Chapter 4 - The Final Threat
Marcus Moretti looked like a man who had completely lost his mind. His expensive suit was wrinkled, his hair was a messy gray mop, and his eyes were wide with desperate, animalistic panic. Behind him stood two massive men who looked like professional mercenaries.
"Give me the ledger, Dominic," Marcus ordered, his hand shaking slightly as he kept the gun aimed at me. "Give me the book, and nobody else has to die today."
Dominic stepped squarely in front of me, shielding my body entirely with his own. The sheer protective instinct rolling off him was overwhelming. He was willing to take a bullet to keep me safe.
"You are a coward, Marcus," Dominic said, his voice deadly calm, completely devoid of fear. "You sent your daughter to poison an elderly woman with dementia because you were too weak to run a successful business. And now you are pointing a gun at a woman who has already survived your family toxic garbage."
"Shut up!" Marcus screamed, his finger twitching on the trigger. "You ruined everything! If you had just married Bianca, the money would have merged naturally! No one would have ever known about the missing funds! We could have ruled the corporate world together!"
"I am going to destroy you," Dominic promised, taking a slow step forward. "My security team already saw you enter the grounds on the perimeter cameras. The police are entirely surrounding this estate as we speak. If you shoot, you will not make it out of this room alive."
Marcus hesitated, glancing nervously toward the large bay windows. In the distance, the faint wail of police sirens began echoing through the manicured gardens, growing louder by the second.
"Grab the girl!" Marcus shouted to his mercenaries, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Use her as a hostage!"
One of the massive men lunged forward, trying to grab my arm.
He never even made it close.
Dominic moved with a speed and ferocity I had never seen before. He grabbed the heavy brass fire poker from the fireplace mantle and swung it upward, catching the mercenary directly under the jaw with a sickening crunch. The man collapsed instantly, unconscious before he hit the Persian rug.
Marcus panicked and fired the gun.
The silenced bullet shattered a priceless vase inches from my head, sending porcelain shards raining down over my hair. Before Marcus could adjust his aim for a second shot, the grand library doors burst open.
Five heavily armed tactical police officers flooded into the room, their weapons raised.
"Drop the weapon!" the lead officer bellowed. "Drop it right now!"
Marcus looked at the police, then at Dominic, who was standing over me like a fierce, protective guardian. The fight completely drained out of the older man. He dropped the gun, falling to his knees as the officers tackled him to the ground and snapped heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists.
The room erupted into chaos as police secured the mercenaries and began bagging evidence. Dominic dropped the brass fire poker and immediately turned to me. He grabbed my shoulders, his eyes scanning my body frantically for any signs of injury.
"Are you hurt?" Dominic demanded, his voice breaking with raw panic. "Did he hit you?"
"I am fine," I gasped, my heart pounding a million miles a minute. "I am perfectly fine, Dominic."
He did not say another word. He just pulled me against his chest, wrapping his strong arms around me in a crushing embrace. I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his scent, feeling the rapid, thundering beat of his heart against mine. We stood there in the middle of the ruined library, clinging to each other while the police dragged Marcus Moretti out of our lives forever.
"I was so terrified of losing you," Dominic whispered into my hair, his voice rough with emotion. "I am never letting you out of my sight again."
May you like
I pulled back slightly, looking up into his dark, beautiful eyes. The barriers of wealth, status, and class were completely obliterated. There was no billionaire and no maid in this room. There was only a man and a woman who had survived hell together.
Dominic cupped my face in his hands, his thumbs gently tracing the uninjured side of my jaw. Then, slowly and deliberately, he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. The kiss was passionate, deep, and filled with a desperate, overwhelming love that took my breath away entirely.
