Chapter 5 - THE SECRET MY MOTHER DIED TRYING TO HIDE
We reached the warehouse before dawn.
Dominic's men surrounded the building.
I remained in the SUV.
He turned before leaving.
“You stay here.”
“No.”
“Casey.”
“My mother is inside.”
“That is exactly why you're staying.”
I opened the door.
He caught my wrist.
His expression softened.
“If something happens to you, your mother loses the only person she has left.”
I looked at him.
“And if something happens to her?”
He released me.
“You're coming.”
Inside, the warehouse was almost empty.
A single chair stood beneath a hanging light.
My mother sat in it.
Alive.
Weak.
Older than I remembered.
But unmistakably my mother.
“Mom?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Casey.”
I ran to her.
She held me so tightly I could barely breathe.
“I thought you were sick.”
“I am.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked at Dominic.
Then away.
“Because I wanted you to have a normal life.”
I laughed through tears.
“Normal?”
“You deserved one.”
“You let me work two jobs while you knew someone was hunting us.”
“I didn't know they had found you.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Who is Jonathan Russo?”
My mother froze.
Then whispered—
“Not who you think.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Tell me.”
She looked at him.
“Your father had an identical twin.”
Dominic went completely still.
Jonathan.
The missing brother.
The man everyone believed never existed.
“He was the better man,” my mother continued.
“Then why did everyone hide him?”
“Because your father's empire belonged to him first.”
Dominic frowned.
“What?”
“Jonathan built the legitimate businesses.”
“Then what happened?”
“Your father wanted control.”
She looked at me.
“Your father forged contracts, manipulated debts, and used the criminal network to take everything.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“And my mother?”
“She knew.”
“Why did she help you?”
“Because she discovered what he had done.”
My mother looked down.
“She and I were translators for an international financial agreement. We found altered language that transferred ownership of entire companies.”
I understood immediately.
“The contract at the restaurant.”
“Yes.”
“The word wasn't a mistake.”
“No.”
“Someone has been doing this for decades.”
My mother nodded.
“They use translation errors to steal ownership.”
Dominic looked toward the warehouse door.
“And the Russo Meridian Holdings?”
“Part of it.”
I felt sick.
“My medical bills.”
My mother looked at me.
“I was afraid they were using your medical records to find you.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
She hesitated.
Then said—
“Victoria.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Victoria found me.”
Dominic looked shocked.
“She wasn't working against you,” my mother said.
“She was trying to protect you.”
Dominic shook his head.
“She lied to me.”
“She was terrified of your father.”
“He's dead.”
My mother looked at him.
“No.”
Dominic went silent.
“Your father didn't die.”
I felt the room change.
My mother continued.
“He disappeared.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Then who died?”
She looked at me.
“Jonathan.”
Dominic's face went white.
“The funeral…”
“Was for Jonathan.”
“So my father stole his brother's identity?”
“Yes.”
Dominic backed away.
For the first time, I saw something like grief on his face.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Grief.
“He let me believe my uncle was my father.”
My mother nodded.
“He wanted you to inherit everything.”
“But why?”
“Because he knew the law.”
I looked at the documents.
“He wanted Dominic to sign the contracts.”
“Yes.”
Dominic stared at me.
“And Casey?”
My mother looked at me.
“Casey was the one person he couldn't control.”
I didn't understand.
“Why me?”
“Because you inherited something from your father.”
I froze.
“My father?”
My mother nodded.
“The man you were told died before you were born was not your father.”
Silence.
“Then who was?”
My mother looked at Dominic.
“Jonathan.”
Dominic stared at me.
I stared back.
My entire life shifted.
My mother reached for my hand.
“You are Jonathan Russo's daughter.”
Dominic took a slow breath.
That meant—
I was connected to his family.
Not by marriage.
By blood.
But before either of us could speak, a door slammed upstairs.
Dominic raised his gun.
Marco shouted from outside.
“Movement!”
My mother grabbed my hand.
“Casey, listen to me.”
“What?”
“If they know who you are, they won't kill you.”
“Then what?”
“They'll make you sign.”
“Sign what?”
“The original agreement.”
Dominic looked toward the stairs.
“What agreement?”
My mother whispered—
“The one that proves the entire Russo empire belongs to Jonathan's heirs.”
Footsteps approached.
Then a man's voice echoed through the warehouse.
“Mary.”
My mother's face went white.
Dominic raised his gun.
The voice continued.
“Bring my daughter.”
I turned toward the stairs.
May you like
My mother whispered—
“That's him.”
