Chapter 3 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Destroy Me
I didn't sleep.
I spent the entire night thinking about one sentence.
Six months ago, your husband came into my office and asked me to destroy someone.
You.
At seven the next morning, Dominic arrived at my house.
He didn't come alone.
Two lawyers followed.
A security specialist walked behind them.
I opened the door.
“What happened?”
Dominic looked at me.
“Derek's men were here last night.”
My face went cold.
“What?”
“There was an attempted break-in.”
I stepped backward.
He entered.
The lock on the back door was damaged.
A bedroom window had been forced.
Nothing had been stolen.
That was the worst part.
“They weren't looking for valuables,” Dominic said.
“They were looking for documents.”
“What documents?”
“Anything proving Derek forged your signature.”
I looked at Natalie.
She was already there.
She nodded.
“They know we're building a case.”
I suddenly felt exhausted.
“I thought Derek wanted money.”
“He does.”
Dominic's gaze hardened.
“But he also wants control.”
“What happens if I leave?”
“He loses both.”
For the first time, I understood the real danger.
This wasn't a divorce.
It was a war over who controlled my child, my money, and the story that would be told about me.
That afternoon, Natalie filed emergency motions.
Derek responded within hours.
His filing described me as emotionally unstable, financially irresponsible, and “increasingly influenced by dangerous individuals.”
I laughed when I read it.
“Dangerous individuals?”
Natalie looked at me.
“He means Dominic.”
“Of course.”
The next morning, Derek appeared on the local news.
He talked about family.
Responsibility.
Protecting his unborn child.
He never mentioned Vanessa.
He never mentioned the affair.
He made himself look like a grieving husband trying to save his marriage.
By noon, strangers were commenting online.
Some called me selfish.
Others called me unstable.
One headline read:
REAL ESTATE HEIR FIGHTS TO PROTECT UNBORN CHILD FROM DISTURBED WIFE.
My hands shook.
Then Dominic called.
“Don't read it.”
“Too late.”
“Let me handle the media.”
“No.”
He went silent.
“I need to handle something myself.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
I asked Natalie to help me gather everything.
Texts.
Bank records.
Hotel receipts.
Security footage.
Medical records.
Not just the evidence of Derek cheating.
Evidence of the pattern.
The threats.
The manipulation.
The forged signatures.
The financial transfers.
We found something unexpected.
Derek had been paying Vanessa's apartment lease.
For sixteen months.
The payment came directly from company funds.
Natalie stared at the statements.
“He wasn't hiding her.”
I shook my head.
“He was hiding the money.”
Exactly.
Then we found something worse.
A life insurance policy.
Not for me.
For the baby.
The policy had been taken out two months earlier.
The beneficiary?
Derek.
The secondary beneficiary?
Vanessa.
I stared at the paperwork.
“He planned for something to happen.”
Natalie nodded.
“We need to be careful.”
That night, I went to the hospital for a routine checkup.
Dominic's security driver waited outside.
I hated needing protection.
But I hated the thought of my daughter becoming a bargaining chip even more.
The doctor examined me.
“She looks strong.”
I smiled.
“Can I see her?”
The screen appeared.
Tiny hands.
Tiny feet.
A strong heartbeat.
I cried.
My daughter kicked.
The doctor laughed.
“Someone is awake.”
I touched the screen.
“Hi, baby.”
Then I felt someone behind me.
Dominic.
He had entered quietly.
He watched the ultrasound.
His expression was impossible to read.
“What?”
He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“She has a strong heartbeat.”
I smiled through tears.
“She does.”
Dominic looked at the screen.
“She'll need that.”
Something about his voice made me look at him.
“What happened to you?”
He looked at me.
“What do you mean?”
“You act like nothing scares you.”
He stared through the window.
“Everything scares me.”
I didn't expect that answer.
Then he continued.
“I just learned not to show it.”
His story came slowly.
His father had built the Moretti empire through shipping and construction.
His older brother had died when Dominic was nineteen.
He had taken control afterward.
People expected him to become cruel.
Instead, he became careful.
He understood what power could do.
And what it could destroy.
“Why does everyone call you dangerous?”
He smiled faintly.
“Because it's easier to fear a man than understand him.”
I looked at him.
“I don't think you're what people say.”
“You shouldn't make that mistake.”
“Why?”
“Because I am dangerous.”
His eyes met mine.
“But never to the people under my protection.”
My heart beat faster.
He looked away.
“This isn't about me.”
“I know.”
The next week changed everything.
A judge granted temporary protection.
Derek was prohibited from entering my home without notice.
Financial accounts were frozen pending investigation.
The custody battle was scheduled for after the baby's birth.
Derek lost control.
He called me twenty-seven times in one afternoon.
I didn't answer.
Then he sent one message.
You don't know what Dominic did to your family.
I stared at it.
A minute later:
Ask him about your father.
My blood ran cold.
I called Dominic.
He answered immediately.
“What did Derek mean?”
Silence.
Then Dominic said:
“I was hoping you wouldn't have to find out this way.”
“What does your family have to do with mine?”
“I knew your father.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
“Before you met Derek.”
“How?”
“Business.”
“What business?”
Another pause.
“Your father was investigating Derek.”
I sat down.
“My father knew?”
“Yes.”
“What was he investigating?”
“Money laundering.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“What happened to him?”
Dominic didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
“My father didn't die naturally.”
“No.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“How long have you known?”
“Eight years.”
Eight years.
The length of my marriage.
The length of the time I had been living beside the man my father had once suspected.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father made me promise.”
“What promise?”
“To keep you away from the truth until I knew you were ready.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Apparently I wasn't ready.”
“No.”
Dominic's voice softened.
“You were never supposed to be involved.”
“Yet I am.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me everything.”
He was silent.
Then he said:
“Your father didn't die because of a random accident.”
May you like
My heart stopped.
“He was killed.”
