Chapter 7 - Victoria’s Dangerous Bargain
Isabella Russo looked at her son for the first time in twenty-four years.
Neither moved.
Dominic's gun hung loosely at his side.
“You're alive.”
Isabella’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
He laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You let me bury you.”
“I had no choice.”
“Everyone seems to have no choice when they're lying to me.”
Clara felt the sentence.
So did Dominic.
His eyes briefly met hers.
Isabella stepped forward.
Dominic stepped back.
That hurt her visibly.
“You were eight.”
“I noticed.”
“Charles Mercer threatened you.”
“So you abandoned me.”
“I saved you.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“Don't call it that.”
Clara understood something then.
Dominic's worst behavior had not begun with power.
It had begun with abandonment.
He pushed people away before they could disappear.
Blackwood Lodge had terrified him because Clara had gotten close enough to become another person he could lose.
It did not excuse what he had said.
But it explained the man who had said it.
Isabella turned to Clara.
“Margaret's daughter.”
Clara stiffened.
“You knew my mother.”
“She saved my life.”
“And you let her die.”
Isabella closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The answer silenced everyone.
“How?”
“Your parents found evidence that Charles was preparing to eliminate me. They created Archive 17. Bradley helped me disappear.”
“Then why were my parents killed?”
“Because Charles discovered they had copied his ledger.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Victoria's face went pale.
Isabella continued.
“But Charles didn't sabotage their vehicle himself.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Who did?”
Isabella looked toward the hallway.
Footsteps approached.
An older man entered.
Dominic's uncle, Anthony Russo.
He stopped when he saw Isabella.
For the first time in Clara's memory, Anthony looked afraid.
Isabella whispered:
“You.”
Anthony ran.
Dominic's security tackled him before he reached the stairs.
Inside his coat they found a burner phone.
On it were messages to Charles Mercer.
One message had been sent that evening.
THE GIRL IS PREGNANT. ORDERS?
Clara covered her stomach.
Dominic nearly killed him.
It took Liam and two guards to pull him away.
“Tell me where Mercer is!”
Anthony spat blood.
“Too late.”
“What does that mean?”
Anthony smiled.
“The heir won't survive the week.”
Dominic lunged again.
Clara shouted his name.
He stopped.
Not because of the guards.
Because she had called him.
Dominic looked at her.
Clara shook her head.
“Don't become what they think you are.”
His breathing slowed.
He stepped back.
Police loyal to no Russo or Mercer were contacted through Liam.
Anthony was taken into custody along with the burner phone and financial evidence.
But Charles Mercer vanished.
For the next forty-eight hours, Clara remained at the estate under protection.
Dominic gave her the suite beside his.
He did not enter without permission.
He did not touch her.
He did not ask her to forgive him.
Instead, every morning, breakfast appeared outside her door.
The first morning contained coffee.
Clara sent it back with a note.
Pregnant women limit caffeine, genius.
The next morning contained herbal tea.
She almost smiled.
Almost.
On the third night, she found Dominic sitting outside her room.
“Why are you here?”
“Couldn't sleep.”
“You own forty bedrooms.”
“None of them are outside this door.”
She leaned against the frame.
“You can't guard me forever.”
“I can try.”
“That's not a life.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“What is?”
The question surprised her.
Clara sat beside him.
For several moments, they said nothing.
Then she said, “I wanted to see the ocean.”
“I remember.”
“You promised.”
“I remember that too.”
She looked at him.
“Were you lying?”
“No.”
“Then why did you pretend everything meant nothing?”
“Because I thought love was a weakness people could exploit.”
“And now?”
Dominic looked toward her stomach.
“Now I know pretending not to love someone doesn't make them safer.”
Clara's breath caught.
He had said it.
Not dramatically.
Not as a demand.
Just truth.
She looked down.
“Love doesn't fix what you did.”
“I know.”
“Trust doesn't come back because you finally tell the truth.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I'm finally listening.”
That almost broke her.
Her phone chimed.
Unknown number.
A photograph loaded.
Clara standing beside Dominic in the hallway.
Taken seconds earlier.
Someone was watching them inside the estate.
Below it was a message.
ASK ISABELLA WHO REALLY ORDERED YOUR PARENTS’ DEATH.
Clara slowly looked down the empty corridor.
At the far end, a door was closing.
May you like
Someone had been standing there.
Watching.
