Chương 3
Because I wanted proof that I had not been the failure he made me believe I was.
“He looked happy,” I said.
Dominic leaned back slightly.
“People look happy in photographs all the time.”
“That’s a very Moretti answer.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you sound like someone who has spent too much time around people who lie for a living.”
His smile disappeared.
Only slightly.
But I noticed.
Dominic Moretti was good at hiding things.
That was one of the reasons I had been afraid of him when we first met.
Not because of the rumors.
Because he seemed impossible to read.
“Everyone lies for a living,” he said.
“Some people just get paid better.”
A nurse entered with a tablet and a tired expression.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
She glanced between us.
“You’re still here.”
Dominic nodded.
“I said I would stay.”
The nurse smiled.
“Good.”
She looked at Lily.
“Someone is very popular today.”
I looked down.
“I think she likes making people nervous.”
“She is two hours old.”
“I know.”
I adjusted the blanket around her.
“But she already has opinions.”
The nurse laughed softly.
“That usually starts early.”
For a few minutes, the room became normal.
The kind of normal I had forgotten existed.
A nurse checking numbers.
A baby making small sounds.
A father figure standing awkwardly because he was terrified of moving wrong.
A mother pretending she was not exhausted.
It was almost peaceful.
Then Dominic’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
“I need to take this.”
I nodded.
He stepped into the hallway.
I watched the door close behind him.
There were many things I still did not know about Dominic.
I knew he was patient.
I knew he was protective.
I knew he carried himself like someone who expected danger before it arrived.
But I did not know everything about his past.
I did not know why his name made powerful people lower their voices.
I did not know why he sometimes woke up before sunrise and stood by the window like he was waiting for something.
I did not know why he never talked about his family.
My phone vibrated again.
For one second, I thought it was Grant.
It was not.
It was a message from an unknown number.
The words appeared on the screen.
Claire, you need to be careful.
My stomach tightened.
I stared at the message.
No name.
No explanation.
Just another message a few seconds later.
Grant is not the only person who wants answers.
The room suddenly felt colder.
I looked toward the hallway where Dominic had disappeared.
The timing bothered me.
Not because I believed Dominic had anything to do with it.
Because I realized my life had changed in ways I still did not understand.
Six months ago, my biggest fear had been losing my marriage.
Now I was sitting in a hospital room holding my daughter while powerful people from my past started asking questions.
Another message appeared.
You should have told him sooner.
I locked the phone.
My hands were shaking.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
Enough for me.
When Dominic came back, he knew something was wrong before I spoke.
“What happened?”
I hesitated.
Then I handed him the phone.
He read the messages once.
Then again.
His face became unreadable.
“Do you know this number?”
“No.”
“Did Grant ever threaten you?”
The question bothered me.
Not because of the question itself.
Because of how quickly Dominic asked it.
“No.”
He looked at the screen again.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“There are things you need to know.”
I hated those words.
Everyone used them before delivering something painful.
“What kind of things?”
Dominic looked at Lily.
Then at me.
“The kind that might change why Grant called you today.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“What are you saying?”
Before he could answer, someone knocked on the door.
Not a nurse.
Not a doctor.
A man in a dark coat stood outside.
He did not enter.
He simply looked at Dominic.
And Dominic looked back like he had been expecting him.
“Mr. Moretti.”
The man’s voice was quiet.
“We have a problem.”
Dominic stepped between the door and my bed.
“Not here.”
The man glanced toward me.
His eyes moved to Lily.
Then back to Dominic.
“That’s exactly why it has to be here.”
I pulled the blanket closer around my daughter.
Because suddenly, for the first time since she was born, I understood something.
The call from Grant had never been about a wedding.
It had been the beginning of something else.
The man in the doorway waited until Dominic gave him a small nod before speaking again.
“Your name was mentioned in a conversation that was not supposed to happen.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Whose conversation?”
The man glanced at me.
“Not here.”
“I said not here.”
There was something in Dominic’s voice that made the man stop arguing.
He lowered his head slightly.
“Mr. Moretti, this concerns the child.”
My grip tightened around Lily.
Dominic noticed.
His expression changed immediately.
“Leave.”
The man hesitated.
Then he stepped back into the hallway.
The door closed.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The silence felt heavier than the warning.
I looked at Dominic.
“Who was that?”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
A small gesture.
A human one.
The first sign I had seen that he was not always prepared for everything.
“Someone who works for me.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“No.”
He looked toward the closed door.
“It doesn’t.”
I waited.
Usually, silence made me uncomfortable.
With Grant, silence meant punishment.
With Dominic, silence meant he was choosing his words.
That difference mattered.
“Claire.”
The way he said my name made me look up.
“I need you to understand something.”
“I hate that sentence.”
“I know.”
That surprised me.
A small laugh escaped before I could stop it.
May you like
“You know?”
“I’ve heard it enough times from people who were about to make my life complicated.”
