Dominic’s house did not feel like a home.
It felt like a fortress pretending to be one.
Security cameras watched every corridor. Men in dark suits occupied discreet positions near doors. Windows were thick enough to stop bullets.
Yet someone had placed fresh white roses on the foyer table.
That small detail bothered Maya.
It suggested somebody had once tried to make the place warm.
Sophie was taken upstairs by a woman named Elena, Dominic’s longtime housekeeper.
“I’m not leaving her,” Maya said.
“She needs rest,” Elena replied.
“She needs medication.”
Dominic turned to Luca.
“Get it.”
Maya immediately said, “No.”
Dominic looked at her.
“I can pay for my sister’s medication.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.”
“You were about to.”
“I was about to send Luca to a twenty-four-hour pharmacy.”
“I’ll reimburse you.”
“Fine.”
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Sophie touched Maya’s arm.
“Please stop fighting the armed billionaire for five minutes.”
Dominic looked amused.
“I’m not a billionaire.”
Sophie blinked.
“That’s the part you object to?”
Even Luca laughed.
For the first time since the attack, Maya felt the tension loosen.
Then Dominic’s expression became serious.
“We need to talk.”
He led Maya downstairs.
Victor Hale was seated in a basement room.
He was not bleeding.
That surprised her.
Two men stood behind him.
Victor looked at Maya and smiled.
“There she is.”
Maya stopped.
Dominic moved slightly in front of her.
Victor noticed.
“That’s interesting.”
“What?” Dominic asked.
“You protecting the help now?”
Dominic’s face hardened.
Maya stepped around him.
“I don’t need anyone speaking for me.”
Victor smiled.
“I underestimated you.”
“Apparently that’s contagious.”
Dominic’s mouth almost moved.
Victor leaned back.
“You understood every word.”
“Yes.”
“Naples?”
“None of your business.”
He laughed.
“She’s got teeth, Dominic.”
Dominic placed both hands on the table.
“Who else heard you?”
Victor’s amusement vanished.
“No idea.”
“You said someone else understood.”
“I said someone else knows.”
“Who?”
Victor stared at him.
“Ask your family.”
Silence.
Maya saw something dark pass through Dominic’s expression.
“My family?”
Victor smiled again.
“You really think Moretti arranged this alone?”
Dominic stepped closer.
Victor continued.
“Your father built an empire on fear. You inherited it thinking loyalty came with the furniture.”
Dominic’s hand curled.
“Name.”
“Russo.”
Dominic froze.
“That’s the name.”
Maya watched him.
For the first time, she saw something beneath the control.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.
Something older.
Victor leaned forward.
“The person who wants you dead eats at your table.”
Dominic turned away.
Luca followed him.
Maya remained.
Victor looked at her.
“You should run.”
“From you?”
“From him.”
Maya glanced toward Dominic.
Victor lowered his voice.
“Men like Russo don’t love people. They possess them.”
“I barely know him.”
Victor smiled.
“That’s why you’re still safe.”
Dominic turned.
“We’re done.”
They left.
In the hallway, Maya asked, “Who is he talking about?”
Dominic kept walking.
“Not your concern.”
“My apartment was attacked.”
He stopped.
“You’re right.”
Maya waited.
Dominic looked toward Luca.
“My uncle.”
Luca’s face tightened.
“Dominic.”
“She deserves the truth.”
Dominic faced Maya.
“My uncle Carlo has wanted control of the organization since my father died.”
“Does he live here?”
“No.”
“But he eats at your table?”
“Sunday dinner.”
Maya stared at him.
“You have Sunday dinner with a man who wants to murder you?”
“It’s an Italian family.”
Despite everything, Maya laughed.
Dominic looked surprised.
“So stereotypes are funny now?”
“That one was.”
The next morning, Maya woke on a sofa beside Sophie’s bed.
Sunlight filled the guest room.
Sophie was already awake.
And staring at a pharmacy bag.
“Maya.”
“I know.”
“There are six months of medication.”
Maya stood.
“What?”
“And a specialist appointment.”
She picked up the paper.
Mount Sinai.
Monday.
Paid.
Maya’s anger rose immediately.
She found Dominic downstairs in the kitchen.
He was drinking espresso.
She dropped the pharmacy bag on the island.
“No.”
He looked up.
“Good morning.”
“What is this?”
“Medication.”
“I know what medication looks like.”
“Then why ask?”
“Cancel the appointment.”
“No.”
Maya stared at him.
“You don’t own me.”
“I know.”
“Then stop buying things.”
“It’s medical care.”
“It’s leverage.”
His expression changed.
“No.”
“That’s what men like you do. You give people something they can’t repay and suddenly they belong to you.”
Dominic stood.
He was much taller than her.
Maya refused to step backward.
“I will never own you.”
“Then let me pay you back.”
“For saving my life?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know what my life is worth.”
Maya looked at him.
Dominic’s voice softened.
“But I know what your sister’s is worth to you.”
The anger left her slowly.
“You had no right.”
“Probably not.”
“Then why?”
He looked toward the window.
“Because I had a sister.”
Had.
Maya heard the word.
“What happened?”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“She died.”
“I’m sorry.”
“She was nineteen.”
Maya said nothing.
“Cancer,” Dominic continued. “My father had money, doctors, private hospitals. None of it mattered.”
His eyes returned to Maya.
“When Luca told me Sophie was rationing medication because of money, I couldn’t ignore it.”
Maya’s defenses shifted.
Not disappeared.
Shifted.
“I’m paying you back.”
“Fine.”
“Every dollar.”
“Fine.”
“At normal interest.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You’re negotiating interest on a debt I didn’t ask you to repay?”
“Yes.”
Dominic smiled.
“Dangerous woman.”
“Apparently.”
That afternoon, Maya insisted on returning to work.
Dominic objected.
Maya won.
Technically, they compromised.
Luca drove her.
The Obsidian Room felt different.
People stared.
Henry approached.
“You brought Russo’s security?”
“No.”
Luca stood six feet behind her.
Henry glanced at him.
Maya sighed.
“He followed me.”
Luca nodded.
“I’m clingy.”
Henry looked terrified.
Maya started her shift.
At 8:15 p.m., an older man entered.
Silver hair.
Expensive navy suit.
A smile that never reached his eyes.
Henry nearly bowed.
“Mr. Russo.”
Maya froze.
Carlo.
Dominic’s uncle.
Carlo looked directly at her.
Then smiled.
“So you’re Maya.”
Her blood went cold.
They had never met.
She had never been introduced.
“How do you know my name?”
Carlo’s smile widened.
“My nephew has been talking about you.”
Maya knew immediately that he was lying.
Dominic did not strike her as a man who discussed waitresses with his uncle.
Carlo stepped closer.
Then whispered in perfect French:
“You should have stayed ignorant.”
Maya’s heart stopped.
Carlo walked toward Booth 9.
She looked at Luca.
He had heard only English.
Maya reached for her phone.
Before she could unlock it, the lights went out.
And from somewhere near Booth 9 came the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked.