Chapter 7 - Confrontation in the Dark"How much of that did you hear?" Dominic asked, his voice low and incredibly quiet.
Clara backed away toward the staircase, her chest heaving as pain shot through her healing wounds. "Who... who was Anthony Moretti?"
Dominic stepped out into the hallway, shutting the study door behind him. Enzo remained inside.
"Clara," Dominic said, taking a slow, measured step toward her. "Go back to your room."
"Answer me!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the high cathedral ceilings. "My father’s name was Edward Evans! He was a carpenter in Cleveland! He died when I was six!"
"Edward Evans was a cover name given to your family by the Federal Witness Protection Program," Dominic stated plainly, stopping three feet from her. His severe face showed no emotion, but his dark eyes burned with intense focus. "Your biological father was Anthony Moretti. He was the head of the Moretti crime family before they were wiped out."
Clara shook her head violently, tears pouring down her cheeks. "No... no, that's a lie! My mother—"
"Your mother spent twenty years running from the people who destroyed her husband's empire," Dominic continued calmly. "She changed your name, buried your past, and took you to Queens so you could grow up clean."
"And you knew?" Clara rasped, her hands trembling violently. "When I was serving champagne at that gala... you already knew who I was?!"
"Yes," Dominic admitted without hesitation.
Clara felt a sickening wave of betrayal wash over her. The stranger who had married her in an ICU bed wasn't just a savior—he was a predator who had been watching her from the dark long before the first bullet was fired.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she sobbed. "Why did you pretend you were just protecting me because I saved your mother?!"
Dominic took another step closer, reaching out to grasp her wrists gently. "Because if you knew who your father was, you would have tried to run. And if you had run, Victor Costa would have found you months ago."
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"I don't care about Costa!" she yelled, pulling against his grip. "I want my life back! I want the truth!"
Dominic pulled her closer, bringing her face inches from his. "The truth is that you are alive because I put my ring on your finger, Clara. Your father is dead. Your old life is dead. The only reality left for you is right here, with me."
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