Chapter 2 - The Shadow of Marissa's Secret
The dining room remained locked in a suffocating freeze.
Dominic Vale stared at the folded envelope in Evelyn’s hands, his breath coming in shallow, jagged gasps.
Around the table, the heavy hitters of Chicago’s shipping empire looked down at their plates, suddenly terrified of witnessing a crack in the armor of the city’s most dangerous man.
Bianca Sterling’s perfect smile had completely vanished, replaced by a twitching mask of panic.
She tried to reach for Dominic’s arm again, but he subtly threw her hand off.
His dark eyes never left Evelyn’s bruised but defiant face.
“Evelyn,” Dominic whispered, his voice dangerously low.
This was a tone that usually made men pray for their lives.
“What game are you playing?”
“You were dismissed three years ago after Marissa passed.”
“My mother handled the severance.”
“You took the money and left.”
“I didn't take a single cent, Dominic,” Evelyn said, her voice shaking with three years of repressed agony.
Yet she held firm as she wrapped her arms tighter around a sobbing Noah.
“Your mother didn't give me a severance.”
“She gave me an ultimatum.”
“Two men in unmarked suits threw me into the back of a sedan right outside these gates while you were at your wife's funeral.”
“They told me if I ever tried to contact Noah again, they would make sure he grew up without a father, too.”
A collective murmur rippled through the guests.
Bianca stepped forward, her voice high and erratic.
“Dominic, don't listen to this garbage!”
“She’s a disgruntled ex-employee!”
“Security, get this woman out of my engagement dinner!”
“Nobody touches her,” Dominic roared.
The sudden blast of his voice made the crystal chandelier above them ring.
He stepped away from the table, walking slowly toward Evelyn and his son.
The imposing mob boss looked down at the tiny blue yarn bracelet in Evelyn’s hand.
“Daddy,” Noah whimpered through his tears.
His small hands clutched the fabric of Evelyn’s oversized maid uniform.
“Don't let Miss Bianca send me away.”
“I heard her on the phone last night.”
“She said once they got married, I was going to a special school far away so I wouldn't disrupt their new life.”
Dominic’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked violently in his cheek.
He slowly turned his head toward Bianca.
“Is this true?”
“Of course not, darling!” Bianca stammered, her face flushing crimson.
“The boy is confused!”
“He’s fragile, remember?”
“He hallucinates things because of his trauma!”
Evelyn threw the folded envelope onto the table, right into the middle of the spilled champagne.
“The enrollment papers for the St. Jude Military Academy in upstate New York are inside that envelope, Dominic.”
“Signed by Bianca Sterling three weeks ago.”
“She even forged your signature as primary guardian.”
“Check the date.”
May you like
Dominic lunged forward, snatching the papers.
As his eyes scanned the legal document, the air in the room grew heavy enough to suffocate.
