Chapter 6 - CAPTAIN BUNNYSophie Bennett had always believed grown-ups knew what they were doing.
His five-year-old daughter.
A stuffed rabbit named Captain Bunny.
And himself.
Everyone else was under investigation.
Gabriel didn't complain when Dominic temporarily removed him from command.
Julian did.
“That's insane.”
Dominic poured coffee.
“You're welcome to leave.”
“And get shot by Sloane?”
“Your funeral worked once.”
Julian glared.
Sophie sat at the kitchen table eating pancakes made by a chef who had nervously asked whether chocolate chips were appropriate during an organized-crime crisis.
Sophie had said yes.
Dominic agreed.
The penthouse looked peaceful.
Outside, thirty armed guards occupied the building.
Every electronic entry system had been replaced.
Phones were collected.
No staff member moved without an escort.
Michael Rourke remained missing.
At seven-thirty, Dominic received a call from him.
He put it on speaker.
“Dominic.”
Michael sounded tired.
“You betrayed me.”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Julian stared at the phone.
Gabriel folded his arms.
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“For how long?”
“Longer than you're prepared to forgive.”
“Try me.”
“Twelve years.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
Twelve years.
Before Julian's fake death.
Before Anna.
Before Dominic took control.
“Why?”
Michael sighed.
“Your father.”
“What about him?”
“He was going to destroy everything.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“He wanted out.”
Dominic opened his eyes.
“My father wanted to legitimize the business.”
“He wanted to surrender.”
“No. He wanted to stop burying people.”
Michael's voice hardened.
“He was weak.”
Dominic's hand tightened around the counter.
Michael had delivered the eulogy at his father's funeral.
He had cried.
Dominic remembered believing those tears.
“How did he die?”
Silence.
Julian slowly stood.
Gabriel stared at the speaker.
Dominic repeated the question.
“How did my father die?”
“He had a heart attack.”
“Michael.”
Another pause.
Then:
“I helped it happen.”
Dominic couldn't breathe.
Sophie looked up from her pancakes.
He immediately turned the volume down.
“Gabriel.”
Gabriel took Sophie.
“Come on, kiddo.”
“But I didn't finish.”
“I'll bring them.”
Sophie allowed herself to be led away.
The moment the door closed, Dominic picked up the phone.
“You murdered my father.”
“He was going to hand everything to federal investigators.”
“So you poisoned him?”
“I protected what he built.”
“You protected yourself.”
“Maybe.”
“Why call?”
“Because Sloane is going to kill Anna whether you give him the ledger or not.”
Dominic's voice went cold.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I stopped working with Sloane yesterday.”
Julian laughed.
“How convenient.”
Michael ignored him.
“He crossed a line.”
Dominic stared at the phone.
“You helped murder my father, but kidnapping a woman offended your principles?”
“Sophie.”
Dominic went still.
“What about her?”
“Sloane ordered me to bring him the child.”
“And?”
“I refused.”
“Why?”
Michael's voice softened.
“Because I knew what she was before you did.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“Everybody knew except me.”
“No. Only Anna, Julian, and eventually me.”
“You expect that to help?”
“No.”
Michael breathed out.
“But I'm trying to save her now.”
“Then give me Sloane.”
“There are six possible sites.”
“Send them.”
“I already did.”
Dominic's secure laptop pinged.
A file arrived.
Six locations.
Warehouses.
A private home.
A marina.
Two abandoned industrial facilities.
And an old subway utility station beneath Lower Manhattan.
Michael continued.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Anna's video said there were two traitors.”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“Your second traitor isn't inside your organization.”
“Then where?”
“She meant someone personally close to you.”
“Name.”
Michael hesitated.
Then said it.
“Evelyn Shaw.”
The doctor.
Dominic's oldest family friend.
The woman currently upstairs with Sophie.
Dominic dropped the phone.
He ran.
Julian followed.
They reached the guest floor.
“Gabriel!”
No answer.
Dominic opened Sophie's room.
Empty.
The pancakes sat untouched on a tray.
The balcony door was open.
Rain blew into the room.
Dominic saw blood on the carpet.
Not much.
But fresh.
“Gabriel!”
A groan came from the bathroom.
Dominic kicked the door open.
Gabriel lay inside.
A syringe beside his hand.
Drugged.
Alive.
Dominic knelt.
“What happened?”
Gabriel struggled to focus.
“Shaw.”
“Where's Sophie?”
Gabriel's face twisted with guilt.
“She took her.”
Dominic stood.
The world seemed to narrow into a single point.
His daughter.
Gone.
Again.
Julian checked the security feeds.
“Garage camera.”
They watched Evelyn Shaw walk through a service corridor holding Sophie's hand.
Sophie wasn't struggling.
Why would she?
She trusted the doctor.
Dominic's rage became something quieter than anger.
More dangerous.
His phone rang.
Victor Sloane.
Dominic answered.
“You have ten seconds to let me hear my daughter.”
Sloane laughed.
“You sound like a father already.”
“Nine.”
A small voice came through.
“Dominic?”
He closed his eyes.
“Sophie.”
“Dr. Evelyn said we're going to see Mommy.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Listen to me. Don't be scared.”
“I'm not.”
His throat tightened.
“You remember what your mother says about being brave?”
“Yes.”
“Good girl.”
The phone shifted.
Sloane returned.
“Now we negotiate.”
“The ledger for Sophie and Anna.”
“The ledger for one of them.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“No.”
“You don't set the terms.”
“I do if you want the ledger.”
Silence.
Dominic continued.
“You touch either one and I'll release every file publicly.”
“You haven't decrypted everything.”
“I don't have to.”
Sloane was quiet.
That meant Dominic had found leverage.
“Both,” Dominic said. “Anna and Sophie.”
“Midnight.”
“New location.”
“You don't choose it.”
“I just did.”
Dominic looked at Julian.
“Vale Shipyard.”
Julian understood.
Their father had built hidden security systems there years ago.
Sloane laughed.
“You think I'll walk into your fortress?”
“You walked into my family.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“Now walk into mine.”
A long silence.
“Midnight,” Sloane said.
The call ended.
Julian turned.
“We can't give him the ledger.”
“We won't.”
“You said—”
“I said I'd bring it.”
Dominic opened the files.
He began copying them.
Julian watched.
“What are you doing?”
“Making insurance.”
He scheduled encrypted packages to be sent to five journalists, three prosecutors, and two federal agencies.
A dead-man switch.
If Dominic did not cancel the transmission by 12:30 a.m., the entire Sloane network would become public.
Julian stared.
“You're willing to expose our side too?”
“If that's what it takes.”
“Our businesses. Our people.”
“Our crimes?”
Julian said nothing.
Dominic looked at him.
“My daughter asked if I was a good person.”
He returned to the computer.
“I don't know if I can ever become one.”
He clicked SEND SCHEDULE.
“But I know what kind of father I'm going to be.”
Across the city, Sophie sat inside the back seat of a car beside Dr. Evelyn Shaw.
“Where's Mommy?”
“Soon.”
Sophie looked out the window.
Something felt wrong.
She remembered her mother's rule.
If adults change the plan without explaining why, pay attention.
“Can I call Dominic?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“He's busy.”
Sophie frowned.
Dr. Shaw's smile looked different now.
Not kind.
Forced.
Sophie quietly reached into Captain Bunny's torn ear.
Her mother had hidden something there months ago.
Not a secret file.
A tiny red emergency button.
“Only if you are really, really scared,” Mom had said.
Sophie pressed it.
Dr. Shaw didn't notice.
Thirty seconds later, Dominic's phone vibrated.
A location appeared on the screen.
Julian stared.
“What is that?”
Dominic smiled for the first time all morning.
“My daughter.”
May you like
He grabbed his jacket.
“She's showing us where they're going.”
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