Chapter 4 - The Night Dominic Finally Fell
The Moretti empire didn't collapse all at once.
It fractured.
A warehouse was raided.
Two senior employees disappeared.
A casino account was frozen.
Three newspapers published stories about Dominic's supposed financial crimes.
His name appeared on television every night.
The city began whispering.
The Moretti king is losing control.
Dominic hated the phrase.
I knew because I had heard him say the same thing to his father years ago.
A king wasn't someone who controlled everything.
A king was someone who could survive when control disappeared.
On the fourth night, Dominic came to my townhouse again.
This time, he looked exhausted.
His tie was loose.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He didn't knock.
He stood under the porch light like a man who had forgotten how to be powerful.
I opened the door.
He looked at me.
“It's bad.”
“I know.”
“You knew before I did.”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You've been investigating.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I almost said because I loved you.
Instead, I said, “Because someone is destroying you.”
His face tightened.
“Who?”
“Marco.”
He stared.
“No.”
“Richard.”
“No.”
“Sienna.”
His expression changed.
I stepped aside.
“Come in.”
For the first time since I left, he entered my home.
I showed him the documents.
Every transfer.
Every photograph.
Every email.
Every forged authorization.
He read everything silently.
When he reached the photograph of Sienna and Marco, his hands tightened around the paper.
“She lied about the pregnancy.”
“Yes.”
He sat down.
For several minutes, he didn't speak.
Then he whispered, “I almost lost you over a child that never existed.”
“Yes.”
“I believed her.”
“Yes.”
“I didn't even ask you.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Why did you let me?”
That question was harder.
“Because I was tired.”
“Tired of me?”
“Tired of proving I deserved to be your wife.”
He looked down.
“I never thought you didn't.”
“You made me feel that way.”
He closed his eyes.
I had never seen Dominic look so vulnerable.
Then he said something I never expected.
“I was cruel.”
I stayed silent.
“I kept believing you'd always come back.”
“You did.”
“And every time you came back, I thought it meant I hadn't hurt you enough to lose you.”
My throat tightened.
“That isn't how love works.”
“I know.”
“You don't get to learn that only after I leave.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“Tell me what to do.”
That was the first time Dominic Moretti had ever asked me instead of ordering me.
I didn't answer immediately.
“Trust me.”
“I do.”
“No. You trust that I love you. That's different.”
He swallowed.
“Then what do I do?”
“Give me the truth even when it makes you look weak.”
He nodded.
“And when I tell you something you don't want to hear?”
“Tell me.”
“You might hate it.”
“I'll still tell you.”
He looked at me for a long time.
Then he said, “I love you.”
It would have destroyed me once.
Now it simply hurt.
“I love you too.”
His eyes closed.
“But love isn't enough.”
“I know.”
He reached for my hand.
I let him hold it.
Only for a moment.
Then my phone rang.
Samuel.
I answered.
His voice was urgent.
“Vivian, you need to leave immediately.”
“Why?”
“We found the central piece.”
“What is it?”
“Your name.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The entire fraud operation is designed to make it look like you authorized the transfers.”
Dominic stood.
“Give me the phone.”
I put it on speaker.
Samuel continued.
“There are documents with Vivian's forged signature. Enough to make investigators believe she moved the money.”
Dominic looked at me.
“I would never believe that.”
“But the authorities might.”
I felt cold.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Where are the documents?”
“Marco has them.”
Dominic picked up his coat.
“We're going.”
Samuel replied, “No. You can't.”
Dominic's face hardened.
“Why?”
“Because the federal agents are already at Moretti headquarters.”
A second later, we heard sirens outside.
Dominic looked at me.
I looked back.
May you like
For seven years, I had lived beside a dangerous man.
Tonight, for the first time, we would have to face danger together.
