Chapter 6 - SECRETS UNVEILED
The mansion smelled of bleach and copper for three days.
Silas and the crew had scrubbed the blood from the marble floors, repaired the bullet-riddled drywall, and replaced the shattered glass. To the outside world, the Moretti estate remained an impenetrable fortress. Inside, it felt like a powder keg waiting for a spark.
Dominic was the worst patient in human history.
Despite my strict orders to remain in bed, he was up within forty-eight hours, conducting business from the study, a glass of bourbon in one hand and a burner phone in the other. He moved stiffly, concealing his pain behind a wall of arrogant stoicism.
"If you rip those stitches, I'm going to sew you back up without the lidocaine," I threatened one afternoon, walking into the study with a tray holding his antibiotics and a sandwich he likely wouldn't eat.
Dominic looked up from a spread of blueprints and architectural photos on his mahogany desk. The dark circles under his eyes made him look predatory and exhausted. He set the phone down and gave me a faint, dangerous smile.
"Is that a promise, Nurse Elara?"
I rolled my eyes, setting the tray down. "Eat. Take the pills. And sit down before you tear your oblique muscle."
He sighed, sinking heavily into his leather chair, wincing slightly as he moved. He picked up the sandwich but didn't take a bite. Instead, he gestured to the photos scattered across the desk.
"They breached the southern gate," Dominic said, his voice dropping to a gravelly, serious tone. "That gate has a biometric lock. Only four people in my organization have access to it. The Falcones didn't blast their way through the perimeter. Someone opened the door for them."
A chill ran down my spine. "A mole."
"A traitor," Dominic corrected, his eyes darkening with violent intent. "And I am going to find out who it is, and I am going to make them beg for death."
I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling suddenly cold. "Who would betray you?"
"Anyone with enough greed or fear," he replied. He picked up a photograph and slid it across the desk toward me. "Look at this."
I picked it up. It was a surveillance still showing a blurry figure in a heavy coat standing near the southern gate, handing something to a man I recognized from news clippings as a Falcone lieutenant.
"The Falcones have been aggressive lately. Too aggressive," Dominic mused, taking a sip of his bourbon. "They want control of the ports, yes. But this attack was targeted. They didn't hit the barracks. They bypassed the guards and came straight for the main house. Straight for the East Wing."
My stomach dropped. "The nursery."
Dominic nodded grimly. "They weren't trying to assassinate me, Elara. They were trying to take Matteo. Taking an heir is the ultimate leverage. If they have my son, they own me."
The thought of those ruthless killers getting their hands on Matteo made my blood boil. "They won't touch him. I won't let them."
Dominic looked at me, a profound warmth melting the ice in his eyes. "I know you won't. But you need to know the truth about why they want him so badly. Why they want to hurt me."
He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a worn leather journal. He ran his thumb over the cover before looking up at me.
"I told you Matteo's mother died in childbirth," Dominic said softly. "That was a lie."
I froze. "What?"
"Her name was Sofia," Dominic said, his voice tight with suppressed emotion. "We were arranged to be married to unite two factions. We weren't in love, but we respected each other. When she got pregnant, everything changed. I wanted a way out. I wanted to legitimize the business, give my son a clean name."
He paused, taking a ragged breath. "The Falcones found out I was negotiating with the feds to turn state's evidence against them in exchange for amnesty for my family. They struck before I could finalize the deal. They intercepted Sofia's car on the way to the hospital when she went into labor. They ran her off the road."
My hand flew to my mouth. "Oh my god, Dominic."
"My men got there in time to pull her from the wreckage, but she was bleeding out. They managed to deliver Matteo via emergency C-section on the side of the road. Sofia didn't survive. The Falcones killed her."
The room was suffocatingly silent. The weight of his confession hung in the air, heavy and dark. This man, who everyone viewed as a monster, was just a father trying to protect his son from the sins of his past.
"They failed to kill Matteo then," Dominic continued, his jaw clenched, "and they failed three nights ago. Because of you. You saved my world, Elara. Not once, but twice."
He stood up, ignoring his injury, and walked around the desk until he was standing inches in front of me. He reached out, his hands gently framing my face. His thumbs stroked my cheekbones.
"I am terrified," Dominic whispered, pressing his forehead against mine. The vulnerability in his voice was earth-shattering. "Not for myself. For you. For him. I brought you into this nightmare, and now you have a target on your back because you stand between my son and the men trying to kill him."
"I am not leaving him, Dominic," I whispered fiercely, looking up into his dark, tormented eyes. "And I'm not leaving you."
Dominic let out a shuddering breath. "You should run, Elara. Run far away from me."
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"Make me."
He didn't. Instead, he crashed his lips down onto mine. The kiss was desperate, punishing, and fueled by adrenaline and terror. I kissed him back with equal ferocity, tangling my fingers in his dark hair, pulling him closer despite the danger, despite the blood, despite the shadows of our pasts. In that moment, the mafia boss and the broken nurse clung to each other, two drowning souls finally finding a lifeline.
