Chapter 6 - THE BEATING NATHAN TOOK FOR HIMRiley listened to story without interrupting.
Dominic did not embellish.
If anything, he removed the worst parts.
She knew.
Her father had been like that.
Nathan never told painful stories to earn admiration.
He turned them into jokes.
Riley remembered once asking about long pale scar across his ribs.
“Shark.”
“You’ve never been surfing.”
“Very observant.”
“What happened?”
“Lost argument.”
“With who?”
“Gravity.”
That was Nathan.
Dominic finished quietly.
“He would be angry I told you.”
Riley looked down.
“No.”
“He’d be embarrassed.”
“That too.”
She smiled slightly.
Then:
“Why did he leave you?”
Dominic frowned.
“What?”
“You said you thought he walked away.”
“He stopped taking calls.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Riley looked at him.
“Maybe because of what you became.”
The room went still.
Grant, near door, looked away.
Dominic nodded.
“Maybe.”
Riley had expected defense.
Instead:
“Your father didn’t like some parts of my life.”
“Did he say that?”
“Frequently.”
“What parts?”
Dominic smiled without humor.
“The parts that made people call me a crime boss.”
Riley stared.
“So it’s true?”
Dominic answered carefully.
“I have done things I’m not proud of.”
“Helpful.”
“I also own legal businesses and have spent years trying to move more of my life toward those.”
“Also helpful.”
“You sound like Nathan.”
“That seems to bother you.”
“It does.”
For first time tension eased.
Then Grant entered with folder.
Dominic saw his face.
“What?”
“I found Nathan’s last employment.”
Riley sat straighter.
“He was consulting for a risk-audit firm called Ardent Strategic.”
Dominic knew name.
“They reviewed private security and financial exposure for companies.”
Grant nodded.
“One client was Vance Consolidated.”
Dominic froze.
“My company?”
“Indirectly.”
“A subsidiary.”
“When?”
“Year before Nathan died.”
Dominic felt anger rising.
“Why didn’t I know?”
“Vincent managed contract.”
There again.
Vincent Kade.
Riley looked between them.
“Who’s Vincent?”
Dominic answered:
“A man I trusted.”
“Past tense?”
“Starting to be.”
Grant continued:
“Nathan’s assignment was internal integrity review.”
“He flagged irregular contracts.”
“Then file ends.”
“What irregularities?”
“Documents missing.”
Dominic:
“Who removed them?”
“Unknown.”
Riley asked:
“What does that have to do with my dad dying?”
Grant sat across.
“We don't know yet.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Again.”
Dominic stopped him from responding.
Riley deserved frustration.
Grant said:
“We found something else.”
“Nathan contacted federal investigator six weeks before death.”
Riley’s eyes widened.
“Police?”
“Federal.”
“About what?”
“Sealed.”
Dominic looked.
“Can we get it?”
“Legally?”
Dominic stared.
Grant corrected:
“I’ll have attorney request.”
Riley noticed exchange.
“You were about to break law.”
Grant:
“No.”
Dominic:
“Yes.”
Grant glared.
Riley almost laughed.
Then phone buzzed.
Grant checked.
His expression sharpened.
“Vincent wants meeting.”
Dominic leaned back.
“Why?”
“He says he heard Nathan Dawson’s name came up.”
Silence.
Riley looked at Dominic.
“How?”
Exactly.
Only a handful of people knew Riley was here.
Dominic’s internal security had been tight.
Grant said:
“I didn’t tell him.”
Dominic:
“Neither did I.”
Riley whispered:
“He knows.”
Dominic stood.
Grant:
“What do you want to do?”
Dominic's first instinct was simple.
Bring Vincent.
Lock door.
Demand truth.
Nathan’s voice echoed instead.
Make it worth saving.
Dominic looked at Riley.
“No confrontation yet.”
Grant nodded.
“Watch him.”
Then Dominic turned to Riley.
“I’m moving you.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Vincent doesn’t know.”
“You said this place was safe.”
“It was.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Dominic accepted jab.
“You choose.”
“Hotel under security.”
“Private residence.”
“Or clinic another night.”
Riley thought.
“Grant goes?”
Grant looked surprised.
Dominic smiled slightly.
“You trust him?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“He’s one of five.”
That logic struck Dominic.
“Grant goes.”
Riley stood.
Before leaving, she asked:
“Did my dad ever regret taking that beating?”
Dominic looked at her.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I asked.”
“What did he say?”
Dominic remembered hospital overseas.
Nathan bruised, feverish, alive.
Dominic asking same question.
Nathan had said:
“I’d do it again. Just don’t make me.”
Riley closed eyes.
“That sounds like him.”
May you like
Dominic nodded.
And for first time, grief between them became shared rather than separate.
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