CHAPTER 3 – THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BRUISES
CHAPTER 3 – THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BRUISES
Evelyn's face lost every trace of color.
"No... no, Mr. Moretti, Caleb is confused. Children bruise themselves all the time."
Nobody answered.
Dominic continued counting.
"Four."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
"Three."
The bodyguards silently formed a circle around the fountain, keeping curious pedestrians at a distance. Those who recognized Dominic Moretti hurried away without asking questions.
"Two."
Evelyn's breathing became ragged.
"I never—"
"One."
The square fell silent.
Dominic looked at the head of his security.
"Take her."
Two guards seized Evelyn before she could run.
"You're making a mistake!" she screamed. "I'm the one who's been protecting him!"
Caleb flinched.
Instinctively, Clara knelt beside him.
"It's okay," she whispered. "You don't have to look."
The little boy buried his face against her shoulder.
Dominic noticed.
His own son had chosen the comfort of a stranger over the people in his own mansion.
That realization hurt more than any betrayal.
"Search her phone," Dominic ordered.
"And every camera inside the estate."
A guard nodded.
"Immediately, Boss."
Within minutes, Dominic's phone vibrated.
The security chief glanced at the screen, then looked up, visibly shaken.
"Sir..."
"What?"
"We've recovered deleted footage."
Dominic took the phone.
The first video showed Caleb sitting quietly at the dining table.
Evelyn leaned down and smiled sweetly.
The moment the other staff left the room, the smile vanished.
She grabbed the boy's wrist so hard he cried out.
"You'll sit exactly where I tell you," she hissed.
Another clip.
Caleb accidentally spilled milk.
Evelyn slapped the back of his head before cleaning the floor herself, carefully avoiding the security camera's main angle.
Another.
She locked him inside a dark storage room.
His tiny voice echoed through the recording.
"Dad...?"
No answer came.
The timestamp showed Dominic was attending a charity gala that evening.
Another video.
Even worse.
Evelyn crouched in front of Caleb.
"If you ever tell your father," she whispered, "he'll think you're lying. And then bad men will hurt him because of you."
Caleb nodded through terrified tears.
"I won't tell."
Dominic's grip tightened until the phone cracked beneath his fingers.
Every guard lowered his eyes.
None of them had ever seen their boss look so... broken.
He had defeated rival families.
Survived assassination attempts.
Built an empire from violence and discipline.
Yet the one person he had sworn to protect had been suffering under his own roof.
Because he had trusted the wrong woman.
Dominic slowly walked toward Evelyn.
She struggled against the guards.
"I can explain!"
"No," Dominic said quietly.
"You can confess."
"I only wanted him to behave!"
"You bruised him."
"He was difficult!"
"You threatened my son."
"He needed discipline!"
Dominic's eyes became ice.
"No."
"He needed a father."
The words struck him as hard as they struck everyone else.
Because they were true.
For years, Dominic had convinced himself that wealth, security, and bodyguards were enough.
They weren't.
Caleb hadn't needed another mansion.
He had needed his father to come home.
Dominic knelt in front of his son.
"I'm sorry."
Caleb stared in disbelief.
"You... are?"
Dominic nodded.
"I should have seen it."
The little boy hesitated before wrapping his small arms around his father's neck.
It was the first hug they had shared in months.
Clara quietly turned away, giving them privacy.
She wiped a tear from her own eye.
Then her phone buzzed.
Her heart sank.
Three missed calls.
One voicemail.
The daycare.
Her daughter.
She answered immediately.
"Miss Vale?" the teacher said anxiously.
"Emma has a high fever."
"We've been trying to reach you."
Clara's blood ran cold.
"I'm coming."
She stood so quickly she nearly dropped her bag.
Dominic looked up.
"Something's wrong."
"My daughter."
"She's sick."
Without another word, Clara started running toward the bus stop.
A black SUV rolled silently beside her.
The rear window lowered.
Dominic looked at her.
"Get in."
She hesitated.
"I don't need charity."
"This isn't charity."
"It's faster."
For one brief moment, Clara looked at Emma's smiling photo on her cracked phone screen.
May you like
Then she climbed inside.
She had no idea that this single decision would pull her straight into the dangerous world of Dominic Moretti.
