was a name Dominic had never seen.
THOMAS BENNETT — MARCH 14, 1998.
Claire's last name.
Dominic felt the room grow cold.
“Where did you get this?”
“Caroline kept it with Michael's baby records.”
“Who was Thomas Bennett?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“The baby your father was supposed to give away.”
Dominic stared at the wristband.
May you like
Then Vanessa whispered the words that changed everything.
“Dominic, Michael wasn't the only child born at that hospital that day.”
