Chapter 14 - BLOOD AT THE GATE
Dominic survived.
Barely.
The bullet entered below his collarbone and missed his heart by less than an inch.
Police found the SUV abandoned four blocks away.
No driver.
No weapon.
Victor vanished again.
Salvatore remained missing.
But the attack changed Dominic.
Perhaps nearly dying for a man he had helped protect finally rearranged his loyalties.
Or perhaps he realized he had become expendable.
From his hospital bed, he asked for Luca.
Luca refused.
Then Sophia asked to speak with him.
That surprised everyone.
“Why?”
Luca asked.
Sophia sat in bed with her legs under a blanket.
“Because I want to know.”
“Know what?”
“If he was ever sorry.”
Luca looked at me.
I did not make the decision for him.
Neither did Clare.
Finally, he allowed a recorded video call.
Dominic appeared pale.
Machines surrounded him.
Sophia stared at the screen.
“Did you love me?”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Did you love Mommy?”
A longer pause.
“In my way.”
“That’s not an answer.”
I saw Luca flinch because she sounded exactly like him.
Dominic swallowed.
“I respected her.”
“But you hurt her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought your father was destroying something important.”
Sophia frowned.
“What?”
“Our family’s power.”
“Is power more important than Mommy?”
“No.”
“But you acted like it was.”
Dominic’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Sophia looked at him for several seconds.
Then said, “I don’t forgive you.”
Dominic nodded.
“I understand.”
“But I don’t want you dead.”
He began crying.
Sophia ended the call.
She did not cry until twenty minutes later.
Then she climbed into my lap like she had in the river.
Dr. Benton allowed it because some therapies did not belong on medical charts.
Dominic began cooperating.
He explained the network.
Salvatore had built secret alliances during Luca’s father’s final years.
Dominic maintained them after Luca inherited leadership.
At first, Dominic believed he was protecting Luca.
Later, he began protecting the system itself.
Salvatore exploited that loyalty.
Foundation money financed political favors, security contractors, and illegal businesses Luca believed had been closed.
Alessandra found the transactions.
Dominic ordered Victor to scare her.
Salvatore turned intimidation into murder.
“But I still gave the order,” Dominic told investigators.
“I told Victor to damage the brakes.”
“I knew she might be hurt.”
“I cannot put the rest on Sal.”
That confession mattered.
For Luca, it mattered more than any legal charge.
Dominic stopped pretending.
Then he revealed something worse.
“Salvatore has a contingency file.”
“What file?”
Luca asked.
“Evidence against you.”
“I didn’t authorize those operations.”
“He made it look like you did.”
Luca’s face hardened.
“For how long?”
“Years.”
“So if he goes down—”
“He takes you with him.”
I watched Luca absorb it.
His businesses.
His freedom.
Sophia.
Everything could disappear.
Dominic continued.
“The file is called Legacy.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who does?”
“Victor.”
Police began hunting him with new urgency.
Meanwhile, Sophia improved.
Twenty-three seconds standing.
Then thirty.
Then eleven controlled steps with crutches.
Every milestone thrilled her.
Every milestone terrified Luca.
“Don’t hover.”
Sophia said one afternoon.
“I’m not hovering.”
“You’re six inches away.”
“Safety.”
“Hannah?”
I looked up.
“He’s hovering.”
“Yes.”
Luca looked betrayed.
“You’re supposed to support me.”
“I support reality.”
Sophia smiled.
“I like her.”
“So do I.”
The words escaped before Luca could stop them.
The room went quiet.
Sophia’s eyes widened.
Dr. Benton suddenly became very interested in resistance bands.
I stared at Luca.
He cleared his throat.
“I meant—”
Sophia grinned.
“You like Hannah.”
“Finish your exercises.”
“You do.”
“Sophia.”
She laughed.
I did too.
Luca surrendered.
For a moment, the conspiracy disappeared.
That night, he found me on the terrace.
“You can pretend she imagined that.”
“I don’t think Sophia imagines much.”
“No.”
Rain clouds gathered over the city.
I looked at him.
“You really could lose everything.”
“Yes.”
“Are the documents fake?”
“Some.”
“Some?”
He leaned against the railing.
“My father’s world didn’t disappear the day I inherited it.”
“I signed things I shouldn’t have.”
“I ignored things.”
“I convinced myself reducing harm was the same as ending it.”
“So Salvatore has real evidence too.”
“Yes.”
“Are you afraid of prison?”
“Yes.”
The answer surprised me.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he admitted it.
“What about Sophia?”
“That is what I’m afraid of.”
I understood.
He looked at me.
“If something happens—”
“No.”
“Hannah.”
“No.”
“You don’t get to assign me your daughter because you’re scared.”
“I’m asking you to stay in her life.”
“I already said I would.”
“Even if I’m not here.”
I looked at him.
“That sounds like goodbye.”
“It’s preparation.”
“Stop preparing to lose.”
He studied me.
Then said quietly, “You sound like Alessandra.”
It should have hurt.
Instead, I smiled.
“Then maybe you should listen this time.”
He laughed.
A real laugh.
Then his phone rang.
Matteo.
Luca answered.
His face changed immediately.
“What happened?”
I heard Matteo say two words.
“Victor surrendered.”
Luca straightened.
“Where?”
“Federal courthouse.”
“And the Legacy file?”
“He says he’ll trade it.”
“For what?”
Matteo paused.
“Witness protection.”
Luca frowned.
“That’s not our decision.”
“That isn’t his only condition.”
“What else?”
May you like
Matteo’s answer made Luca look at me.
“He wants to speak to Hannah first.”
