Chapter 3 - The Man Behind the Reputation
Dominic insisted that Marco drive us home.
I argued until I noticed the black SUV following us.
“Is that one of yours?” I asked.
Marco checked the mirror.
“No.”
He turned sharply onto a side street.
The SUV followed.
My arms tightened around Ava’s car seat.
“Are they coming for us?”
“They may only be watching.”
“That is not comforting.”
Marco touched an earpiece.
“We’ve got a tail. Black Escalade, no front plate.”
A voice responded, but I could not hear it.
Marco accelerated through a yellow light. The Escalade became trapped behind traffic.
Ten minutes later, we entered an underground garage beneath a luxury apartment tower.
“This isn’t my building,” I said.
“No.”
“Where are we?”
“Mr. Moretti’s residence.”
“I’m not staying with a mafia boss.”
Marco parked.
“You can explain that to him.”
Dominic was waiting upstairs in a penthouse overlooking the Chicago River.
He had removed his tie and rolled his sleeves higher, revealing more of the tattoos across his arms. He looked less like a businessman and more like the man people whispered about.
“You were followed,” he said.
“I noticed.”
“Until I understand who is watching you, you and Ava will remain here.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“That was not a request.”
“I don’t care.”
Marco quietly stepped away.
Dominic moved closer.
“Victor Calder’s men may have followed you home yesterday. They may know where you live, where you shop and which entrance you use at Belladonna.”
Fear tightened my throat, but I refused to let him see it.
“Then call the police.”
“Calder owns police officers.”
“Then call honest ones.”
“They would open an investigation. Calder would know exactly what we told them before the first report was finished.”
I stared at him.
“This is your life, Dominic. Not mine.”
His expression shifted slightly at the use of his first name.
“You entered my life the moment you found those invoices.”
“You gave me the job.”
“I did not know the theft connected to Calder.”
“That sounds like a mistake.”
“It was.”
His answer surprised me.
Men like Dominic Moretti were not supposed to admit mistakes.
Ava began fussing in her seat.
I unbuckled her and lifted her into my arms.
Dominic watched as I checked her diaper bag.
“What does she need?” he asked.
“Food, a diaper and a mother who didn’t accidentally involve her in organized crime.”
“I have no influence over the last one.”
“At least you’re honest.”
He showed us to a guest suite larger than my entire apartment.
A crib stood beside the bed. Baby formula, diapers and several toys had been arranged on a dresser.
I turned toward him.
“You prepared this before we arrived.”
“I knew Marco might bring you here.”
“You assumed I’d agree.”
“I assumed you would prioritize her safety over your anger.”
“You enjoy using Ava to win arguments.”
“No. I understand what it means to make every decision for someone more vulnerable than yourself.”
His voice had changed.
“Do you have children?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then how do you understand?”
Dominic stared toward the windows.
“I had a younger sister.”
The word had carried grief.
“What happened to her?”
He did not answer immediately.
“She was nine when my father’s enemies placed a bomb beneath his car.”
“I’m sorry.”
“My father survived. Sofia did not.”
The room became painfully quiet.
“How old were you?”
“Seventeen.”
“And that’s why you picked Ava up.”
He looked at my daughter.
“I heard a child crying behind my office door. I could not ignore it.”
For the first time, I saw something beyond the reputation.
Not kindness exactly.
A wound that had never closed.
Ava reached toward the chain around Dominic’s neck.
He stepped closer and allowed her to grip it.
“Careful,” I said. “She pulls.”
“I’ve survived worse.”
Ava pulled hard.
Dominic winced.
I laughed before I could stop myself.
He looked offended.
“The most feared man in Chicago defeated by a teething baby.”
“She attacked without warning.”
“She does that.”
A knock interrupted us.
Marco entered with a folder.
“We identified the vehicle. It belongs to a shell company tied to Calder.”
Dominic’s expression hardened instantly.
“Put two men downstairs and one outside this room.”
I looked at him.
“Outside my bedroom?”
“Outside the suite.”
“I won’t have armed strangers standing near my child.”
“They will remain in the hall.”
“No.”
Dominic exhaled slowly.
“Emily.”
“Marco can stay. Ava already stole his tie clip.”
Marco glanced toward the ceiling as if trying not to react.
Dominic considered it.
“Fine. Marco stays.”
After Ava fell asleep, I found Dominic in the kitchen pouring coffee.
“You drink coffee at midnight?” I asked.
“I don’t sleep much.”
“Neither do single mothers.”
I sat across from him.
“Tell me what Calder wants.”
“He wants control of Belladonna’s private dining rooms.”
“For dinner reservations?”
“For meetings.”
“Illegal meetings?”
His silence answered.
“Have you let people conduct criminal business in the restaurant?”
“Not since I took control.”
“Your father allowed it.”
“Yes.”
“And Calder wants the old arrangement back.”
“He wants access, influence and proof that I am weak enough to pressure.”
I studied him.
“Are you?”
“No.”
“Then why has he been stealing from you for six months?”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“Someone inside Belladonna has been helping him.”
“Leonard?”
“Leonard stole from employees, but he was not intelligent enough to build the vendor scheme.”
“You think someone else is involved.”
“I know someone else is involved.”
“Who has access to vendor approvals?”
“My financial director, my executive chef and my cousin, Anthony.”
“The one who manages your restaurant group?”
Dominic looked at me sharply.
“I listen when people talk.”
“That is why I hired you.”
“I can help.”
“No.”
“You need someone who doesn’t look like a threat.”
“I need you alive.”
“And I need my life back.”
He stepped closer to the table.
“This is not a game.”
“I know. That black SUV made it very clear.”
“Calder will exploit anything I value.”
The words hung between us.
I held his gaze.
“Do you value me?”
May you like
He did not answer.
But the silence felt more dangerous than any confession.
