Chapter 3

“I didn’t!” Vanessa shrieked, backing away until she hit the wall. “I wasn’t there!”

“You were the last person to call his phone,” Dominic said, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. “You lured him to the warehouse. You knew he wanted out of the life, and you knew he was going to cut you off financially.”

“It was an accident!” she sobbed, her confident facade entirely shattered. “I just wanted to scare him! He was going to leave me with a baby and no money!”

I covered Maisie’s ears. I didn’t want her hearing this monster talk about her father.

Dominic didn’t raise a hand. He didn’t have to. His sheer presence was enough to make Vanessa sink to her knees on the marble floor.

“Marcus,” Dominic said without looking away from her. “Take her to the basement holding room. Call the police commissioner. Tell him we have a confession for the warehouse fire.”

“No! Dominic, please!” Vanessa begged as two massive guards grabbed her arms, dragging her toward the servants’ hallway. “I’m her mother! You can’t do this to me!”

The heavy oak doors slammed shut, cutting off her screams.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Dominic stood facing the wall for a long moment. When he finally turned around, the ruthless mafia boss was gone. In his place was a man who looked utterly broken.

He walked slowly toward us and stopped a few feet away. He looked at Maisie, really looked at her, for the first time.

“She has his eyes,” Dominic whispered, his voice cracking.

Maisie peeked out from behind my legs. “Are you sad, Mr. Dominic?”

Dominic swallowed hard, dropping to one knee. “I am a little sad, sweetheart. But I’m also very happy to meet you.”

He looked up at me. “Claire. I… I don’t know how to thank you. You took her in. You protected her. You raised my brother’s child.”

“She’s my child,” I said fiercely, my heart hammering. “I adopted her legally. You can’t take her from me.”

Dominic held up his hands gently. “I would never do that. You are her mother.”

He stood up, running a hand through his dark hair. “But Vanessa was right about one thing. If word gets out that she’s Leo’s daughter, the rival families will come for her. She’s a Moretti bloodline heir. Your apartment isn’t safe.”

“Then we’ll leave,” I said, panic rising in my chest. “We’ll pack tonight. We’ll go to another state.”

“You wouldn’t make it to the state line,” Dominic said firmly. “Thorne’s men are always watching the bus stations and airports.”

He took a step closer, his dark eyes intense and urgent.

“Stay here,” Dominic said. “Move into the east wing. I have twenty armed guards, bulletproof glass, and a secured perimeter. Nobody will touch her.”

“I can’t live in my boss’s house,” I argued. “I’m the maid.”

“You’re not a maid anymore,” Dominic said. “You’re family.”

Before I could process what he was saying, Marcus burst back through the double doors. He looked shaken—something I had never seen before.

“Boss,” Marcus said, breathing heavily. “Vanessa is gone.”

Dominic spun around. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“She had a knife hidden in her dress. She slashed Rossi’s arm and went out the kitchen service door.” Marcus held up a piece of thick parchment paper. “But she dropped this from her purse.”

Dominic snatched the paper. I watched his face turn to stone as he read it.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Dominic looked at me, his eyes filled with a terrifying realization.

“It’s a DNA test,” Dominic whispered. “Maisie isn’t Leo’s daughter.”

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