Chapter 6 - THE THIRD CRIB
The basement was not a basement.
It was a tunnel.
Dominic knew that immediately.
The walls were reinforced with concrete.
Old electrical wires ran along the ceiling.
There were steel doors every twenty feet.
Adrian hurried ahead with a flashlight.
Evelyn followed, carrying Noah while Eli held her hand.
Dominic moved behind them.
His wheelchair bounced over the uneven floor.
He hated the delay.
He hated being last.
He hated the thought that if something happened, he might not reach them quickly enough.
A gunshot echoed above.
Evelyn flinched.
“Keep moving,” Dominic said.
“Where does this go?”
“An old service road.”
“How do you know?”
Adrian glanced back.
“Your father built it.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Of course he did.”
They reached a steel door.
Adrian entered a code.
The door opened.
Beyond it was a small underground room.
There was a table.
Two chairs.
A radio.
And a wall covered in photographs.
Dominic stopped.
The photographs showed children.
Some were babies.
Some were toddlers.
Some were older.
Every photograph had a name beneath it.
Evelyn walked closer.
Then froze.
Dominic followed her gaze.
There was a photograph of three newborn babies.
The same photograph Adrian had shown them.
Beneath it were three names.
BABY A — ELIAS VALE
BABY B — NOAH VALE
BABY C — UNKNOWN
Evelyn stared at the words.
“Why is the third name unknown?”
Adrian looked down.
“Because your father never registered him.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“My father stole a child and didn't even give him a name?”
“He had a name.”
“What?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Your father called him Silver.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Silver?”
“Because of the eyes.”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“That isn't a name.”
“No.”
Adrian's voice was bitter.
“It was a designation.”
Dominic looked at the photographs.
“Where is he?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Dominic moved closer.
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic's eyes became cold.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it's true.”
“You worked for my father.”
“Yes.”
“You helped him steal a child.”
Adrian lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“Then you know where he is.”
“I knew where he was.”
Dominic stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian looked at the twins.
Then at Evelyn.
“The baby was taken from the hospital.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
“And then?”
“He gave him to another family.”
“Which family?”
Adrian's face tightened.
“The Cross family.”
Dominic stared.
“Your family?”
Adrian nodded.
“My brother.”
“Your brother raised my son?”
“I believe so.”
“Where is he?”
Adrian looked toward the floor.
“My brother is dead.”
The silence was immediate.
Dominic's voice became dangerously quiet.
“Then where is the child?”
Adrian swallowed.
“I don't know.”
Dominic's hand tightened around the wheelchair.
Evelyn stepped between them.
“Dominic.”
He looked at her.
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
She looked at Adrian.
“He may have been afraid.”
Dominic laughed once.
“Afraid?”
“Everyone was afraid of your father.”
“My father is dead.”
“His influence isn't.”
Dominic looked away.
Evelyn's voice softened.
“We need answers.”
Dominic looked at her.
For three years, he had imagined her as someone who had abandoned him.
Now she was standing beside him, trying to find their missing child.
The irony was almost unbearable.
Adrian walked toward the wall.
He pulled down a photograph.
It showed a young woman holding a toddler.
Dominic stared at the child.
The photograph was old.
The boy looked about two years old.
Dark hair.
Pale skin.
Silver-gray eyes.
Evelyn stepped closer.
Her breath stopped.
“That is him.”
Dominic looked at her.
“How do you know?”
She pointed.
“The mark.”
The child had a small crescent-shaped birthmark beneath his left eye.
The same mark as Eli.
Dominic stared at the photograph.
“Who is the woman?”
Adrian hesitated.
“My sister-in-law.”
“What is her name?”
“Clara Cross.”
“Where is she?”
Adrian's eyes lowered.
“She disappeared.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Everyone disappears in your family?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Clara was murdered.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“By whom?”
Adrian's voice was barely audible.
“Caleb Voss.”
Dominic's eyes hardened.
“Why?”
“Because Clara tried to leave.”
“Leave where?”
“With the child.”
Dominic looked at the photograph again.
The boy was smiling.
He was holding a small wooden train.
Dominic felt something inside his chest crack.
That was his son.
He knew it.
He didn't need a DNA test.
He didn't need a file.
He didn't need his father's bloodline charts.
The boy was his.
But the question remained.
Where was he?
Adrian opened another drawer.
He pulled out a letter.
“This was written by Clara.”
Dominic took it.
The paper was old.
The handwriting was shaky.
He read.
If anyone ever finds this, know that the boy is alive. His name is Lucas. I took him because Victor Vale wanted to use him. I tried to protect him. But they found me. I had to hide him with someone I trusted. If I don't come back, find the woman named Sarah Bell. She knows where he is.
Dominic stared at the name.
“Sarah Bell.”
Adrian nodded.
“She was Clara's friend.”
“Where is she?”
“She lives in a small town near Portland.”
Dominic looked at Marcus.
“Get us there.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Sir, we can't leave yet.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
Marcus pointed toward the ceiling.
“Someone is coming through the tunnel.”
Everyone froze.
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Heavy.
Approaching.
Adrian's face went white.
“That's impossible.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Why?”
“This tunnel has only one entrance.”
Dominic stared toward the dark passage.
“Then someone came through the entrance.”
A voice echoed.
“Dominic.”
Caleb.
Evelyn pulled the boys behind her.
Dominic moved his chair forward.
Caleb appeared at the end of the corridor.
He was holding a gun.
Behind him stood four men.
Dominic looked at him.
“You always did know how to make an entrance.”
Caleb smiled.
“You have something I want.”
Dominic glanced toward the boys.
“You mean them.”
“I mean one of them.”
Dominic's expression changed.
“Which one?”
Caleb looked at Eli.
Then Noah.
His smile disappeared.
“I don't know.”
Dominic laughed.
“You came all this way and don't know?”
“That's why I need them alive.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“You're not taking my children.”
Caleb looked at her.
“You still don't understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Victor wasn't trying to protect his empire.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Then what was he doing?”
Caleb's gaze moved to the files.
“He was trying to create an heir.”
Dominic said nothing.
Caleb continued.
“Your father believed the child with the right genetic combination would be able to survive a condition that had killed everyone else in your bloodline.”
Dominic felt his stomach tighten.
“What condition?”
Caleb smiled.
“The disease your father had.”
Dominic froze.
His father had died of heart failure.
That was what everyone had been told.
Caleb continued.
“Victor knew he was dying. He believed one of his grandchildren could carry a genetic resistance.”
Evelyn stared.
“That is why he took the baby?”
“Yes.”
Dominic's voice became cold.
“He experimented on him?”
Caleb didn't answer.
Dominic's expression changed.
“Did he?”
Caleb smiled.
“Ask Adrian.”
Everyone turned.
Adrian was crying.
Dominic looked at him.
“Tell me.”
Adrian lowered his head.
“Your father conducted tests.”
“What kind?”
“Blood tests.”
“Only blood tests?”
Adrian said nothing.
Dominic's voice became terrifying.
“What kind?”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Genetic testing.”
Dominic stared at him.
“On a baby?”
“Yes.”
The silence was broken by a small voice.
Eli had stepped out from behind Evelyn.
He looked at Caleb.
Then at Dominic.
“Daddy?”
Dominic turned.
Eli pointed toward the photograph.
“Is that me?”
Dominic stared at the picture.
The child in it looked exactly like Eli.
But Noah had the same eyes.
The same birthmark.
The same face.
Dominic felt the impossible truth closing around him.
Caleb raised his weapon.
“Bring me the children.”
Dominic moved forward.
“No.”
Caleb laughed.
“You're in a wheelchair.”
Dominic looked at him.
“And you're still stupid.”
Marcus fired.
The tunnel exploded into gunfire.
Dominic grabbed Eli.
Evelyn grabbed Noah.
Adrian pulled open a hidden door.
“Run!”
They disappeared through the opening.
Behind them, Caleb shouted.
“Dominic!”
Dominic didn't look back.
But he heard Caleb's final words.
“Your father didn't hide the third child from you!”
Dominic froze for half a second.
Caleb continued.
“He hid the child from the world because the boy was already dying!”
Evelyn grabbed Dominic's chair.
“Keep moving!”
Dominic looked toward her.
“What did he mean?”
“I don't know!”
Behind them, the gunfire grew louder.
May you like
And for the first time, Dominic wondered if finding his missing son would mean saving him—
Or discovering that he had already lost him.
