Chapter 12 - Sebastian at the Door
Sebastian Vale entered the townhouse smiling.
He was sixty-two, silver-haired, elegant, and calm in the way only dangerous men could afford to be.
"Dominic."
Dominic did not shake his hand.
"You brought child services to my home."
"I brought oversight. Your residence was attacked twice in twenty-four hours."
Sebastian's gaze shifted to Hannah.
"And you brought a stranger into your daughters' lives based on a restaurant incident and a questionable DNA test."
Hannah stepped forward. "You signed my sister out of a hospital twenty-six years ago."
One of Sebastian's attorneys inhaled sharply.
Sebastian did not blink.
"I signed hundreds of charity transfers when I was young. Your mother was indigent. There may have been administrative confusion."
"You stole a baby."
"Careful."
"Or what? You'll lock me in a clinic too?"
For the first time, Sebastian's smile disappeared.
Dominic saw it.
So did Hannah.
The child welfare investigator asked to see the girls.
Dominic allowed it, but only with Rosa present.
While they waited, Sebastian walked toward the window.
"You are emotional, nephew. That makes you sloppy."
Dominic's voice was flat. "Where is Sofia?"
"Dead."
"Then why did your foundation pay for Sarah Miller's care?"
Sebastian turned slowly.
"You broke into medical records?"
"No. Your men dropped them while shooting at me."
Silence.
Sebastian's attorney said, "We should leave."
"Not yet," Sebastian replied.
Hannah watched him carefully.
"What did Sofia find?"
He looked at her.
"Excuse me?"
"She was digging into her adoption before she disappeared. What did she find that scared you?"
Sebastian's face became almost gentle.
"Your sister was unstable after childbirth. Paranoid. She accused everyone of betrayal."
Dominic stepped between them.
"Do not rewrite her mind because she isn't here to defend herself."
Sebastian's eyes hardened.
"You want truth? Your wife planned to take the girls and leave you."
Dominic said nothing.
Sebastian continued.
"She met with a federal prosecutor. She was going to hand over records tied to your father's companies. She believed you would become him."
Hannah looked at Dominic.
His face had gone blank.
"Is that true?"
Dominic stared at Sebastian.
"I don't know."
"I do," Sebastian said. "I saw the draft statement."
He pulled a folded copy from his coat and placed it on the table.
Sofia's signature appeared at the bottom.
Hannah read one line.
If I disappear, Dominic cannot be trusted with the children until the full truth is known.
Dominic looked as if she had struck him.
Then Rosa screamed from upstairs.
They all turned.
May you like
A second later, the investigator came running down the staircase.
"One of the children is missing."
