The Dog Remembered

PART 2 — THE SECRET VICTOR BURIED

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Damian Cruz stared at the photograph in his hand. Daniel was smiling in it, holding his newborn daughter with the kind of happiness Damian had rarely seen in another man.

Six years.

For six years, a little girl had been growing up without her father while Damian believed his closest friend was dead.

“Rosa,” Damian said quietly. “Why didn’t you come to me?”

Rosa lowered her eyes.

“Because the night Daniel disappeared, someone called me. They told me that if I ever mentioned his name again, my daughter would pay for it.”

Damian’s expression darkened.

“Who called you?”

“I never saw his face. But he knew where we lived. He knew Sophia’s name before she was even born.”

Victor suddenly interrupted.

“This is getting out of control. We have no proof this child is Daniel’s.”

Damian turned toward him.

“Then why are you so desperate to send her away?”

Victor forced a laugh.

“I’m trying to protect this family from a ridiculous accusation.”

Bruno growled.

Sophia, who had been holding the dog’s ear, looked up.

“Uncle Victor is lying.”

Victor’s face tightened.

“Watch your mouth, little girl.”

Sophia immediately hid behind Rosa.

Damian stepped between them.

“Don’t ever speak to her like that again.”

His voice was quiet, but every guard in the hallway understood the warning.

Damian turned to his head of security, Marco.

“Bring me every record from the night Daniel disappeared. Bank transactions, security footage, phone records. Everything.”

“Yes, boss.”

“And nobody leaves without my permission.”

Victor shook his head.

“You’re choosing a servant’s story over your own brother?”

“No,” Damian replied. “I’m choosing the truth over another lie.”

An hour later, Damian sat in his private study.

Rosa and Sophia were in the adjoining sitting room. A housekeeper had brought Sophia hot chocolate and a plate of cookies.

Bruno refused to leave her side.

The dog had ignored his favorite cushion, his food, and even Damian’s repeated commands to return to the study.

Instead, he lay beside Sophia’s chair, occasionally lifting his head whenever she moved.

Damian watched them through the open doorway.

“Daniel used to say Bruno had a better heart than most men,” he murmured.

Rosa looked at him.

“He loved that dog. Before Sophia was born, he used to say they would grow up together.”

Damian turned sharply.

“You saw Daniel after he disappeared?”

Rosa hesitated.

“Once.”

“When?”

“Three months after everyone said he was dead. He came to my apartment late at night. He was injured, frightened, and barely able to stand.”

Damian’s fingers tightened around his glass.

“What did he tell you?”

“He said Victor had betrayed him. He said he had discovered something inside the organization, something that could destroy the Cruz family.”

“What else?”

Rosa’s eyes filled with tears.

“He gave me Sophia’s bracelet and told me to keep her safe. Then he said he would come back for us.”

Damian stood.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because he said the person who betrayed him was someone you trusted more than anyone.”

The words landed like a bullet.

Damian looked toward the closed study door.

His younger brother.

The only person who had stood beside him through every battle.

Before he could ask another question, Marco entered carrying a thick folder.

“Boss, we found something.”

Damian opened it.

Inside was a photograph from an old security camera.

It showed Victor standing beside a black SUV outside the private warehouse where Daniel had supposedly been killed.

The timestamp was 11:47 p.m.

Damian studied the photograph.

Then he noticed something else.

Victor was holding Daniel’s silver watch.

The watch that had supposedly been buried with his body.

Damian slowly closed the folder.

“Find out where my brother has been staying.”

Marco nodded.

“And boss?”

“What?”

“The warehouse records show that someone has been paying rent on an abandoned property outside the city every month for the past six years.”

Damian looked up.

“Whose name?”

Marco swallowed.

“Daniel Cruz.”

For the first time that evening, Damian smiled.

It wasn’t a pleasant smile.

“Then perhaps my friend isn’t dead after all.”