Chapter 6 - The Name on Lily's Birth Certificate
Claire grabbed the certificate.
"This isn't real."
Dominic watched her.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
The document listed:
MOTHER: CLAIRE BENNETT.
FATHER: MICHAEL MORETTI.
Dominic stared.
Michael.
His younger brother.
Dead seven years.
Claire shook her head violently.
"I never met Michael."
Dominic believed her.
But Salvatore had created the document for a reason.
Confusion.
Division.
Doubt.
Claire examined the paper.
"The hospital is wrong."
"No."
Dominic pointed.
"That hospital closed eight years ago."
Claire looked at him.
Lily slept inside the ambulance nearby.
Dominic lowered his voice.
"My father manufactured this."
"Why?"
"Because even after getting caught, he wants to destroy whatever is left."
Claire stared at the certificate.
Dominic tore it in half.
Then again.
"I already lost five years. I'm not losing another minute because of his lies."
Claire looked at him.
"You believe she's yours?"
"I don't need a piece of paper."
"But we can test."
"We will."
He looked toward Lily.
"For her. Not him."
Three days later, DNA confirmed it.
99.99 percent.
Dominic Moretti was Lily Bennett's biological father.
Claire handed him the report.
He read it silently.
Then sat down.
For a man who rarely showed emotion, the tiny movement revealed everything.
Lily entered.
"What is that?"
Dominic looked up.
"Something important."
"About me?"
"Yes."
Claire sat beside her.
There was no perfect way to explain this to a five-year-old.
So Claire chose honesty simple enough for a child.
"Dominic is your daddy."
Lily stared at Dominic.
Dominic waited.
She blinked.
Then smiled.
"I knew."
Both adults froze.
Claire almost laughed.
"How?"
Lily shrugged.
"He looks at me like Grandpa looks at Aunt Rachel."
Dominic's throat tightened.
Lily climbed onto the sofa beside him.
"Does that mean I can call you Daddy?"
Dominic couldn't speak for several seconds.
"If you want."
Lily wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I want."
Dominic closed his eyes.
Claire turned away to hide tears.
For the first time in five years, Dominic Moretti discovered something more powerful than fear.
Being needed.
The following weeks transformed everything.
Salvatore's network collapsed.
Federal indictments spread through New York.
Judges resigned.
Police officers were arrested.
Financial accounts were frozen.
Claire's original investigation finally became public.
Dominic cooperated where necessary, separating his legitimate businesses from his father's criminal network.
For the first time, the Moretti name appeared in newspapers without Dominic feeling the need to control every word.
But family proved harder.
Claire didn't immediately move into Dominic's townhouse.
Dominic didn't ask.
He rented a secure apartment near hers instead.
He attended Lily's kindergarten pickup.
The first afternoon caused chaos.
Parents stared.
Teachers whispered.
Lily ran out carrying a paper crown.
"Daddy!"
Dominic froze.
Every adult looked at him.
Lily jumped into his arms.
Dominic smiled.
Nobody in the school had ever seen Dominic Moretti smile.
By the following morning, three parents had apparently searched his name online.
Claire found that hilarious.
"You think this is funny?"
"A little."
"They look at me like I'm going to extort the PTA."
"You did wear a black suit."
"I own other clothes."
"I've never seen them."
Dominic looked offended.
Lily giggled.
Slowly, their lives became ordinary in unexpected ways.
Pancakes.
School projects.
Bedtime stories.
Dominic was terrible at braiding hair.
Claire took photographs of every failed attempt.
Lily kept asking him to try.
Then came the nightmares.
Lily would wake remembering the kidnapping.
Dominic often arrived before Claire.
He sat beside her bed until she slept again.
One night Lily asked:
"Are bad people coming back?"
"No."
"Promise?"
Dominic hesitated.
He had learned not to promise things outside his control.
So he said:
"I promise you'll never face them alone."
That satisfied her.
It also changed Claire.
She began trusting him.
Not completely.
But enough.
One evening, three months after Salvatore's arrest, Claire invited Dominic to dinner.
Not Beluchi's.
Her apartment.
Lily insisted on candles because "fancy dinners need candles."
Dominic arrived carrying flowers.
Claire laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're laughing."
"I never imagined Dominic Moretti buying daisies."
"Lily likes them."
"I know."
He paused.
"I bought the roses for you."
Claire stopped smiling.
Something old moved between them.
Not fear.
Not suspicion.
Something they had refused to examine.
Dinner ended.
Lily fell asleep.
Claire and Dominic stood near the window.
"I owe you an apology," Claire said.
"For what?"
"Five years."
Dominic looked down.
"I understand why you did it."
"That doesn't make it right."
"No."
"I took something from you."
"Yes."
Claire swallowed.
"I'm sorry."
Dominic looked at her.
"I've been angry."
"You should be."
"But every time I look at Lily, I realize anger doesn't give those years back."
Claire's eyes filled.
"So what do we do?"
"Start with tomorrow."
She smiled.
"Tomorrow."
Dominic stepped closer.
Claire didn't move away.
For the first time since that night six years earlier, they kissed.
Slowly.
Carefully.
No secrets.
At least, that was what they believed.
The following morning, Dominic received a call from the federal detention center.
Salvatore Moretti had requested to speak with him.
Dominic refused.
Then the official said:
"He claims he has information about Claire."
Dominic almost hung up.
"What information?"
"He says there's another copy of the ledger."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Where?"
The official paused.
"Inside Claire Bennett's apartment."
Dominic looked toward the bedroom where Claire and Lily were sleeping.
Then he noticed something.
Claire's desk drawer was open.
A brown envelope sat inside.
He reached for it.
May you like
The envelope had one sentence written across the front.
CLAIRE NEVER FOUND THE LAST PAGE.
