Chapter 17 - Arthur's Last Bargain
Arthur sat cuffed to a steel table in the estate's small security interview room.
The elegance was gone.
His shirt collar was open. His silver hair had fallen across his forehead. A bruise darkened one cheek where Dominic had hit him.
Still, when Dominic entered, Arthur smiled.
"You look better without the brace."
Dominic sat across from him.
"Who planned the crash?"
"No hello?"
Dominic stood.
Arthur's smile thinned. "Sit down."
Dominic remained standing.
Arthur leaned back as far as the cuffs allowed.
"The idea came from Leonard."
"Leonard says it came from you."
"Leonard is a coward. Cowards rewrite history quickly."
"Try again."
Arthur watched him.
"Your father."
Dominic went still.
Arthur smiled wider.
"There it is."
Dominic's father, Michael Vale, had been dead for nine years.
"You want me angry enough to make a mistake."
"I want you curious enough to listen."
Arthur leaned forward.
"Your father built contingency plans for everything. Kidnapping. Arrest. Illness. Betrayal. He also built one for you."
Dominic said nothing.
"He believed you would eventually become too soft for the old business. Too legitimate. Too willing to close certain revenue streams."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"So he ordered my crash from the grave?"
Arthur chuckled. "No. But he left instructions allowing the senior council to force medical retirement if your judgment threatened the organization. I found the documents after his death."
"That is not the same as sabotage."
"No. That part was mine."
Arthur said it casually.
There it was.
The confession.
A detective behind the glass would have heard every word.
Arthur realized too late.
His eyes shifted toward the mirror.
Dominic smiled.
"You always did like complete records."
Arthur lunged across the table, chains snapping tight.
"You think this ends with me? Your council wanted you gone before the crash. Half your legitimate partners think you are a liability. Every enemy you've made now knows you were drugged in your own house."
Dominic leaned close.
"Then they'll know I survived it in my own house too."
Arthur's face twisted.
Dominic turned to leave.
"Wait."
He stopped.
Arthur's voice lowered.
"There is one more copy of the medical file. The forged one. It's scheduled to go to the press at six in the morning."
Dominic looked back.
"Where?"
"I don't know. Rusk arranged the release."
Dominic opened the door.
Vincent stood outside.
"Rusk is asking for an attorney," Vincent said.
"He can have one. First find every device he touched."
A technician hurried down the hall.
"Mr. Vale?"
"What?"
"We found a scheduled upload on a remote server."
Dominic checked the time.
May you like
5:41 a.m.
Nineteen minutes until the false story about his health went public.
