Part 2 — The House With No Doors Open
Part 2 — The House With No Doors Open
The black SUV followed them for six blocks.
Dominic noticed it on the seventh.
He didn’t react.
That was the first rule of surviving his world: never let the person watching you know that you’ve noticed them.
He changed lanes.
The SUV changed lanes.
Dominic turned onto a narrow side street.
The SUV followed.
His hand tightened around the steering wheel.
“Clara.”
She looked at him.
“Yes?”
“Don’t look behind us.”
Her expression immediately changed.
“Someone’s following us?”
“I said don’t look.”
Clara obeyed.
She stared straight ahead, her fingers tightening around Dominic’s coat.
He made three more turns.
The SUV remained behind them.
Dominic smiled.
It wasn’t a pleasant smile.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He reached for the phone mounted beneath the dashboard.
One button.
That’s all it took.
A secure connection opened.
“Romano.”
A man’s voice answered immediately.
“Boss?”
“Lock down the house.”
A pause.
“How many?”
“Unknown.”
“Understood.”
“And nobody approaches my car.”
“Boss—”
“Nobody.”
He disconnected.
Clara watched him from the corner of her eye.
“You knew someone was following us.”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because fear makes people predictable.”
She frowned.
“And you’re not afraid?”
Dominic glanced at her.
“I am.”
The answer surprised her.
He returned his eyes to the road.
“Just not for myself.”
Clara didn’t know what to say to that.
For the first time since she had known him, Dominic had admitted fear.
Not weakness.
Not doubt.
Fear.
And somehow, that frightened her more than anything else.
Twenty minutes later, the Audi descended into an underground garage beneath Dominic’s private residence.
The steel doors closed behind them.
Only then did Clara realize how heavily guarded the building was.
Two armed men stood near the elevator.
Another waited beside a black security vehicle.
Cameras tracked their movement from every corner.
Dominic stepped out first.
He opened Clara’s door.
“Slowly.”
“I can walk.”
“I know.”
She pushed herself upright.
Pain flashed across her face.
Dominic immediately extended his hand.
She hesitated.
Then she took it.
His fingers closed around hers.
Warm.
Steady.
They walked toward the private elevator.
One of the guards lowered his head.
“Boss.”
Dominic didn’t answer.
His attention remained on Clara.
Inside the elevator, the doors closed.
For the first time all night, they were completely alone.
Clara leaned against the wall.
“You have a security team inside your house?”
“Usually.”
“Usually?”
“I wasn’t expecting company tonight.”
She gave him a tired look.
“Apparently neither was I.”
A faint smile touched Dominic’s mouth.
It disappeared almost immediately.
The elevator opened.
His penthouse was dark.
Dominic stepped out first.
He scanned the room.
Nothing moved.
Nothing looked disturbed.
Still, he didn’t relax.
“Stay here.”
Clara frowned.
“Dominic—”
“Stay.”
He disappeared into the darkness.
Clara stood alone in the hallway.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then sixty.
She heard doors opening.
Footsteps.
A drawer sliding shut.
Finally, Dominic returned.
“Clear.”
Clara exhaled.
He noticed.
“You can breathe now.”
“I was breathing.”
“Badly.”
She almost laughed.
Almost.
Dominic walked toward the kitchen.
“Sit.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward the sofa.
Clara lowered herself carefully.
Dominic disappeared again.
A minute later, he returned carrying a glass of water and a small medical kit.
He placed both on the table.
“Your doctor said you need rest.”
“I thought you weren’t listening to doctors.”
“I listen when they’re useful.”
Clara shook her head.
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
He opened the medical kit.
She watched him remove gauze and antiseptic.
“You’re going to treat that?”
“Yes.”
“You know I’m not one of your employees anymore, right?”
Dominic looked up.
“You never stopped being one.”
“Exactly.”
“Which is why you’re getting medical attention.”
He sat beside her.
The distance between them was suddenly very small.
Clara’s heartbeat quickened.
Dominic noticed.
But he didn’t mention it.
He gently cleaned the dried blood near her temple.
She winced.
“Sorry.”
The word came from him so naturally that Clara froze.
Dominic Romano had apologized.
She stared at him.
“What?”
“You said sorry.”
“I did.”
“That’s new.”
He continued cleaning the wound.
“Don’t get used to it.”
She smiled faintly.
Then her expression became serious.
“Dominic.”
“Hm?”
“They weren’t trying to kill me.”
His hand stopped.
“What makes you say that?”
“If they wanted me dead, they could have finished the job.”
Dominic’s eyes darkened.
“Go on.”
“They followed me after I crossed the bridge. They had plenty of opportunities.”
She swallowed.
“But they stopped after I went over the guardrail.”
Dominic slowly put down the gauze.
“You think they wanted you alive.”
“I think they wanted you to know they could reach me.”
Silence.
Clara looked at him.
“That means the attack wasn’t about me.”
“No.”
Dominic stood.
“It was about me.”
He walked toward the enormous windows overlooking the city.
Rain streaked the glass.
“Someone knows where you live.”
Clara went still.
“They know my address?”
“They found you on a bridge.”
He turned.
“That means they knew your route.”
A chill ran through her.
“My schedule.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“Exactly.”
She slowly stood.
“Someone has access to my calendar.”
“Or mine.”
“No.”
Clara shook her head.
“My calendar is encrypted.”
“So are my accounts.”
She stared at him.
Neither spoke.
Then Dominic’s phone rang.
He answered.
“Talk.”
The voice on the other end was tense.
“Boss, we checked the cameras.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“And?”
“Someone accessed the building’s security network at 1:47 a.m.”
Clara’s face went pale.
“From where?”
“Inside the building.”
Dominic didn’t move.
“Inside?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“There’s one more thing.”
“Say it.”
“We found a second access log.”
Dominic’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“Whose?”
The man hesitated.
“Clara Bennett.”
Clara stared at Dominic.
“I didn’t do that.”
Dominic looked directly into her eyes.
“I know.”
“But the system says—”
“I know what it says.”
He ended the call.
Clara’s breathing became shallow.
“Dominic…”
He crossed the room.
“You said you lost your phone in the river.”
“Yes.”
“Who had access to your phone before you lost it?”
“No one.”
“Think.”
She closed her eyes.
“I left the office at 11:40.”
“Who was there?”
“Everyone had gone.”
“Everyone?”
Clara opened her eyes.
Then suddenly, she remembered.
“Wait.”
Dominic waited.
“I wasn’t alone.”
“Who?”
She swallowed.
“Your deputy accountant.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
“Marco?”
Clara nodded.
“He came to my office around eleven. He said he needed me to approve a transfer.”
“What transfer?”
“I don’t remember.”
Dominic stared at her.
“That’s not like you.”
“I know.”
She looked terrified now.
“He gave me the paperwork. I remember signing something.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Where is that paperwork?”
“I don’t know.”
He pulled out his phone.
“That’s enough.”
He made another call.
“Find Marco.”
A voice answered immediately.
“Alive?”
Dominic looked toward Clara.
“For now.”
He ended the call.
Clara stared at him.
“You’re going to kill him.”
“If he did this.”
“And if he didn’t?”
Dominic’s eyes hardened.
“Then he gets to live.”
He walked toward the window again.
Outside, the rain continued falling.
Neither of them saw the tiny red light blinking from the security camera across the street.
Someone was watching the penthouse.
Someone who had known exactly where Clara would go.
Someone who knew Dominic would come for her.
And whoever was behind the attack had just learned something far more valuable than Clara’s location.
They had learned that Dominic Romano had a weakness.
Her name was Clara Bennett.
