Chapter 4 - DOMINIC WANTED TO SOLVE SOPHIA’S GRIEF, UNTIL SHE TOLD HIM GRIEF WAS NOT A PROBLEM
Margaret’s funeral happened four days later.
Dominic stayed.
That surprised Sophia more than the drive.
He did not sit with the family.
Did not send a ridiculous wall of flowers.
Did not pay the funeral bill behind her back.
Sophia learned later that he had started to.
Then apparently remembered Margaret’s warning.
Instead, he sent one arrangement.
White lilies.
A handwritten card.
She made people tell the truth. I was lucky to meet her. — Dominic
Sophia kept it.
Harold did not soften toward him immediately.
If anything, grief made Sophia’s father more suspicious.
After the burial, Harold cornered Dominic near the church steps.
Sophia was too far away to stop it.
She watched.
Harold said something.
Dominic listened.
Then responded.
No threats.
No visible anger.
Eventually Harold walked away.
Sophia approached.
“What was that?”
“Your father believes I’m using grief to get close to you.”
Her face heated.
“What did you say?”
“That he is entitled to believe whatever he wants.”
“And?”
“That I am not entitled to use grief to get close to you.”
Sophia stared.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“My father was rude.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t destroy his life?”
Dominic looked almost offended.
“I am evolving.”
She laughed unexpectedly.
Then cried.
The laugh had opened something.
Dominic did not touch her until she reached for his hand.
That mattered.
After the funeral, Sophia returned to New York but did not immediately return to work.
Dominic paid bereavement leave exactly according to a policy Moretti Holdings had never previously applied to household staff because no formal policy existed.
When Sophia noticed, she called him.
“You changed the handbook.”
“There wasn’t one.”
“You created one because my mother died.”
“Yes.”
“For everyone?”
“Yes.”
Domestic employees now had paid bereavement leave.
Sick leave.
Clear overtime.
Written grievance procedures.
Independent HR contact.
Sophia stared at the document.
“This is excessive.”
“No.”
“It is overdue.”
That was another thing Margaret had done without knowing.
Dominic began looking at the people who worked inside his houses as employees rather than invisible extensions of the building.
Sophia returned after two weeks.
Lily returned with her.
The first morning, she marched into Dominic’s study carrying another drawing.
Three figures again.
This time the tall man wore what looked like a black rectangle.
“Suit.”
she explained.
“Obviously.”
Dominic nodded.
Above him, she had written:
DOMNIC.
He smiled.
“Missing an i.”
“I’m three.”
“Fair.”
Then Lily asked:
“Are you Mommy’s boyfriend now?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Dominic looked toward Sophia, who stood in the doorway holding laundry.
“Because your mother hasn’t asked me.”
Sophia nearly dropped the basket.
Lily looked at her.
“Mommy?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because adults do not become boyfriend and girlfriend because a three-year-old schedules it.”
Lily frowned.
“I’m almost four.”
No one won that argument.
Life should have become quieter.
It didn’t.
Victor Romano had been watching Dominic for months.
Not because of Sophia.
Because Moretti Logistics had terminated a profitable waterfront arrangement involving Romano-controlled trucking companies.
Dominic had discovered missing inventory, padded invoices, and cash payments that made no business sense.
Old Dominic might have negotiated privately.
New Dominic suspended contracts and ordered an external audit.
Victor considered that betrayal.
Then word spread that Dominic spent an entire weekend outside the city with a housekeeper and her family.
Men like Victor converted human connection into leverage.
The first threat came disguised as concern.
A photograph arrived at Dominic’s office.
Sophia walking Lily into preschool.
No message.
None needed.
Dominic’s reaction was immediate.
“Move them into the main house.”
Marco stared.
“Boss.”
“Now.”
Then Dominic stopped.
Margaret’s voice returned in memory.
Do not hire yourself into her life.
He closed his eyes.
“Wait.”
Marco waited.
Dominic called Sophia.
She came upstairs after work.
He placed the photograph on his desk.
All color left her face.
“What is this?”
“Someone associated with Victor Romano.”
“Why?”
“To make me react.”
“Is Lily in danger?”
“Possibly.”
Fear entered her face.
Dominic hated it.
Every instinct told him to issue orders.
Instead:
“I have options.”
She looked at him.
“Tell me.”
“First, additional security at your apartment.”
“Second, temporary relocation here.”
“Third, another secure residence that is not mine.”
“Fourth, police notification and private protection through an independent company.”
Sophia stared.
“You had those prepared.”
“Yes.”
“Which do you want?”
He exhaled.
“Here.”
“Why?”
“I can secure it better.”
“That sounds like control.”
“Yes.”
His honesty surprised her.
He continued.
“That is why I’m not deciding.”
Sophia sat.
“Can I think?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“I would prefer before preschool pickup.”
Fair.
She chose the third option.
A furnished apartment in a secured building used by corporate executives.
Not owned by Dominic personally.
The lease went through Moretti Holdings because the threat arose from his business, but Sophia had independent tenancy rights and no requirement to remain employed.
Her attorney reviewed it.
Yes, she got an attorney.
Dominic insisted she choose one herself.
She did.
Lily hated the apartment for approximately ten minutes.
Then discovered the building had a rooftop garden.
Crisis over.
Dominic increased security around preschool through coordination with the school and police.
No men following Sophia secretly.
No trackers.
No changing Lily’s routines without discussion.
Difficult for him.
Necessary.
The Romano investigation moved slowly.
Then one night Marco found a tracker beneath Dominic’s car.
Police were notified.
The device was traced indirectly to a security contractor connected to Victor.
Still no direct charge.
Then a Moretti warehouse burned.
No injuries.
Insurance.
Fire investigators.
Audit.
Every man around Dominic waited for retaliation.
Dominic did not give it.
Victor called personally.
“You’ve become soft.”
Dominic sat inside his office listening.
Sophia happened to be outside the half-open door collecting a tray.
She should have left.
She didn’t.
Victor continued.
“Your father would have burned three of mine by sunrise.”
“My father is dead.”
“His name isn’t.”
“No.”
Dominic looked at the photograph of Isabella Moretti on his shelf.
“But it is mine now.”
Victor laughed.
“Because of the maid?”
Sophia froze.
Dominic’s expression changed.
“Say her name again.”
There it was.
Old darkness.
Sophia stopped breathing.
Victor laughed harder.
“See?”
Dominic closed his eyes.
When he spoke again, his voice was different.
Controlled.
“Any threat toward Sophia Carter or her daughter has been documented and provided to law enforcement.”
Silence.
Victor’s amusement disappeared.
“You call cops now?”
“When useful.”
“You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“No.”
Dominic looked through the office door and saw Sophia.
He knew she had heard.
“I’m ending the call.”
Victor said:
“You think laws keep women safe?”
Dominic’s gaze stayed on Sophia.
“No.”
“Choices do.”
Then he hung up.
Sophia entered slowly.
“You almost threatened him.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Dominic looked toward the photograph of his mother again.
“Because I wanted to.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does to me.”
He leaned back.
“When I feel fear, violence makes me feel like I’m doing something.”
“Control too.”
“Giving orders.”
“Moving people.”
“Closing doors.”
Sophia sat across from him.
“And now?”
“Now I’m learning fear doesn’t automatically make me right.”
She looked at him for a long time.
Then:
“My mother would’ve liked that answer.”
Something broke across his face.
“She scared me.”
“She liked you.”
“She knew me four hours.”
“My mother was efficient.”
He smiled.
Then Sophia’s phone rang.
Her father.
She answered.
His first words were:
“Sophia, who is Ryan Cole?”
Her blood went cold.
Lily’s father.
A man who had disappeared almost four years earlier.
“What happened?”
Harold sounded confused.
“A man came to the house asking about Lily.”
Sophia stopped breathing.
Dominic stood instantly.
Her father continued.
“He says he’s her father.”
May you like
Then:
“He says somebody paid him to stay away.”
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