The guard dragged me backward.
I drove my heel into his shin.
“Marin!”
Dominic moved toward us.
Anthony raised a gun.
“Don’t.”
Dominic stopped.
Marcus and two guards appeared behind him.
Anthony pressed the weapon against my side.
“Tell them to lower their guns.”
“Down,” Dominic ordered.
Marcus obeyed.
Anthony smiled.
“All these years, I wondered what it would take to make you careless.”
“You killed Isabella.”
“She discovered business that didn’t concern her.”
“She was twenty-four.”
“She was a Castellano. She should have known when to keep quiet.”
“You sent Marin’s photograph.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To remind you what happens when you care.”
Then I noticed a tiny red light above us.
A security camera.
Dominic had installed independent backups after discovering Victoria’s surveillance.
Anthony didn’t know.
I looked at Dominic.
He understood.
The guard squeezed my arm.
Dominic stepped forward.
“Touch her again, and the security footage goes straight to the police.”
Anthony followed his gaze toward the camera.
“You’re bluffing.”
Dominic held up his phone.
A live feed showed everything.
“Independent system. Automatic cloud upload.”
Anthony’s face changed.
“You think police scare me?”
“No. But murder charges, conspiracy evidence, financial records from Pier 17, and your confession probably should.”
The guard’s grip loosened.
I slammed my head backward and twisted free.
Everything happened at once.
Dominic moved.
Marcus tackled the guard.
Anthony swung the gun.
A shot cracked through the hallway.
Glass shattered.
Dominic hit Anthony and drove him into the wall.
The gun skidded away.
Then Dominic wrapped both hands around Anthony’s throat.
“You took her from me.”
Anthony choked.
“You took Isabella.”
“Dominic!”
He didn’t hear me.
I grabbed his face.
“Look at me.”
His eyes found mine.
“Don’t let him take you too.”
Dominic released Anthony.
Police arrived.
For once, Dominic didn’t hide anything.
He gave them the footage, financial records, and Victoria’s evidence.
Anthony and the guard were arrested. Two more employees were detained later.
The conspiracy collapsed.
But victory didn’t feel like victory.
I found Dominic sitting on the floor of Isabella’s room.
“I almost killed him.”
“Yes.”
“I wanted to.”
“I know.”
“Part of me still does.”
“That doesn’t make you Anthony.”
“I wasted nine years.”
“You survived nine years.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Yes. Surviving means there can still be something afterward.”
I took his hand.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I have for longer than I should.”
“That sounds romantic.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“I don’t know how to do this.”
“Neither do I.”
“I’ll be controlling.”
“Already noticed.”
“I’ll worry.”
“Also noticed.”
“I may occasionally assign security without permission.”
“I may occasionally threaten public transportation.”
He almost smiled.
“You don’t need to know how to do everything,” I said. “Just show up.”
“I can do that.”
“Then I love you too.”
He kissed me.
No guns.
No emergency lights.
Just us.
Then Marcus called.
Dominic listened and looked at me.
“Anthony made a deal.”
“What kind?”
“He gave prosecutors names.”
“So?”
“One of them is Victoria Sloan.”