Chapter 4 - Lily’s Question
Lily liked Dominic immediately.
That was the first problem.
The second was that Dominic liked her back.
He arrived at our apartment one Sunday carrying groceries.
“What are you doing?”
“Your refrigerator is empty.”
“You checked?”
“Yes.”
“That is deeply invasive.”
“I bought vegetables.”
Lily appeared.
“Did you get chocolate milk?”
Dominic lifted a carton.
She cheered.
He looked at me.
“She asked.”
“You're spoiling her.”
“She deserves it.”
I stared.
“Five minutes ago you were threatening people.”
“Business.”
“Now you're buying chocolate milk.”
“Family.”
The word hung in the air.
Family.
I don't know who looked more uncomfortable.
That afternoon, Dominic helped Lily build a cardboard castle.
He wore a designer shirt and held a roll of tape like it was a weapon.
“This piece goes here,” Lily said.
He obeyed.
“No, Dad.”
We both froze.
Lily's face changed.
“Sorry.”
Dominic looked at her.
“You can call me whatever you want.”
Lily smiled.
She called him Dominic.
But I saw what happened inside him.
Something broke.
Something hopeful.
That night, after Lily slept, Dominic and I sat on the balcony.
“She likes you.”
“I like her.”
“She'll get attached.”
“I know.”
“That's dangerous.”
He looked at me.
“Everything good is dangerous.”
I laughed quietly.
“You really are terrible at comforting people.”
“I've been told.”
The next week, he took us to a farm outside the city.
Lily fed horses.
Dominic learned to milk a goat.
He hated it.
She loved it.
I took a photo.
He caught me.
“Delete that.”
“No.”
“Emma.”
“It is evidence.”
“Of what?”
“You being normal.”
He looked at me.
“Maybe I am.”
Then his phone rang.
His smile disappeared.
He walked away.
When he returned, I knew.
“Carlo.”
He nodded.
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
“We're going?”
“No.”
“I am.”
He stared at me.
“You're not coming.”
“I thought you promised to stop deciding for me.”
His jaw tightened.
“I don't want you near him.”
“I don't want you fighting him alone.”
“This isn't your fight.”
I stepped closer.
“It became my fight when he threatened my daughter.”
Silence.
Finally, he nodded.
The following morning, we flew north.
The meeting took place in an abandoned warehouse.
Carlo was there.
Older.
Gray-haired.
He looked more like a tired uncle than a criminal.
He looked at me.
“So you're Emma.”
Dominic stood beside me.
“You don't speak to her.”
Carlo laughed.
“You care about her.”
Dominic said nothing.
Carlo looked at Lily's photograph in my hand.
“That child is beautiful.”
I moved closer to Dominic.
He noticed.
Carlo smiled.
“You should leave her.”
Dominic's voice was cold.
“Why?”
“Because I know what's coming.”
“What?”
“You're not the target anymore.”
Dominic stared.
Carlo dropped a folder.
“Someone else is running the operation.”
Dominic opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Names.
Bank transfers.
One name was circled.
Senator Adrian Vale.
I recognized him.
He had been on television for years.
Carlo continued.
“He used your family.”
Dominic looked at me.
“What does he want?”
“The port.”
“And?”
“Control of the city.”
I felt cold.
Carlo leaned forward.
“He wants Dominic dead, blamed for everything, and erased.”
“Why tell us?”
Carlo smiled sadly.
“Because I was wrong.”
Dominic stared.
“I spent years believing power was the only thing that mattered.”
He looked at me.
“Then I watched you save him.”
“Why does that change anything?”
“Because she had nothing to gain.”
Carlo turned toward Dominic.
“That's what you forgot.”
Before anyone could respond, gunfire erupted outside.
Dominic pulled me down.
His men returned fire.
Carlo shouted.
“Go!”
Dominic grabbed my hand.
We ran.
Outside, vehicles were already moving.
Someone had betrayed Carlo too.
We escaped through a side entrance.
Once we were inside the car, Dominic looked at me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
He touched my face.
“I thought I'd lose you.”
“You almost did.”
His eyes softened.
Then he kissed me.
Not hurried.
Not desperate.
Just certain.
When he pulled back, I whispered,
“What happens now?”
“We end it.”
“And after?”
He looked at me.
“After, I want a life where the worst thing that happens is Lily spilling chocolate milk on my shirt.”
I smiled.
“I think she can manage that.”
May you like
He smiled.
“Then I have something to look forward to.”
