Chapter 4 - THE LETTER MY MOTHER NEVER SENT
I read Arthur Vale's letter seven times.
Each reading made me angrier.
Not because of the threat against me and Ben.
Because I began imagining my mother receiving it.
Grace Carter was a single woman working overnight hospital shifts, trying to raise two children after our father abandoned us.
She had barely enough money for school lunches.
Yet somewhere in that exhausted life, she'd found the courage to protect a frightened boy from one of New York's most dangerous families.
And somebody threatened her children for it.
I called Dominic.
He answered on the second ring.
"Lily?"
"Who's Arthur Vale?"
Silence.
Then he said, "Where did you hear that name?"
I looked at the letter.
"He threatened my mother."
Dominic didn't speak.
"Dominic?"
"Are you home?"
"Yes."
"Is your brother there?"
"Yes."
His voice became controlled.
"Don't open the door to anyone you don't know. I'm contacting my attorney, and Marcus can help arrange a safe way to provide the letter to investigators."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Why?"
"Because Arthur Vale was my father's older brother."
I closed my eyes.
"The uncle who hurt you?"
"Yes."
I looked at the letter again.
"And he's alive?"
Another silence.
Then Dominic answered.
"I've never had proof that he died."
The following morning, Dominic arrived at Harbor Light Diner without his usual entourage.
Marcus waited outside.
Dominic sat in the booth nearest the window.
I approached with a coffee pot.
"Regular?"
He looked up.
"Black."
I poured it.
Then placed a folded copy of the letter on the table.
His expression darkened as he read.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Finally, he said, "I recognize the handwriting."
I sat opposite him during my break.
"What happened to your parents?"
He stared into his coffee.
"My mother died in what police called a home invasion. My father died in a car accident six months later."
"Both accidents?"
"The first wasn't described as an accident."
I waited.
Dominic continued.
"My uncle claimed rival criminals were responsible. He became my guardian and began taking control of the businesses."
"And your mother?"
He looked at the letter.
"Your mother told a social worker that I had witnessed something related to my parents' deaths."
My chest tightened.
"Did you?"
Dominic's expression changed.
"I remember voices. My uncle arguing with my father. My mother telling someone to leave the house."
He paused.
"After what happened to me, my memories became confused."
I looked at him.
"That doesn't mean they weren't important."
He nodded.
"Grace thought so too."
A customer approached the counter.
I stood.
"Break's over."
Dominic looked toward the letter.
"May I have this examined?"
"A copy. The original stays with me until it's properly documented."
For a moment, he looked surprised.
Then he smiled.
"You're cautious."
"I learned yesterday that your family has been threatening mine since before I was born."
His smile faded.
"Fair enough."
Two hours later, Dennis Crowley entered the diner.
I recognized him immediately.
The businessman whose confrontation had started everything.
His right cheek was bruised.
He walked stiffly.
When he saw me, he stopped.
"Lily Carter?"
My fingers tightened around the coffee pot.
"Yes?"
He glanced toward the windows.
Then approached.
"I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Dominic Vale."
I stepped backward.
"If you've come to start another fight—"
"No."
His voice cracked.
"I'm trying to stop one."
I stared.
Dennis looked toward Frank, who was watching from behind the counter.
Then lowered his voice.
"There's something you need to understand about the man whose face you touched."
I folded my arms.
"What?"
Dennis swallowed.
"He's being set up."
My stomach tightened.
"By whom?"
Dennis looked toward the street.
Then whispered:
"Someone who wants everyone to believe he's becoming unstable."
I remembered the gun.
Marcus's reaction.
The diner falling silent.
"Why?"
Dennis's eyes filled with fear.
"Because Dominic is about to discover that a man he buried twenty-six years ago never actually disappeared."
I stared.
"Arthur Vale?"
Dennis went pale.
Then grabbed my wrist.
"Don't say that name here."
I pulled away.
"Let go."
He immediately released me.
"Sorry."
He looked toward the entrance.
Then pushed a small business card into my hand.
"Meet me somewhere public tomorrow. Bring your own attorney if you can."
I looked at the card.
On the back was a storage-unit number.
Before I could ask another question, Dennis walked out.
Frank approached.
"What did he want?"
I stared after Dennis.
"I think he was afraid."
Frank looked toward the rain.
"Of Dominic?"
I shook my head.
"Maybe of somebody worse."
That evening, I told Ben everything.
He listened with an expression that grew more horrified by the minute.
Then he said, "Lily, you need an attorney."
"I know."
"And you need to stop meeting strangers connected to a criminal organization."
"I know."
He stared.
"You're going to keep asking questions anyway."
I sighed.
"Probably."
Ben rubbed his forehead.
"You're impossible."
I smiled faintly.
"Mom said that too."
Then my phone vibrated.
It was Dominic.
Dennis Crowley has disappeared. His family reported him missing an hour ago.
A second message followed.
Whatever he gave you, don't share it with my security people. Tell your attorney first.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
For the first time, Dominic was warning me not to trust everyone who worked for him.
And something told me the danger was much closer than either of us realized.
