Chapter 6 - The Price of Choosing Her
Gabriel held no weapon.
That frightened Emily more.
Men who entered locked bank vaults alone did not come unprepared.
Dominic moved in front of her anyway.
Gabriel smiled.
"You really have changed."
Dominic ignored him.
"Open the door."
"In a moment."
Rebecca stood near the back wall.
Elaine beside her.
Daniel moved closer to Emily.
Gabriel looked around.
"The surviving Vales, the Moretti heir, Daniel Carter. Quite a reunion."
Dominic's voice stayed level.
"You wanted the ledger."
"I wanted control."
Elaine held the book against her chest.
"You never had it."
"I had enough."
"Not anymore."
Gabriel smiled.
"You think these papers matter?"
"They matter to prosecutors."
"They matter to shareholders."
Rebecca stepped forward.
"And they matter to the families you stole from."
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
"You always were Isabella's stubborn mistake."
Dominic's hand curled.
Emily caught it.
He looked at her.
Don't.
He understood.
Gabriel noticed.
"The bride controls you already."
Dominic said, "No."
Emily almost looked offended.
Then Dominic continued.
"She reminds me when not to become you."
Gabriel's face hardened.
That landed.
A buzzer sounded.
The vault intercom activated.
Marco's voice.
"We've overridden the lock. Ninety seconds."
Gabriel glanced toward the door.
His confidence changed.
He had expected longer.
Dominic saw it.
"So this wasn't your plan."
Gabriel smiled again.
"Plans change."
He reached inside his coat.
Dominic moved.
Emily shouted his name.
A gun appeared.
Gabriel aimed toward Emily.
Dominic stepped directly between them.
The moment matched the nightmare from the honeymoon bedroom.
Only now nobody doubted what Dominic would do.
Gabriel laughed softly.
"There it is."
Dominic spread one arm behind him, forcing Emily back.
"Stay behind me."
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
"Move aside, Moretti."
"No."
"Your marriage was supposed to mean nothing."
Dominic's voice became quiet.
"I was wrong."
Emily stopped breathing.
Gabriel tilted the weapon.
"Move."
"No."
"She is not worth dying for."
Dominic looked straight at him.
"That's not your decision."
Emily's fingers tightened around his sleeve.
"Dominic."
He did not turn.
Gabriel smiled faintly.
"You love her."
Dominic said nothing.
Emily felt his chest rise.
Slowly.
Then fall.
Gabriel's finger tightened.
"How unfortunate."
The vault door jolted.
Gabriel turned instinctively.
Dominic moved.
Fast.
He struck Gabriel's wrist.
The gun fell.
Daniel kicked it away.
Rebecca pulled Emily toward the wall.
Gabriel swung at Dominic.
Dominic blocked him.
They collided against the metal table.
A sharp corner caught Dominic near his ribs where his previous wound had barely closed.
He grunted.
Emily saw his shirt darken.
"Dominic!"
"I'm fine."
He wasn't.
But he stayed standing.
Marco forced the vault door open from outside.
Security rushed in.
Gabriel looked around.
Trapped.
For the first time, fear entered his face.
Elaine placed the ledger on the table.
Rebecca held up Isabella's recorded confession.
Daniel lifted his phone.
It had been recording the entire confrontation.
Emily looked at Gabriel.
"You lost."
He stared at her.
Then laughed.
"You think this ends with me?"
"No."
She looked toward Dominic.
"It ends with us choosing what happens next."
Security restrained Gabriel.
He did not resist.
As he passed Dominic, he whispered something too quiet for Emily to hear.
Dominic's expression changed.
"What did he say?" she asked.
"Nothing."
"Dominic."
"Later."
She hated that word suddenly.
Paramedics treated Dominic in a private room at the bank.
The injury was painful but not life-threatening.
Emily sat beside him while his shirt was cut open enough for the bandage.
"You really need to stop getting hurt during our honeymoon."
Dominic looked toward her.
"This counts as a honeymoon?"
"Technically."
"I owe you another one."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Do you?"
"If you'll still be married to me."
The room went quiet.
Emily looked down at the ring.
It was back on her finger.
She had put it there herself after the vault opened.
Dominic noticed.
"I meant what I said."
"Which part?"
"All of it."
"That's inconvenient. You've said contradictory things."
"I meant what I said in the vault."
Emily's heart began beating faster.
"You said you were wrong."
"Yes."
"About the marriage."
"Yes."
She waited.
Dominic looked unusually uncomfortable.
It was almost satisfying.
"You're very eloquent when threatening people."
"I'm discovering that."
"And much worse at this."
"Apparently."
Emily smiled despite herself.
Dominic reached for her hand.
"I told you our marriage meant nothing because I thought that made me safe."
"From me?"
"From needing anyone."
She looked at him.
"My mother died. My father became harder. Everything in our house became negotiation, loyalty, leverage."
"So you decided marriage would be another contract."
"Yes."
"And then?"
His thumb moved over her wedding ring.
"Then you followed me down the stairs when I told you to stay put."
Emily smiled.
"That's when you fell in love?"
"No."
"When?"
Dominic's eyes met hers.
"I don't know."
The honesty mattered more than a perfect answer.
"Maybe when you argued with me at our engagement dinner. Maybe when you remembered Marco's daughter's birthday. Maybe when you refused to let your father speak for you."
Emily's smile faded into something softer.
"Dominic."
He looked down at her hand.
"Or maybe when someone pointed a gun at you and the idea of stepping aside became impossible."
Emily's eyes burned.
"You almost died."
"I didn't."
"You bled for me twice."
"Terrible honeymoon."
She laughed through tears.
Dominic reached up and brushed one away.
"I'm sorry."
"For which part?"
"The part where I made you believe you were unwanted."
That hurt.
Because it was true.
Emily looked at him for a long time.
"I can't erase that because you protected me."
"I know."
"And I can't pretend everything is fixed because you said you love me without actually saying the words."
Dominic almost smiled.
"I love you."
She blinked.
He continued, "There. Efficient."
A laugh escaped her.
Then she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
"You're impossible."
"Are we still married?"
"Today."
Dominic looked satisfied.
"I'll take today."
Marco entered before either could say more.
His face was tense.
"Dominic."
"What?"
"Gabriel requested a private conversation before he's transferred."
"No."
"He says it's about Vittorio."
Dominic's expression cooled.
Emily remembered the whisper in the vault.
"What did Gabriel tell you?"
Dominic looked away.
"Dominic."
He exhaled.
"He said my father knew your mother was alive."
Emily stood.
"What?"
"And he claims Vittorio helped keep her hidden."
Elaine entered behind Marco.
Her face confirmed it.
Emily stared.
"You knew?"
Elaine nodded.
"Vittorio helped me disappear."
Dominic looked toward her.
"Why?"
"Because your mother asked him to protect Emily if anything happened."
Dominic's anger wavered.
Elaine continued.
"But Gabriel is twisting the truth. Vittorio never knew where I was after the first year."
Dominic rubbed his forehead.
Emily sat beside him again.
"One secret at a time."
He gave her a tired look.
"That may take decades."
"We apparently have a marriage for that."
This time he smiled.
Really smiled.
It changed his entire face.
Emily understood why so few people had probably seen it.
Three hours later, Gabriel was transferred into federal custody.
The ledger, confession, and financial records were copied and distributed to attorneys across multiple jurisdictions.
Rebecca agreed to testify.
Elaine did too.
Vittorio announced he would cooperate regarding his past dealings.
For the first time, the truth seemed larger than the families trying to bury it.
Then Emily's phone buzzed.
An email.
Subject:
YOUR MARRIAGE AGREEMENT.
She opened it.
The sender was anonymous.
One sentence appeared.
Dominic Moretti never signed the version you signed.
Emily's blood went cold.
A file was attached.
She opened it.
Two contracts appeared side by side.
Her signature was on one.
Dominic's was on another.
The terms were different.
Emily looked toward the man who had just told her he loved her.
Dominic saw her face.
"What?"
She handed him the phone.
He read the document.
Then went completely still.
Emily whispered, "Tell me you didn't know."
May you like
Dominic didn't answer.
And that silence frightened her more than anything Gabriel had done.
