Chapter 2 - The Secret Hidden Behind His Name
The phone rang before Dominic could tell me the truth.
The sound cut through the silence of the room.
Not a normal call.
Not a casual interruption.
I had never seen Dominic Rossi react to a phone call like that.
His eyes moved toward the screen, and for the first time since I met him, I saw something close to fear.
Not anger.
Not suspicion.
Fear.
I looked at the name flashing on the phone.
He didn’t pick it up immediately.
He just stared.
"Who is it?" I asked.
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
"Someone who shouldn’t be calling me."
That answer made my stomach twist.
Because Dominic Rossi was not a man who looked surprised.
People surprised him.
Enemies challenged him.
Business partners betrayed him.
But nothing seemed to shake him.
Until that name appeared.
His injured hand moved toward the phone.
Then stopped.
Arthur stepped forward.
"Boss, don’t answer."
Dominic looked at him.
"Why?"
Arthur’s expression was serious.
"Because if that number is active again, it means someone wants you to know they’re still alive."
The room became colder.
I looked between them.
"Still alive?"
Neither man answered.
That was when I realized something.
Dominic wasn’t just hiding secrets from me.
He was hiding secrets from everyone.
The phone stopped ringing.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Then Dominic finally picked it up.
"Who is this?"
Silence.
I watched his expression change.
The confident mafia boss disappeared.
The powerful man everyone feared became someone remembering a painful past.
"That’s impossible."
His voice was quiet.
Arthur immediately reached for his weapon.
Dominic raised his hand, stopping him.
"No."
Another pause.
Then Dominic said something that made my heart race.
"You should have stayed dead."
I didn’t know who was on the other side.
But I knew one thing.
Whoever it was had just opened a door Dominic had spent years trying to keep closed.
He ended the call.
For several seconds, he stared at the floor.
Then he looked at me.
And suddenly I felt like the marriage contract between us had become something much more dangerous.
"Clara."
I waited.
"Seven years ago, when you found me in that alley, you didn’t save a random stranger."
I stayed silent.
"You saved Dominic Rossi before he became Dominic Rossi."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
He looked toward the rain-covered windows.
"Back then, I wasn’t the head of the organization."
The way he said it made me understand.
There was a version of Dominic Rossi that nobody knew.
A version before the suits.
Before the power.
Before the fear.
"I was trying to escape."
"Escape from what?"
His eyes returned to mine.
"My family."
I didn’t expect that answer.
Everyone knew the Rossi name.
A powerful family.
A dangerous family.
A family people respected because they were afraid.
But Dominic spoke about them like they were a prison.
"My father built everything on fear," he said.
"He believed kindness was weakness. Trust was a mistake. Love was something people used against you."
I watched him carefully.
"And you believed him?"
His expression changed slightly.
"I did."
The honesty surprised me.
This was not the man who forced me into marriage.
This was a man admitting something he had never told anyone.
"I was supposed to take over everything," Dominic continued.
"But I wanted out."
He looked at the scar.
"The night you found me, I had just survived an attempt on my life."
My breath caught.
"By your own family?"
He didn’t answer.
But silence was enough.
I sat back slowly.
The man I thought was my enemy was carrying a past I never imagined.
"You searched for me," I said.
Dominic looked at me.
"What?"
"After that night."
His expression froze.
"You tried to find me."
I could see the answer before he spoke.
"Yes."
"Why?"
For a moment, Dominic looked uncomfortable.
Almost like the question was harder than any threat he had faced.
"Because you were the only person who helped me when you had every reason not to."
I looked down at my hands.
Those same hands had once held a stranger’s life together.
And now those same hands belonged to the wife of the man I saved.
"Did you find anything?"
He looked away.
"No."
A strange sadness appeared in his eyes.
"I searched hospitals. Student records. Every possible place."
"Then how did you never realize it was me?"
His mouth tightened.
"Because the girl who saved me disappeared."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"After that night, the name Clara Hayes vanished from every record I could find."
My heart skipped.
"That’s impossible."
"I thought so too."
The room became quiet.
I remembered my own life.
My hospital training.
My family.
My normal routine.
Nothing had disappeared.
At least, that was what I believed.
Before I could respond, Arthur’s phone buzzed.
He checked the message.
Immediately, his face changed.
Dominic noticed.
"What?"
Arthur hesitated.
"Someone leaked information about tonight."
Dominic stood despite his injury.
"You’re sure?"
Arthur nodded.
"They know about the shooting."
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
"That’s not possible."
I watched them.
"Why?"
Arthur looked at me.
Then at Dominic.
"Because only three people knew where you would be."
A terrible feeling moved through me.
Dominic slowly turned toward me.
"Who?"
Arthur answered quietly.
"You."
A silence followed.
I felt like the entire room shifted.
"What are you saying?"
Arthur immediately shook his head.
"I’m not accusing her."
But his words didn’t make me feel better.
Because the possibility had already entered the room.
Dominic looked at me.
And for one painful second, I wondered if he believed it too.
Then something unexpected happened.
He stepped between me and Arthur.
"No."
Arthur looked surprised.
"Boss—"
"Clara is not the leak."
His voice was firm.
"You don’t know that."
"I know enough."
Those words surprised me.
Because Dominic Rossi had no reason to trust me.
Not completely.
Not yet.
But he did.
And that scared me more than his anger.
Later that night, after his men secured the mansion, I found Dominic standing alone in his office.
The room was filled with old photographs and documents.
I had never been inside before.
He turned when he heard me.
"You should rest."
"So should you."
A faint smile appeared.
"You always talk to me like I’m a patient."
"Because you are."
He looked at me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I noticed something on his desk.
A small envelope.
Old.
Damaged.
With my name written on it.
My heart stopped.
"Why do you have that?"
Dominic looked at the envelope.
Then back at me.
"I was going to show you eventually."
I stepped closer.
"Where did you get it?"
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
I reached for it.
But Dominic stopped me.
"Clara."
His voice was different.
A warning.
A request.
"Before you open it, you need to understand something."
"What?"
"Everything you believe about your family is about to change."
My hand froze.
"What are you talking about?"
Dominic slowly released the envelope.
"Seven years ago, the reason I survived that alley wasn’t just because you found me."
I stared at him.
"Then why?"
His phone suddenly received a message.
The screen lit up.
Dominic looked at it.
And all the color disappeared from his face.
I saw only three words.
May you like
The person who sent the message was my father.
And underneath it was a photograph of me from seven years ago...
