Chapter 2 - The Threat Behind the Bruises
Vivian watched Dominic place the disposable phone inside a signal-blocking pouch.
His movements were calm, almost ordinary.
That frightened her more than anger would have.
Dominic Russo’s rage did not explode.
It organized itself.
He looked around the bedroom, studying every object as though the room were a crime scene.
The broken clasp on Vivian’s purse.
The overturned glass near the dresser.
The faint scrape along the doorframe.
The revolver on the floor.
“Was he here?” Dominic asked.
Vivian nodded.
“When?”
“Last night.”
“Alone?”
“I think so.”
“You think?”
“He covered my eyes when he entered.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
Vivian noticed it and quickly added, “He wore gloves. He changed his voice. I never saw his face.”
“But you recognized something.”
She looked away.
That answer told Dominic enough.
He moved toward the window and pulled the curtain aside.
Across the street, rain reflected the yellow light of parked cars. A laundromat sign flickered on the opposite corner. Pedestrians hurried beneath umbrellas.
Someone could have been watching from any window.
“Get dressed,” Dominic said.
Vivian’s eyes widened.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere secure.”
“I cannot leave.”
“You cannot stay.”
“The baby’s room—”
“Can be rebuilt.”
Her hand moved instinctively over her stomach.
Dominic’s voice became quieter.
“You were sitting beside a loaded revolver, Vivian.”
She stared down at the carpet.
He did not accuse her.
That somehow made the truth more painful.
“I was not going to hurt the baby.”
“I know.”
“You do not know anything.”
“I know the cartridges were still in the cylinder. I know the safety strap was loose. I know you had been crying long enough to become dehydrated. And I know the man who hit you expected fear to finish what violence started.”
Vivian’s lips trembled.
Dominic remained beside the window.
“I am not judging you.”
“You came here to kill me.”
He did not deny it.
That honesty settled heavily between them.
“I came to learn why you betrayed me,” he said. “Now I know you did not.”
“I moved the money.”
“You were forced.”
“I still did it.”
“To protect your child.”
“And endangered everyone who works for you.”
Dominic studied her.
Even terrified and injured, Vivian was calculating consequences. She had always carried responsibility too easily, as though every disaster became hers the moment she understood it.
“Who knows you are pregnant?” he asked.
“My doctor. My neighbor Mrs. Kaplan. A few people at the pharmacy.”
“Inside the organization.”
“No one.”
“Not even your security detail?”
Vivian’s face changed.
Dominic saw it immediately.
“What?”
“They stopped coming.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Why did you not report it?”
“I received a message from your office saying the protection was being reassigned because of budget concerns.”
Dominic’s eyes hardened.
“My office sent no such message.”
Vivian closed her eyes.
She had known. Perhaps not consciously, but some part of her had recognized that the explanation made no sense.
Dominic removed his phone and called a number from memory.
A man answered after one ring.
“Mr. Russo.”
“Bring a medical team and two women from the residential detail to Apartment 14B. Use the service entrance. No uniforms.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Marco?”
“Yes?”
“Tell no one where you are going.”
Dominic ended the call.
Vivian shifted uncomfortably on the bed.
A wave of pain crossed her face.
Dominic noticed.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No.”
“That was not an answer.”
“He pushed me against the dresser.”
“Did you fall?”
“I caught myself.”
“Any bleeding?”
“No.”
“Cramping?”
“Only when I panic.”
Dominic crossed the room and crouched several feet in front of her, careful not to touch her.
“Breathe slowly.”
“I am breathing.”
“You are hyperventilating.”
“I have spent three weeks being told that my child will die if I make one wrong move. Forgive me if my breathing is not efficient.”
The sharpness surprised them both.
Vivian immediately looked frightened, as though she expected punishment.
Dominic only nodded.
“There you are.”
“What?”
“The woman who argues with federal tax law for entertainment.”
Despite everything, a small, broken laugh escaped her.
It became a sob almost immediately.
Vivian covered her face.
“I thought I could solve it.”
Dominic waited.
“I thought if I moved the money and followed his instructions, he would disappear. Then he demanded access to another account. When I refused, he came here.”
“What account?”
“The Geneva reserve.”
Dominic went still.
The Geneva reserve contained far more than two and a half million dollars.
It was an emergency fund known to only four people.
Dominic.
Vivian.
Leo Rossi.
And Dominic’s late father’s attorney, who had died two years earlier.
The list narrowed quickly.
“What exactly did he say?”
Vivian struggled to remember.
“He said I had already proven I could obey. He said the first transfer was only a test.”
“Did he use the word Geneva?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“He said after I opened it, I would receive new documents and disappear.”
“Did he tell you where?”
“No.”
“Did he mention me?”
Vivian hesitated.
Dominic’s gaze sharpened.
“What did he say?”
“He said you would believe the evidence because powerful men always believe numbers before people.”
The words struck closer than Dominic wanted to admit.
He had entered her apartment armed because of numbers.
Whoever had constructed the plan understood him.
Not merely his accounts.
His mind.
A faint knock sounded from the front door.
Vivian flinched.
Dominic drew his pistol.
“Stay here.”
He moved through the hallway without sound.
At the entrance, he checked the peephole.
Marco Santini stood outside with a medical bag. Beside him were two women Dominic recognized from the private residential team.
Dominic opened the door.
Marco entered first.
He was in his late fifties, discreet, experienced, and accustomed to treating injuries that could not be reported to hospitals.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Pregnant woman, approximately seven months. Facial trauma, possible impact against furniture, severe stress.”
Marco glanced toward the bedroom.
“Is she family?”
Dominic looked at him.
The doctor immediately understood that the question had been a mistake.
“She is under my protection.”
The two women swept the apartment while Marco examined Vivian.
Dominic waited in the nursery.
He stood beside the unfinished crib and looked at the tiny folded blankets.
A stuffed bear sat on the dresser with its head tilted to one side.
The softness of the room felt foreign against the violence surrounding it.
On the floor near the closet, Dominic noticed a cardboard box filled with financial records.
He crouched and examined the top folder.
Prenatal expenses.
Insurance forms.
A letter from the hospital.
Then he found an envelope addressed to Vivian in handwriting.
The return name read Daniel Mercer.
Dominic opened it.
Inside was a short note.
Vivian, you cannot keep ignoring me. The baby deserves a father, even if you hate me. Call me before I come to Chicago myself.
Dominic read it twice.
When Marco entered the nursery several minutes later, Dominic was still holding the letter.
“She needs rest, fluids, and observation,” the doctor said. “The baby’s heartbeat is strong. I do not see signs of immediate distress, but she should have an ultrasound tomorrow.”
“Can she travel?”
“Across the city, yes. I would not put her on an aircraft.”
Dominic nodded.
Marco lowered his voice.
“She is frightened of everyone.”
“She has reason to be.”
“Whoever did this may have struck her more than once.”
Dominic’s eyes lifted.
“She has older bruising along her upper arm.”
“How old?”
“Several weeks.”
Dominic folded the letter.
The attacker had been controlling Vivian longer than she admitted.
When he returned to the bedroom, she had changed into a long coat over her maternity dress. One of the security women packed a small bag.
Vivian saw the letter in Dominic’s hand.
Her face tightened.
“You searched my things.”
“I found it in an open box.”
“That does not make it yours.”
“Who is Daniel Mercer?”
“My brother.”
“The baby’s father?”
“No.”
Dominic waited.
Vivian looked toward the security women.
“Could we have a minute?”
They glanced at Dominic.
He nodded, and they left.
Vivian lowered her voice.
“My brother believes the baby’s father abandoned me.”
“Did he?”
“He died.”
The answer surprised Dominic.
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
Before the pregnancy was far enough for her to know.
“His name?”
Vivian’s gaze fell.
“Ethan Cole.”
Dominic recognized it.
Ethan had worked as a forensic auditor for Apex Freight. He had been killed in what police called a carjacking near Navy Pier.
At the time, Dominic had considered the death unfortunate but unrelated to business.
Now the timing felt different.
“Ethan knew about our financial systems?” he asked.
“He knew the legitimate accounts.”
“Did he know about you?”
“We kept our relationship private.”
“Why?”
“Because he was afraid working for Apex would place me under suspicion.”
Dominic walked slowly toward her.
“Did Ethan discover anything before he died?”
Vivian’s eyes filled with fresh tears.
“He said some shipping payments did not match their invoices. He believed someone inside Apex was creating false security expenses.”
“Did he give you names?”
“No. He planned to show me the files the night he died.”
Dominic felt the pieces begin to align.
The missing security detail.
The Geneva reserve.
The financial framing.
Ethan’s death.
“Your attacker knew about the baby,” Dominic said. “If Ethan died before you learned you were pregnant, someone has been watching you since.”
Vivian’s hand covered her mouth.
Dominic continued.
“They did not choose you only because you had account access. They chose you because Ethan discovered something.”
“Then this was never about stealing money.”
“No.”
“What is it about?”
Dominic folded the letter and placed it on the bed.
“Removing me.”
Vivian looked confused.
“The first theft creates instability. The second empties the emergency reserve. Evidence points toward my accountant. My men see weakness, federal agencies see suspicious transfers, and whoever planned it gains access to enough money to buy loyalty.”
Her expression slowly changed.
“Leo brought you the dossier.”
Dominic said nothing.
“He has access to the Geneva account,” Vivian continued. “And he knew Ethan.”
“So did several others.”
“But Leo approved Ethan’s audit assignment.”
Dominic looked at her.
That detail had not been in any report.
“How do you know?”
“Ethan told me.”
Outside the bedroom, one of the security women called Dominic’s name.
He stepped into the hallway.
She held a small electronic device in her gloved hand.
“We found this beneath the living-room smoke detector.”
A listening transmitter.
Professional quality.
Installed recently.
Dominic looked toward Vivian.
Every word spoken inside the apartment may have been heard.
Including the call.
Including his threat.
Including Leo’s name.
A faint sound came from the street below.
Dominic turned toward the window.
A black sedan pulled away from the curb too quickly.
“Move,” he ordered.
The apartment erupted into controlled motion.
The women took Vivian between them. Marco gathered his equipment. Dominic called the driver and directed him to the underground entrance.
As they reached the service elevator, the building lights suddenly went dark.
Vivian gasped.
Emergency lamps flickered on, painting the corridor red.
The elevator stopped responding.
Then footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
More than one person.
Moving upward.
Dominic positioned himself between Vivian and the sound.
“Back into the apartment.”
“They know we are here,” Vivian whispered.
“Yes.”
“Because of me.”
“No.”
Dominic drew his pistol.
“Because someone has finally become afraid.”
The stairwell door handle began to turn.
Dominic raised his weapon.
The door opened a few inches.
A muzzle appeared through the gap.
Dominic fired first.
The suppressed shot sounded like a hard clap.
The weapon vanished, and a body struck the stairwell railing.
More footsteps retreated downward.
Dominic did not chase them.
His priority stood behind him, one hand over her stomach and terror in her eyes.
He contacted the driver.
“Bring the vehicle to the east loading bay. Now.”
The group moved through the dark service corridor.
When they reached the loading area, the SUV was already waiting with its rear door open.
Dominic helped Vivian inside without touching her more than necessary.
As he turned to enter, she caught his sleeve.
“What happens now?”
Rain blew through the open loading bay.
May you like
Dominic looked back toward the building where armed men had arrived to silence her.
“Now,” he said, “we discover which of my friends has been behaving like an enemy.”
