Chapter 2 - The Reckoning
The silence in the examination room was deafening, broken only by the rapid, rhythmic thump-thump-thump of the tiny heartbeat echoing from the ultrasound monitor.
Dominic’s dark eyes didn't leave mine. The cold, calculating mafia boss who had ruthlessly dismantled rival syndicates was entirely gone. In his place was a man who had just realized his bloodline was beating inside the woman he had spent four months trying to find.
"Yes," I whispered, the word barely making it past the tightness in my throat. "It's yours, Dominic."
Dominic let out a breath that sounded like a fractured vow. He stepped up to the examination table, completely ignoring the terrified doctor. Slowly, with an agonizingly gentle reverence, he reached out and placed his large, warm hand over the curve of my stomach.
"Well, well. This explains a lot."
The arrogant, mocking voice shattered the moment.
Derek stood in the open doorway of the clinic, Britney hovering behind him. They must have been visiting the cosmetic dermatology wing down the hall. Derek looked at Dominic’s ruined, blood-stained tuxedo and smirked, completely oblivious to the fact that he was standing in the presence of an apex predator.
"I guess you didn't waste any time after I left, Chloe," Derek sneered, stepping into the room. "Got knocked up by some thug in a cheap suit? No wonder you look so pathetic."
Dr. Miller physically backed into the wall, looking like he was about to faint.
Dominic didn't shout. He didn't even immediately turn around. He simply kept his hand securely on my stomach, his thumb lightly brushing against the fabric of my sweater.
Then, he slowly turned his head.
The temperature in the room instantly plummeted. The air felt too heavy to breathe.
"Who is this?" Dominic asked, his voice a low, terrifying rumble that vibrated through the floorboards.
"My ex-fiancé," I said quietly.
Dominic turned fully toward the door. His two suited guards instantly blocked the exit, locking Derek and Britney inside the room. Derek’s smug smile finally faltered as he looked at the guards, then back to the man standing over me. The dim lighting caught the sharp, aristocratic lines of Dominic’s face, and the cold, dead look in his eyes.
Recognition suddenly struck Derek like a physical blow. All the blood drained from his face.
"You're... you're Dominic Russo," Derek stammered, taking a frantic step backward, only to bump into a guard’s chest.
"I am," Dominic said smoothly, walking slowly toward him. "And you are the man who abandoned the mother of my child, and then had the audacity to insult her in a public café."
"I—I didn't know!" Derek pleaded, his voice cracking. Britney began to quietly sob in the corner. "Chloe, tell him! It was just a joke!"
"A joke," Dominic repeated softly.
He didn't touch Derek. He didn't need to. Dominic simply reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.
"Marcus," Dominic said, never taking his dead eyes off my ex. "Derek... what is your last name?"
"V-Vance," Derek choked out.
"Derek Vance," Dominic spoke into the phone. "He works in corporate acquisitions at Sterling Financial. Buy the firm. Liquidate his department. Freeze his personal accounts, cancel his credit lines, and ensure he is blacklisted from every financial institution in the Midwest. I want him on the street by dinner."
Dominic hung up.
May you like
Derek collapsed to his knees, openly weeping as he realized his entire life had just been erased in sixty seconds.
"Get this garbage out of my sight," Dominic ordered his men. "If I ever see him near my family again, bury him."
