Chapter 9 - THE RECKONING AT LAKE FORESTBack at the Lake Forest estate, the grand library was illuminated by a roaring fire in the massive stone hearth.
Clara Bennett stood by the mahogany desk, organizing the recovered financial ledgers Grant Mercer had left behind. Every document pointed to a vast, multi-million-dollar conspiracy designed to bleed the Vale empire dry while keeping its leader chemically imprisoned in his own body.
The heavy oak doors swung open.
Dominic walked into the room under his own power. He moved slowly, his gait deliberate and heavy, using a polished walnut cane for balance, but every step was entirely his own.
Behind him, two enforcers shoved a bruised and battered Dr. Kline into the center of the room, forcing him to his knees on the Persian rug where Clara had stumbled earlier that morning.
"You wanted to see me walk, Everett," Dominic said quietly, tossing his cane onto the leather sofa and walking over to stand directly in front of the kneeling doctor. "Well, here I am."
Kline stared up in horror, his hands trembling. "Grant... Grant said you would never recover. He promised if I kept the dosage steady, no one would ever know—"
"Grant is currently reflecting on his life choices in the lower vaults," Dominic interrupted coldly. "And you are going to sign a full, notarized confession detailing every chemical compound, every financial kickback, and every instruction given by my cousin."
Dominic leaned down, grabbing Kline by the chin and forcing him to look him in the eye. "If you sign it, I'll let you catch a flight to a country with no extradition treaty before sunrise. If you refuse... well, Lake Michigan is very deep this time of year, and you know as well as anyone how things disappear in this city."
Kline sobbed, grabbing the pen Clara thrust into his hand and frantically signing his name across the confession lines without reading another word.
When the papers were secured, Dominic motioned to his enforcers. "Get him out of my sight."
May you like
As the guards dragged Kline away, silence settled over the grand library once more. The crackle of the fire was the only sound breaking the quiet of the stormy night.
Dominic turned slowly, looking toward the desk where Clara stood watching him with an expression of quiet awe.
