Chapter 112 #112
Chapter 112
~Dwayne's POV~
I turned sharply.
Shailyn stood there, wrapped in a cardigan, her face pale in the moonlight.
"Shailyn? What are you—"
She opened her mouth to speak.
I crossed the distance in three strides and gently placed my hand over her lips. "Not here."
Her eyes widened.
I looked around quickly. Windows. Security cameras. Too many eyes.
I took her hand and started walking back toward the house, then stopped.
Dante was home. In his study. We couldn't talk there.
"I need to text you," I said quietly, dropping my hand from her mouth. "Go back inside. Act normal. I'll explain everything."
"Dwayne, what's going on?"
"Not here. Please. Just trust me."
She searched my face, then nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Go. Now."
She turned and walked back toward the house, glancing over her shoulder once before disappearing inside.
I waited until the door closed, then pulled out my phone.
Jack. Need to meet. Now. It's urgent.
The response came within seconds: Now? Dwayne, it's almost midnight.
I don't care. This can't wait.
Where?
The usual place. Twenty minutes.
I'll be there.
I got in my car and drove faster than I should have.
The café was nearly empty when I arrived. Just one barista wiping down tables, clearly ready to close.
Jack sat in the corner booth, coffee already in front of him.
"This better be good," he said as I slid in across from him. "I was about to go to bed."
"It's good. Trust me."
"So talk."
I leaned forward, keeping my voice low. "I overheard a conversation tonight. Gramps and Cynthia."
"Okay?"
"Gramps was pissed. Said Cynthia didn't clean up well enough. That there are loose ends that could destroy everything."
Jack's expression shifted. "Clean up what?"
"I don't know exactly. But he said if she can't fix it, they'll deal with it permanently."
"Jesus."
"That's not all. My investigator, Luke, he's been digging into my mother's death."
Jack went still. "What else did you find?"
"I'm saying the timeline doesn't add up. The evidence was scrubbed. And someone with serious power covered it up."
"You think Gramps was involved?"
"I know he was."
"How?"
"Offshore accounts. Missing fingerprints. Evidence that disappeared from official records." I leaned back. "Gramps has the reach to make all of that happen."
Jack ran his hand through his hair. "This is insane."
"This is the Belmar family."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to expose them. All of them."
"How?"
"Carefully. Strategically. Starting with the New Year's Eve party."
"The company party?"
"Yeah. Dante's putting Shailyn in charge of it. Wants it to be perfect to impress Gramps."
"And you're going to sabotage it?"
"Not sabotage. Just... add some complications."
Jack leaned forward. "What kind of complications?"
"A message. Public. Anonymous. Something that lets them know someone's watching. Someone knows what they did."
"That's risky."
"Everything about this is risky."
"What do you need from me?"
"Access. You can get into places I can't. Hear things I won't."
"You want me to spy on the outer part?"
"I want you to help me get justice for my mother."
Jack was quiet for a long moment. "And you think Gramps killed her?"
"I think he helped. I think Cynthia did the actual work, but Gramps covered it up."
"Why would he do that?"
"I don't know ." I hesitated a bit too. I couldn't tell him about Kingsley. About Shailyn's father. That was her story to tell. “Business things. Illegal deals. Fraud. Murder."
Jack's eyes widened a bit. "Murder? Hmm, interesting.”
"Tyler Belmar has blood on his hands. And Gramps has been cleaning up after him for decades."
"This is bigger than I thought."
"This is war. And I need to know if you're in or out."
He didn't hesitate. "I'm in."
"Good. Then here's what we're going to do."
I pulled out my phone and opened a notes app. "The party is in a week. During the countdown to midnight, we're going to display a message on the main screen."
"What kind of message?"
"Something cryptic. Something that only they'll understand. 'Nemesis is coming' or 'The truth will surface.'"
"That's pretty vague."
"It needs to be. We're not ready to show our full hand yet. This is just a warning shot."
"To who? Gramps? Tyler? All of them?"
"All of them. Let them know someone's watching. Someone knows."
"And then what?"
"Then we watch them panic. Watch them make mistakes. Watch them turn on each other."
Jack nodded slowly. "I like it."
"You can set it up? The screen display?"
"I have contacts in tech. They can make it happen without being traced."
"Good. Make it happen."
"What about Shailyn? Does she know about any of this?"
"No."
"Are you going to tell her?"
"Eventually. When she's ready."
"When will that be?"
"I don't know."
Jack studied me. "You care about her."
"She's my brother's wife."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer I can give right now."
"Fair enough." He finished his coffee. "When do you want the message to go live?"
"Midnight. Right before the countdown. Maximum visibility. Maximum impact."
"And if they trace it back to us?"
"They won't. Your contacts are good, right?"
"The best."
"Then we're set."
Jack stood. "Anything else?"
"Yeah. Watch Monica. See if she knows anything."
"Okayy”
"I'll keep an eye on it."
"Thanks."
He paused at the booth. "Dwayne?"
"Yeah?"
"Your mother, my sister. She deserves this justice. Brilliant. Kind. Strong. Everything they're not."
"I'm going to make sure she gets justice. No matter what it takes."
Jack nodded. "Then let's make it count."
He left, and I sat there alone in the empty café.
The barista approached. "We're closing soon, sir."
"I know. Just give me a minute."
She nodded and went back to cleaning.
I pulled out my phone and opened my messages.
Shailyn: Are you okay?
I stared at the text for a long moment.
Then typed: I'm fine. We'll talk soon. Promise.
I hit send and stood up.
Two days
Two days until the party.
Soon and we will take a move which is the first real shot in this revenge.
And God help anyone who stood in our way.
Because nemesis was coming.
Fast.
Ruthless.
And absolutely inevitable.