Chapter 2 - The Secret He Was Never Supposed to Know
The bedroom door locked behind Norah with a soft click.
She stared at it.
Dominic had never locked her inside before.
That frightened her more than yelling would have.
She paced once across the room, then stopped when a sharp pull tightened low across her abdomen.
“Easy,” she whispered.
Her palm flattened over the small curve beneath her sweater.
The baby moved again.
Norah swallowed.
“You need to stop making your opinion known at the worst possible moments.”
A tiny flutter answered.
Despite herself, she smiled.
Then the smile vanished.
Dominic knew something was wrong.
Maybe not exactly what it was.
But he knew.
And if Dominic Russo decided to investigate, he would not stop until every lie had been stripped away.
Norah had seen what happened when Dominic wanted information.
She had witnessed a man spend six hours in the library, calmly dismantling a traitor's story piece by piece until the man finally confessed to stealing from the organization.
Dominic never needed to shout.
He simply waited.
He remembered details.
He compared inconsistencies.
He noticed everything.
Norah sat on the edge of the bed and opened her coat.
The ultrasound image looked fragile in her hands.
She had kept it because a small, irrational part of her had wanted one thing that belonged only to her.
A picture.
Proof that her baby existed.
Proof that beneath all the fear there was something innocent.
She folded it carefully.
Then she heard footsteps outside.
Too many.
Men moving quickly.
Voices.
The compound was changing.
Norah stood.
A knock sounded.
“Miss Hayes?”
It was Maria, the older housekeeper.
Norah opened the door.
Maria stepped inside and closed it behind her.
“He said not to let you leave.”
“I noticed.”
Maria's eyes moved toward Norah's stomach, then back to her face.
For a second, Norah wondered whether she knew.
Maria had always been observant.
But instead of asking, she whispered, “Mr. Russo is furious.”
“He has a reason.”
“No. He has several.”
Norah gave a nervous laugh.
Maria did not smile.
“What happened at the warehouse wasn't random.”
“How do you know?”
“Because his men came back with empty hands.”
Norah's blood chilled.
“What do you mean?”
“Whoever did it didn't steal anything.”
The room seemed colder.
“They destroyed documents. Computer drives. Cameras. Then they disappeared.”
Norah stared at the floor.
“Why destroy records if you aren't stealing?”
Maria lowered her voice.
“To erase someone.”
That night, the compound remained awake.
Lights burned in every corridor.
Cars moved through the gates.
Norah could hear muted conversations through the walls.
She sat in bed until midnight, unable to sleep.
At 12:47 a.m., her door opened.
Dominic stood there.
He had changed clothes.
The bruises were still visible.
His face looked harder than before.
“Get up.”
Norah did.
“Why?”
“I have questions.”
Her mouth went dry.
“You already asked.”
“Not the right ones.”
He closed the door behind him.
No guards.
No witnesses.
Just the two of them.
Dominic placed a thin paper folder on the desk.
“I reviewed your employment file.”
Norah's stomach tightened.
“You've been with Lily for nine months.”
“Yes.”
“You applied through an agency.”
“Yes.”
“The agency's owner died three months ago.”
Norah blinked.
“What?”
Dominic opened the folder.
“Car accident.”
Norah felt a chill.
“That's impossible.”
“His death was reported six weeks after it happened.”
She looked at him.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because your references disappeared.”
Norah stared.
Her mother had given the agency the information.
Her old landlord had confirmed her address.
Her former supervisor had signed the recommendation.
All of them were real.
Dominic slid another sheet across the desk.
“They were contacted after you entered my employment.”
Norah read the names.
Three people.
Three dead phone numbers.
She looked up.
“Are you saying someone erased my background?”
“I’m saying someone tried to make sure I couldn't verify it.”
“Why?”
Dominic leaned against the desk.
“That is what I want to know.”
His eyes dropped briefly to her stomach.
Norah stopped breathing.
Then he looked back at her face.
“You told me you have a tumor.”
“Yes.”
“What doctor diagnosed it?”
Norah had prepared for that.
“Dr. Aris.”
“Full name.”
She answered.
“Clinic?”
She answered again.
“When is your follow-up?”
“Next month.”
“Why didn't you ask me for time off?”
“I didn't want you thinking I couldn't work.”
“You are working too hard.”
His voice was quieter.
“You're carrying Lily upstairs. You're on your feet all day. You're skipping meals.”
Norah stared at him.
“You've been watching me.”
“I watch everyone.”
“That isn't normal.”
“Neither is lying to me in my own house.”
Silence.
Then Dominic held out his hand.
“The paper in your pocket.”
Norah’s pulse thundered.
“No.”
“Norah.”
“No.”
His expression sharpened.
“What are you afraid I’ll do?”
She looked at him.
The question felt almost unfair.
She had imagined this moment for months.
She had imagined him furious.
Threatening.
Cold.
She had never imagined he would simply ask.
“I don't know.”
Dominic moved closer.
“You think I would hurt you.”
Norah looked away.
He stopped.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Dominic said, “I have done terrible things.”
Norah's eyes lifted.
“I know.”
“But not to you.”
Her throat tightened.
“Not yet.”
His jaw flexed.
“No.”
A pause.
“Not ever.”
That promise frightened her more than anything else.
Because Dominic Russo did not make promises lightly.
A car screeched outside.
Both turned toward the window.
Gunshots cracked across the compound.
Dominic moved instantly.
He grabbed Norah by the shoulders and pushed her behind the bed.
“Stay down.”
More shots.
Guards shouted.
Lily screamed somewhere upstairs.
Norah forgot everything.
“Lily!”
She tried to move.
Dominic caught her wrist.
“I'll get her.”
“She’s upstairs!”
“I know.”
He ran.
Norah crouched beside the bed, shaking.
The shooting lasted less than two minutes.
It felt like twenty.
Then silence.
A moment later, Dominic returned carrying Lily.
The child was crying against his neck.
Norah rushed toward them.
“Is she hurt?”
“No.”
Lily reached for Norah.
“Mommy—”
The word stopped everyone.
Lily had never called Norah that before.
Norah froze.
Dominic's eyes met hers.
Lily buried her face against Norah's shoulder.
“Mommy, don't go.”
Norah's hands trembled.
Dominic said nothing.
He simply watched.
Later, when the house had finally settled into uneasy quiet, Norah put Lily back to sleep.
She returned downstairs.
Dominic was waiting in the kitchen.
There was a small white envelope on the island.
He pushed it toward her.
“Open it.”
Norah did.
Inside was a photograph.
Her photograph.
Not from the compound.
From the street near the clinic.
Norah getting out of the taxi.
Norah entering the building.
And one more picture.
A telephoto shot of her walking into the clinic, one hand instinctively covering her abdomen.
She slowly raised her eyes.
“Who took these?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic's voice was flat.
“But I know why.”
Norah's fingers went cold.
“Why?”
He tapped the last photograph.
“Because they know you're pregnant.”
Her world stopped.
May you like
Dominic's eyes remained on hers.
“And now I need you to tell me who the father is.”
