Chapter 7 - He Took the Woman He Thought Would Betray Me
I stopped breathing.
“Vanessa.”
She looked terrified.
Derek held the gun against her shoulder.
“Stay where you are.”
Dominic's body stiffened.
“Derek.”
“Don't.”
Derek smiled.
“I've lost everything because of you.”
“No.”
I stepped forward.
“You lost everything because of yourself.”
He looked at me.
For a second, he looked almost like the man I had married.
Then the mask returned.
“You were supposed to be obedient.”
I felt something cold settle inside me.
“I never was.”
He laughed.
“You think Dominic loves you?”
Dominic didn't move.
“That's why this hurts him.”
Derek looked at Vanessa.
“She told me you gave her immunity.”
“I never spoke to her.”
“Yes, you did.”
Derek's eyes were wild.
“He convinced you to testify against me.”
Vanessa cried.
“I didn't need convincing!”
Derek hit the chair.
“Enough.”
I stepped forward.
“You don't want Vanessa.”
“What?”
“You want control.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You always thought this was about money.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“It was always about making everyone afraid of you.”
Something changed in his expression.
For a moment, he looked uncertain.
Dominic used that moment.
A security operative moved from the shadows.
Derek heard the movement.
He raised the gun.
A shot exploded.
Dominic pushed me down.
The bullet struck the metal railing.
Security rushed the platform.
Derek grabbed Vanessa and tried to drag her away.
She fought.
Then she kicked him.
Hard.
He lost his balance.
The gun fell.
Dominic reached him first.
They struggled.
I screamed.
“Dominic!”
He stopped himself before striking Derek again.
Police stormed inside.
Derek was handcuffed.
Vanessa was freed.
I rushed to her.
She grabbed me.
“He was going to kill me.”
“I know.”
“I thought I'd die.”
“So did I.”
She cried into my shoulder.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then the police found Derek's escape documents.
He had planned to flee the country with money hidden under another identity.
He had also arranged for Vanessa's death to look like suicide.
The life insurance policy had been the final piece.
Everything was over.
Or so we thought.
Back at the estate, I sat beside the fireplace.
Dominic entered with a bandage on his shoulder.
“You're hurt.”
“It's nothing.”
“You were shot.”
“Barely.”
I shook my head.
“You're impossible.”
He smiled.
“So I've been told.”
I looked at him.
“Thank you.”
He sat beside me.
“You don't owe me anything.”
“I know.”
“Then don't say thank you because you think you have to.”
I looked down.
“I don't.”
He was quiet.
“I've spent years thinking protection was the same as control.”
He looked at me.
“It's not.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
He reached for my hand.
Then stopped.
Waiting.
I looked at him.
“You can.”
His fingers closed gently around mine.
It was the first time we'd touched without fear.
Without urgency.
Without danger.
Just warmth.
My daughter kicked.
Dominic smiled.
“She approves.”
I laughed.
“She's very opinionated.”
“She gets that from her mother.”
The next morning, Dominic made breakfast.
I stared at the kitchen.
“You can cook?”
“Poorly.”
“You've been hiding secrets from me too.”
“Apparently.”
We laughed.
It was the first normal morning we'd had in months.
Then Natalie arrived.
She brought the final court documents.
“Derek has agreed to a full divorce settlement.”
I blinked.
“Why?”
“He wants a reduced sentence.”
“What happens to him?”
“Prison.”
I closed my eyes.
For the first time, I felt nothing when I heard his name.
No fear.
No longing.
No anger.
Just emptiness.
That evening, I received a call.
The baby was coming early.
I dropped the phone.
Dominic stood.
“What?”
“My water broke.”
His face went pale.
Then he moved.
“Hospital.”
The drive was a blur.
Snow fell around us.
My contractions intensified.
Dominic held my hand the entire way.
“Look at me.”
I tried.
“You're not alone.”
“I know.”
“You're going to be okay.”
“I know.”
At the hospital, doctors rushed me inside.
Dominic stayed outside.
Two hours passed.
Then three.
Finally, a nurse appeared.
“Mr. Moretti?”
He stood.
“She has a beautiful baby girl.”
He closed his eyes.
I heard him exhale.
Then the nurse smiled.
“Mother and baby are healthy.”
When he entered the room, I was exhausted.
But smiling.
In my arms was the smallest person I had ever seen.
“She has your stubbornness,” Dominic whispered.
I smiled.
“Her name is Emma Elise.”
He looked at me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“After everything?”
“Yes.”
He touched the baby's tiny hand.
She wrapped her fingers around his.
And Dominic Moretti, the man half the city feared, looked like he had just been handed the most precious thing in the world.
He looked at me.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For letting me be here.”
May you like
I smiled.
“You earned it.”
