Chapter 13 - Dominic’s Most Dangerous Promise
Three months passed.
The city moved on faster than we did.
News reports talked about Marco's investigation.
Financial crimes.
Witness testimony.
Old corruption.
No journalist knew the most important part.
Two little girls had been separated because powerful men were frightened of the truth.
I preferred it that way.
Marisol began therapy.
So did I.
Dominic claimed he didn't need therapy.
Sofia threatened to schedule it for him.
I helped.
He eventually went.
He never told us what happened in those sessions.
But afterward, he slept better.
Leo started talking.
Not much.
His favorite words were “El,” “Da,” and “no.”
Especially no.
One afternoon, I arrived at the Moretti house and found Dominic negotiating with him.
“Shoes.”
“No.”
“You need shoes.”
“No.”
“We're going outside.”
“No.”
I leaned against the doorway.
“Having trouble?”
Dominic looked offended.
“He's unreasonable.”
“He's one.”
“That's not an excuse.”
Leo saw me.
“El!”
I crouched.
“You need shoes.”
He considered me.
“Okay.”
Dominic stared.
I laughed so hard I had to sit down.
“This is humiliating,” he said.
“Completely.”
Something between Dominic and me had changed.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Neither of us named it.
I refused to become Elena's replacement.
He refused to treat me like one.
We learned each other's differences.
I liked mornings.
Elena had hated them.
I drank coffee with too much sugar.
She took hers black.
I loved thunderstorms.
They frightened her.
I danced badly while cooking.
Dominic claimed Elena had danced worse.
We spoke about her openly.
That mattered.
Love didn't erase the dead.
It made room beside them.
One evening, Dominic drove me home.
He parked outside my apartment.
“You could move.”
“I like my apartment.”
“The ceiling leaks.”
“Only when it rains.”
“It rains.”
“Sometimes.”
“The lock is terrible.”
“I replaced it.”
“With another terrible lock.”
I smiled.
“You really hate this place.”
“I hate that you live somewhere anyone can enter.”
“That sounds controlling.”
“It is.”
“At least you're self-aware.”
He laughed softly.
Then his expression changed.
“Elina.”
“What?”
“I promised Elena something when Leo was born.”
“What?”
“That he would never grow up afraid of this family.”
I waited.
“I failed.”
“No.”
“He was scared for eleven months.”
“He lost his mother.”
“So did I.”
“You were both grieving.”
Dominic stared through the windshield.
“I want to leave the businesses my father built.”
I turned.
“All of them?”
“The ones tied to his old world.”
“What does that mean?”
“Sell legitimate holdings. Close anything questionable. Keep only businesses I would be comfortable explaining to Leo when he's old enough.”
“That sounds… healthy.”
He smiled.
“Don't sound so surprised.”
“I am surprised.”
Then I realized something.
“Marco's people won't like it.”
“No.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Yes.”
My stomach tightened.
“But less dangerous than staying.”
I studied him.
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because your opinion matters.”
I looked down.
That frightened me more than threats ever had.
Not because I didn't feel something for him.
Because I did.
And I didn't know whether those feelings belonged to me or to the strange gravity Elena had created between us.
“Dominic.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“You're worried this is because you look like her.”
My chest tightened.
“Yes.”
He turned toward me.
“It isn't.”
“How can you know?”
“Because when I miss Elena, it hurts.”
I waited.
“When I'm with you…”
He paused.
“I argue.”
I laughed.
“That's romantic.”
“You interrupt me.”
“You talk too slowly.”
“You make me laugh when I don't want to.”
“That sounds terrible.”
“It is.”
His eyes softened.
“And none of those things feel like Elena.”
The air changed.
I looked away.
“I need time.”
“I know.”
“No pressure.”
“No pressure.”
“Seriously.”
“Elina.”
“What?”
“I've waited eleven months to feel anything other than grief. I can wait longer.”
My eyes burned.
Before leaving, I touched his hand.
Not a promise.
Not rejection.
Just truth.
Two weeks later, Dominic announced he was restructuring his companies.
Three senior associates resigned immediately.
One threatened him.
Another tried to move assets.
Rafael handled the legal side.
Sofia handled public relations.
I stayed out of it.
Mostly.
Then someone sent Dominic a letter.
No threats.
Just a photograph of Leo outside his daycare.
Dominic removed him immediately.
Old fear returned.
But this time Dominic didn't respond with retaliation.
He called investigators.
Security increased.
The sender was identified within forty-eight hours.
A former associate trying to intimidate him.
Arrested.
No war.
No revenge.
Just consequences.
Elena would have been proud.
I told Dominic.
He looked at her portrait.
“I hope so.”
Then he looked at me.
“And you?”
“What?”
“Are you proud?”
The question caught me off guard.
“Yes.”
His smile was quiet.
“Good.”
That night, I realized something.
Dominic's most dangerous promise wasn't leaving the empire his father built.
It was believing he could become someone different.
And for the first time, I began believing it too.
But just as our lives started settling, Marisol called.
Her voice shook.
“Elina, I found something in Gabriel's belongings.”
“What?”
“A marriage certificate.”
I frowned.
“So?”
“Elina…”
She swallowed.
“Gabriel and I were never legally married.”
My stomach tightened.
“What are you saying?”
“The certificate isn't mine.”
“Whose is it?”
Her answer opened one final door into our father's past.
“Gabriel was married to someone else.”
May you like
And according to the date, the marriage had never ended.
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