Chapter 12: The Ghosts of the Past

I stared at the bloodstained note in my trembling hands.

“Your mother started this. Now you’ll pay the price.”

The words felt like a noose tightening around my throat.

My mother?

This wasn’t about my father’s corruption scandal. This went deeper—darker.

Dominic stood across from me, his expression unreadable, but his tense posture told me everything. He knew something.

I lifted my gaze. “Tell me.”

His jaw tightened. “Elena—”

I stood, despite the throbbing pain in my shoulder. “No more half-truths. No more secrets. If my mother was involved in this war, I deserve to know.”

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not that simple.”

Anger flared in my chest. “It never is with you, is it?”

His eyes darkened. “Because the truth will destroy everything you think you know.”

I stepped closer. “Try me.”

He hesitated for a long moment. Then—

“Your mother and my father were lovers.”

The words hit me like a slap.

I staggered back. “What?”

His gaze locked onto mine. “It wasn’t just some affair. They were planning to run away together.”

My stomach churned. “That’s not possible.”

Dominic’s expression was grim. “Your mother was married to your father, but she was in love with mine. They were going to leave everything behind—until something went wrong.”

I gripped the edge of the couch. “What happened?”

His silence was suffocating.

Then he spoke. “She died.”

The world tilted.

“No.” I shook my head. “She—she was in a car accident.”

Dominic’s lips pressed into a thin line. “That’s what they wanted you to believe.”

I couldn’t breathe.

I remembered the stories. My father never talked about my mother’s death. He buried himself in work, in politics, in power. I thought it was grief.

But now—

Dominic’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

“Elena, your mother was murdered.”

My knees buckled.

Dominic moved instantly, catching me before I collapsed.

Murdered.

The word echoed in my head, unraveling everything.

I swallowed hard. “Who?”

Dominic’s grip tightened on my arms. “We don’t know. But someone wanted her dead—and they covered it up.”

I clenched my fists. “And my father knew.”

Dominic’s silence was confirmation.

I pulled away, rage burning beneath my skin.

My entire life had been a lie.

The father I had defended, the man I had tried to protect, had buried my mother’s murder beneath wealth and power.

I turned to Dominic, my breath uneven. “You knew, didn’t you?”

His expression darkened. “Not at first. But when I started digging into our families’ pasts, I found the inconsistencies. The missing reports. The erased records.”

I swallowed hard. “And you never told me?”

His jaw tightened. “Because I needed proof.”

“Bullshit.” I shoved his chest. “You kept it from me because you wanted to use it against me.”

His fingers curled into fists. “You think this is a game to me?”

I met his gaze, fire clashing with ice. “Isn’t it?”

His nostrils flared. “You think I want this? You think I enjoy watching you break apart because of a past neither of us can control?”

I held my ground.

Then—his voice dropped, rough and raw. “I wanted to protect you, Elena.”

The sincerity in his voice cracked something inside me.

I looked away, my mind spinning.

My mother was murdered. My father knew. Someone out there wanted me to pay for it.

And I was tangled in a war that had started long before I was even born.

I forced myself to breathe. “We need to find out who did this.”

Dominic’s jaw ticked. “We will.”

I turned to him. “And we start with my father.”

****

The Sinclair Estate loomed like a fortress, its iron gates opening to reveal a sprawling mansion bathed in golden light.

My father was waiting.

The moment I stepped inside, he looked up from his desk, his expression carefully controlled.

“Elena.” His gaze flickered to Dominic. “And I see you’ve brought company.”

Dominic’s presence was an unspoken challenge, but I didn’t care.

I crossed my arms. “No games. Tell me the truth.”

My father sighed, setting down his whiskey glass. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

My hands trembled. “My mother. Her death. It wasn’t an accident, was it?”

Something flickered in his eyes—shock? No. Something colder.

“Elena—”

“Don’t lie to me,” I snapped. “Did you know she was murdered?”

His silence was deafening.

My pulse pounded. “You knew.”

He exhaled. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”

The words felt like a slap.

Dominic stiffened beside me. “Who did it?”

My father’s gaze flickered to him, then back to me. “That’s a dangerous question.”

I stepped closer, my voice shaking. “Tell me.”

His jaw clenched. “Elena, you don’t understand—”

I slammed my hand on the desk. “Tell me.”

His expression hardened. Then, finally—

“The Caldwell family wasn’t the only enemy we had.”

The room felt suffocating.

Dominic’s voice was sharp. “Who else was involved?”

My father hesitated. Then—

“The Council.”

A chill ran down my spine.

I had heard whispers of them. A secret society controlling the city from the shadows. Powerful. Ruthless. Untouchable.

And now, they had their sights on me.

Dominic cursed. “They’re coming for her.”

My father’s lips thinned. “They already have.”

A cold realization settled over me.

The note. The attack. Thea’s disappearance.

It all led back to one name.

The Council.

I turned to Dominic. “We need to stop them.”

His gaze burned with determination. “Then we start playing the game our way.”

****

As we stepped out of my father’s estate, the night air was thick with tension.

Dominic’s phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen—then froze.

“What?” I demanded.

His voice was tight. “It’s Thea.”

My breath hitched. “Where is she?”

He met my gaze.

And then—his words shattered everything.

“She’s been taken by the Council.”