Chapter 5 - The Man Who Called Himself Family

Marcus did not enter.

He waited outside.

That was deliberate.

Dominic opened the door.

Elena whispered:

“Don’t.”

He looked at her.

“I am done hiding behind doors.”

Then he stepped outside.

Marcus stood beneath the station lamp.

Thirty-eight.

Dark coat.

No visible weapon.

Same eyes.

Same father.

Different life.

Dominic stopped six feet away.

“You are my brother.”

“Half-brother.”

“You have had twenty years to introduce yourself.”

Marcus smiled.

“You had twenty years to inherit what should have been mine.”

Dominic stared.

“There it is.”

Marcus laughed.

“What?”

“The reason.”

“Money?”

“Control.”

Marcus tilted his head.

“Those are often the same thing.”

Elena stepped outside.

Marcus’s smile vanished.

“You came back.”

“Yes.”

“Bad choice.”

Dominic moved between them.

“You do not threaten her.”

Marcus looked almost amused.

“I am the reason she survived.”

Silence.

Elena stared.

“That is a lie.”

“No.”

Marcus looked at James.

“Tell them.”

James came outside slowly.

His face looked older.

“Marcus stopped the train.”

Dominic frowned.

“What?”

James continued.

“Twenty years ago, after Elena boarded alone, Marcus ordered the train held outside Albany.”

Elena went still.

Marcus nodded.

“Your father had men waiting farther north.”

Dominic stared.

“You saved her.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Marcus looked at Elena.

“Because I did not want my father killing Dominic’s mother.”

Dominic frowned.

“But you killed the federal contact.”

Marcus smiled.

“No.”

James whispered:

“His father did.”

Dominic stared.

“My father?”

“Yes.”

Another hero gone.

Or maybe there had never been one.

Marcus stepped closer.

“I was not your father’s boss at first.”

Elena looked at him.

“You became it.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To control him.”

Dominic laughed bitterly.

“You took over his criminal network to stop him?”

Marcus’s face hardened.

“To keep worse men from owning it.”

“That sounds familiar.”

Vincent came outside.

Marcus looked at him.

“Uncle.”

Vincent stared.

“You should have stayed gone.”

Marcus smiled.

“You said the same thing to Elena.”

Dominic looked between them.

“What did Vincent do?”

Marcus answered:

“He made a deal.”

Vincent’s jaw tightened.

Dominic turned.

“With who?”

“Me.”

Silence.

Vincent closed his eyes.

Marcus continued.

“After your father died, Vincent asked me to leave you alone.”

Dominic stared.

“My father died eight years ago.”

“Yes.”

“So you have been watching me for eight years.”

“Longer.”

“What did Vincent give you?”

Vincent answered:

“Access.”

Dominic looked at him.

“To what?”

“Shipping routes.

Warehouses.

Old accounts.”

Dominic stared.

“You kept my father’s network alive.”

“To keep Marcus from coming after you.”

Marcus laughed.

“He loves that sentence.”

Dominic looked disgusted.

Vincent continued.

“I gave him pieces.

Never the company.”

Marcus nodded.

“True.”

Dominic turned back to Marcus.

“What do you want now?”

“Your marriage canceled.”

Cassandra stepped into the doorway.

“Why?”

Marcus looked at her.

“Because when he marries you, the trust activates.”

“You lose control.”

“Yes.”

Dominic stared.

“So you came to my engagement dinner to stop a wedding.”

“No.”

Marcus smiled.

“I came to offer him a better one.”

Silence.

Dominic frowned.

“What?”

Marcus pulled an envelope from his coat.

Inside was a marriage certificate.

Blank.

Except for one name.

ISABEL MARA VALE.

Dominic stared.

“Who is that?”

Elena went pale.

Vincent cursed quietly.

Marcus smiled.

“Our cousin.”

Dominic looked at him.

“You want me to marry a stranger.”

“She is not a stranger to the trust.”

“What does that mean?”

Vincent whispered:

“The Vale trust has two branches.”

Marcus nodded.

“If Dominic marries a Reed, he gains control.”

He tapped the paper.

“If he marries Isabel, the branches merge.”

Dominic stared.

“And you?”

Marcus smiled.

“I become irrelevant.”

“That makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense.”

Marcus looked tired now.

For the first time.

“I want out.”

Silence.

Dominic studied him.

“You built this.”

“I inherited part.

Built part.

Destroyed part.”

“You expect me to believe you came here to free yourself?”

“No.”

Marcus looked at Elena.

“I came because someone else wants the trust.”

Dominic’s expression changed.

“Who?”

Marcus answered:

“Your father.”

Silence.

Dominic stared.

“My father is dead.”

Marcus looked at James.

James looked down.

Vincent said nothing.

Elena closed her eyes.

Dominic laughed once.

“No.”

Marcus continued.

“The coffin was empty.”

Dominic looked at Vincent.

“Is he alive?”

Vincent’s silence answered first.

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Then:

“Yes.”