Chapter 6
Margaret returned to her own apartment that evening.
Dominic asked her to stay.
She refused.
“You have guards.”
“I’m not worried about guards.”
“I know.”
She adjusted the strap of her handbag.
“You’re worried I won’t come back.”
Dominic said nothing.
Margaret softened slightly.
“I’ll come see Ava.”
“And me?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether you want your mother back or whether you want somebody who agrees with you.”
She left before he could answer.
Dominic spent that night listening to more recordings.
Most contained nothing useful.
Ava singing.
Housekeepers talking.
Television.
Dominic reading bedtime stories.
The ordinary parts were almost unbearable.
Someone had turned private family life into files.
At 2:14 a.m., Anthony found a folder of deleted fragments on the memory card.
The recorder had reused space automatically.
Some files were damaged.
Others could be partially recovered.
One contained Lucian speaking to an unidentified man.
The audio began mid-sentence.
“…Valeria is easy.”
A second voice responded.
“And Dominic?”
“He thinks loyalty means never asking how something gets done.”
Dominic leaned forward.
Lucian continued.
“Margaret is the only one who questions everything.”
“So get rid of her.”
“I’m working on it.”
The second man laughed.
“And the kid?”
Lucian’s answer came immediately.
“Leave Ava alone.”
Dominic paused.
That surprised him.
Anthony looked at him.
“Keep going?”
“Yes.”
The recording resumed.
Second man:
“You’re recording through her toy.”
Lucian:
“Because nobody searches a three-year-old.”
Second man:
“That isn’t leaving her alone.”
Lucian did not answer.
Then:
“She’s not the target.”
“Who is?”
A long pause.
Lucian said:
“Everybody Dominic trusts more than me.”
The file ended.
Dominic sat back.
There it was.
Not money.
Not yet.
Not marriage.
Trust.
Lucian had spent years becoming the man Dominic called when something went wrong.
What happened if fewer and fewer people remained whom Dominic trusted?
Margaret was difficult.
Valeria compromised.
Old associates unreliable.
Staff afraid.
Eventually Lucian would not need formal authority.
He would have something more useful.
Dependence.
Rebecca arrived early the next morning.
Dominic played the file.
She listened twice.
“Could be ego.”
“Could.”
“Could be business strategy.”
“Yes.”
“Could be both.”
Dominic nodded.
He needed evidence.
Not interpretation.
Rebecca had some.
Over the last eighteen months, four managers who had disagreed with Lucian had either resigned, been reassigned, or been removed after internal complaints.
Each complaint had appeared credible.
Late reports.
Confidentiality concerns.
Vendor errors.
Unprofessional conduct.
Dominic had approved all four removals.
Based on Lucian’s summaries.
“Reopen them,” Dominic said.
Rebecca looked uneasy.
“All four?”
“All.”
“What if the complaints were valid?”
“Then we confirm them.”
“And if they weren’t?”
May you like
Dominic looked toward the empty chair where Lucian usually sat.
“Then I learn how many people I let him remove because asking questions annoyed me.”
