Chapter 3 - The Broken Engagement
Dominic didn't stand up. He didn't greet his mother. He remained seated, his eyes fixed on the woman who had raised him.
"You knew," Dominic said. The words were flat, devoid of warmth, devoid of filial respect.
Isabella looked between Dominic, the little girl, and Lucia. "Dominic? What is going on? Who is this child?"
"This is Lily," Dominic said, looking directly at Isabella. "She is my daughter."
Isabella gasped, her hand flying to her throat. She took a step back, her eyes wide with shock. "Your... your daughter? But you said... you told me there was no one else."
"I thought her mother abandoned me four years ago," Dominic explained, his voice terrifyingly calm. "I just found out tonight that my mother threatened her, forced her into hiding, and left her to die in a charity ward while she was carrying my child."
Isabella turned her gaze toward Lucia, horrified. "Mrs. Moretti... is this true?"
Lucia didn't flinch. She adjusted her lace shawl with practiced grace, stepping toward the center of the room like a queen addressing her subjects.
"I did what was necessary for the survival of this family, Isabella," Lucia said smoothly, her tone entirely devoid of guilt. "Four years ago, Dominic was on the verge of securing the alliance with your father's family. Sophia Carter was a nobody. A waitress's sister with no bloodline, no connections, and no place in the Moretti empire. If word had gotten out that Dominic was having a child with a commoner, the Vitorio alliance would have collapsed."
"She was carrying my child!" Dominic roared, standing up so abruptly that his leather chair slammed into the wall behind him. He gently set Lily down behind his desk, stepping around it like a predator coming out of its cage. "She was my life, Mother! And you killed her!"
"She was a distraction!" Lucia snapped back, her voice matching his intensity, her eyes flashing with cold fire. "You are the head of the Moretti family! You do not marry for love, Dominic! You marry for power! I gave that girl half a million dollars to walk away. It wasn't my fault she was too proud to take it and died in some dirty clinic!"
"Get out," Dominic said.
The room went completely still.
Lucia blinked, stunned. "What did you say?"
"Get out of my house," Dominic repeated, his voice dropping into a register that made even Enzo shiver. "Strip off the Moretti diamonds. Leave the keys to the penthouse in Manhattan. Leave the security detail at the gate. You are no longer my mother. You are a stranger in this house."
Lucia’s face went pale. "Dominic! You cannot mean this! I built this empire with your father! I sacrificed everything to put you on that throne!"
"And you used that throne to crush the only things that mattered to me," Dominic sneered, stepping right into her face. "You have until midnight to clear your things from the main house. If you step onto this property again without my permission, my security will treat you as a trespasser."
Lucia stared at her son, realizing for the first time in thirty-eight years that she had lost total control over him. The cold monster she had bred to rule New York had finally turned its teeth toward her.
She turned to Isabella, her voice desperate. "Isabella, talk to him! Tell him this child changes nothing! The alliance between our families must go forward!"
Isabella looked at Lucia with deep disgust, then turned her gaze to Dominic, who stood beside his small, terrified daughter.
Isabella slowly reached behind her neck, unclasped the five-carat diamond engagement ring Dominic had given her two hours prior, and set it gently on the corner of the desk.
"I loved you, Dominic," Isabella said softly, tears pooling in her eyes. "And I believed we could build a life together. But I will not build a marriage on the ashes of a dead woman's life, nor will I stand by a mother who treats a child like a political inconvenient. Your daughter needs her father. She doesn't need this engagement."
Isabella turned on her heel and walked out of the study, her gold dress swishing against the floorboards.
Lucia watched her leave, knowing the Vitorio alliance—the crown jewel of her political career—had just shattered into a million pieces.
She turned back to Dominic, her face contorted in anger. "You've ruined everything! The Commission will hear about this! You cannot rule New York without the support of the families!"
"Let them come," Dominic said, reaching down to pick up Lily into his arms. He held his daughter tight against his chest, feeling her tiny heartbeat against his own. "I have everything I need right here."
Lucia glared at him, turned around, and swept out of the room, her heels clicking angrily down the hall.
Dominic stood alone in the study with Enzo, Mary, and his daughter.
He turned to Mary, whose eyes were wide with disbelief at what she had just witnessed.
"Mary," Dominic said softly. "You never have to clean another dish in this city again. You and Lily are moving into the family wing tonight. You will have everything you need."
Mary began to cry, throwing her arms around Dominic in a burst of relief and gratitude.
Lily looked up at her father, reaching out a tiny, soft hand to touch his cheek. "Are you my daddy?" she asked innocently.
May you like
Dominic felt a warm, golden tear slide down his face—the first tear he had shed in four years.
"Yes, Lily," Dominic whispered, kissing her forehead. "I'm your daddy. And I'm never letting you go again."
