Chapter 4 - THE BETRAYAL IN THE DARK
“Viktor?” Dominic's voice was a low, lethal rumble. “You're stepping out of line.”
Viktor smiled, a cold, jagged expression that didn't reach his dead eyes.
“I stopped following orders an hour ago, boss. Especially when the payout from Miss Bellini started clearing into my offshore accounts.”
Dominic didn't flinch.
His grip on the Beretta remained rock-solid.
“Vanessa doesn't have the liquidity to buy you off. Everything she owns is tied to my family trusts—trusts I froze the moment I walked into that dining room.”
“She didn't pay me with your money, Dominic,” Viktor chuckled softly, shifting his weight.
“She promised me something better. Complete control of the North Side docks when you're gone.”
“Gone?” I whispered from behind Dominic's shoulder, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst.
“Oh, don't worry, sweetcheeks,” Viktor sneered, his eyes locking onto me.
“The boss here is going to have a tragic accident tonight. A robbery gone wrong at Central Station. A stray bullet through the heart. And as for you and the brat... well, accidents happen to maids and foster kids all the time in a city this size.”
Dominic took half a step forward.
“You think you can take me, Viktor?”
“I don't have to take you in a fair fight,” Viktor said, his finger tightening slightly on the trigger.
“I just have to pull this trigger before you can clear your holster.”
Time seemed to dilate.
Every drop of water dripping from the ceiling echoed like a gunshot.
I looked down at Maisie, still fast asleep in my arms, completely unaware that death was standing ten feet away.
I couldn't lose her.
I couldn't let Dominic die here in the dark.
Viktor inhaled sharply, his finger pressing down on the trigger.
Bang.
A deafening roar shattered the concrete silence.
I screamed, ducking low over Maisie.
But the bullet didn't hit Dominic.
Instead, a heavy steel wrench came flying out of the darkness from the maintenance service exit behind Viktor, slamming violently into Viktor's wrist.
Viktor howled in agony as his pistol clattered onto the concrete floor.
From the shadows stepped Marcus, wiping grease from his hands.
“Traitorous bastard,” Marcus spat, lunging forward.
Before Viktor could recover, Marcus delivered a brutal, crushing right hook to Viktor's jaw.
Viktor collapsed like a sack of wet cement, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Dominic lowered his gun slowly, his chest heaving.
He looked over at Marcus.
“Took you long enough,” Dominic said, though there was a hint of grim gratitude in his voice.
“Saw him take the service elevator down five minutes after we left, boss,” Marcus replied, kicking Viktor's fallen gun away.
“Figured the rat was sniffing around for a bribe. Glad I followed.”
Dominic nodded, then turned back to me.
He stepped closer, his dark eyes searching my face with an intensity that made my breath hitch.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice rough.
“I... I'm fine,” I stammered, adjusting Maisie in my arms. “The baby is still asleep.”
Dominic reached out, his calloused fingertips gently brushing against a stray lock of hair falling across my forehead.
The touch sent a sudden, electric shock straight down my spine.
I pulled back slightly, remembering the chasm between us.
He was a mafia boss.
I was a housemaid.
And according to the documents in that briefcase, he was also the biological father of the little girl I had raised as my own.
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“We need to get back to the mansion,” Dominic said, his voice hardening once more as he scooped up the briefcase and the manila envelope.
“Vanessa thinks Viktor has us cornered. She's waiting for confirmation. Let's give her a front-row seat to her own destruction.”
