Chapter 3 - The Secret Heir
Harper hid the pregnancy for eleven days.
Eleven days of pretending she was not nauseated every morning.
Eleven days of avoiding wine at dinners.
Eleven days of placing a hand over her stomach when no one was watching.
Dominic noticed everything.
He noticed when she skipped breakfast.
He noticed when she pushed away coffee.
He noticed when she became pale during a charity luncheon and had to sit down before anyone else saw.
“What is wrong with you?” he asked one night in the penthouse kitchen.
Harper froze.
Dominic stood across from her, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, his tie loosened after a long day. He looked tired, but his attention was sharp.
“Nothing,” she said.
“That answer is becoming less convincing.”
“I have been busy.”
“You have barely left the apartment.”
“I said I’m fine.”
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Hurt.
“You do not have to lie to me.”
Harper looked down at the marble counter.
That was the problem.
She wanted to tell him.
She wanted to see his face when he learned they were going to have a baby. She wanted to believe he would be happy. She wanted to believe their night in the Catskills had meant something to him too.
But she had heard Carmine’s words.
An heir changes everything.
A child would not only make Harper important.
It would make her a target.
Before she could respond, Dominic’s phone rang.
He answered, listened in silence, then ended the call.
“What happened?” Harper asked.
“Madison’s doctor called. She had a reaction to the treatment.”
Harper’s heart dropped. “Is she okay?”
“She is stable. Elias is taking us to the hospital.”
At Mount Sinai, Harper found Madison resting in a private room, pale but awake.
Her younger sister smiled weakly when Harper entered.
“You look terrible,” Madison whispered.
“I love you too.”
“I mean it. You look like you have not slept in weeks.”
Harper glanced toward the door, where Dominic stood speaking quietly with Madison’s doctor.
“He worries about you,” Madison said.
Harper turned back to her.
“Who?”
“Your husband.”
“He is not—”
“Don’t say fake husband.” Madison’s voice was soft but firm. “I know the arrangement. I also know the way he looks at you.”
Harper swallowed.
“You do not understand him.”
“Maybe not. But I understand you.”
Before Harper could answer, the door opened.
Luca Falco walked in carrying a bouquet of white lilies.
Every muscle in Harper’s body tightened.
“Mrs. Russo,” Luca said pleasantly. “I heard your sister was ill.”
Dominic turned instantly.
His eyes became cold.
“You are not welcome here.”
Luca set the flowers down. “I came to show concern.”
“You came without permission.”
Luca looked at Harper. “Your family is beautiful. Fragile, but beautiful.”
The threat was buried beneath the words.
Harper felt it.
So did Dominic.
“Leave,” Dominic said.
Luca smiled. “Carmine sends his regards.”
After Luca left, Dominic ordered additional guards around Madison’s room and Harper’s apartment.
That night, Harper finally told him.
They stood in the dark living room of the penthouse, the city glowing beneath them.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
Dominic did not move.
For one terrifying second, Harper thought he had not heard her.
Then his glass slipped from his hand and shattered against the floor.
“What did you say?”
Harper’s voice shook. “I’m pregnant.”
Dominic stared at her.
His face had gone completely still.
“I took several tests. I saw a doctor this morning.”
He crossed the room slowly, as though approaching something sacred.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
His hand rose, hovering near her stomach without touching it.
“Harper…”
She expected panic.
Anger.
A reminder that they had broken the agreement.
Instead, Dominic’s eyes filled with something she had never seen there before.
Emotion.
He dropped to his knees in front of her.
His large hand rested gently over her stomach.
“Our baby,” he whispered.
Harper began to cry.
Dominic looked up at her, and his voice broke.
“I thought I had nothing left worth protecting.”
“You have me,” Harper said.
His hand tightened around hers.
“You were never supposed to become real.”
“I know.”
“But you are.”
He stood and pulled her into his arms.
For the first time, Harper believed he loved her.
Then Elias entered the room without knocking.
His face was grim.
“Dominic,” he said. “Carmine knows.”
The room went cold.
“How?” Dominic demanded.
“Luca had Harper followed from the doctor’s office.”
Harper felt Dominic’s arms tighten around her.
Elias continued.
“Carmine has called an emergency commission meeting tomorrow night.”
Dominic looked down at Harper.
“They will not congratulate us,” he said.
May you like
Harper knew he was right.
The moment Carmine Falco learned she carried Dominic Russo’s heir, the fake marriage became a deadly battlefield.
