Chapter 7 - The Deal Dominic Refused to Make
Derek’s confession was useful, but not enough to hold him on every charge.
His attorney argued that he had been frightened, exaggerating, and attempting to impress Chloe. The federal agents needed evidence connecting him directly to Caruso’s operation.
Derek was released pending further investigation.
Within twelve hours, he disappeared.
Dominic increased Chloe’s protection.
She hated the guards, the armored vehicles, and the way every restaurant booth was checked before she sat down. Yet he never demanded that she move into his bedroom or present herself publicly as his partner.
He attended medical appointments only when invited.
At the first ultrasound he witnessed, the baby stretched one tiny hand across the screen.
Dominic stopped breathing.
Dr. Miller smiled. “She’s active today.”
“She?” Chloe asked.
The doctor’s face fell. “You didn’t want to know yet.”
Chloe looked at Dominic.
His eyes remained fixed on the monitor.
“A daughter,” he whispered.
Something in his voice broke through every defense she had built.
Later, in the parking garage, Dominic handed her a folder.
Inside were documents establishing an independent trust for the baby. Chloe—not Dominic—would control the medical and educational funds.
“You prepared this without asking me?”
“I prepared it. Nothing is signed.”
She read the first page.
“What is the condition?”
“There is none.”
“You don’t do anything without conditions.”
“I do now.”
Before she could answer, Luca approached.
Caruso had sent terms.
Dominic would surrender control of three shipping warehouses and withdraw from several unions. In exchange, Caruso promised not to target Chloe or the baby.
Chloe waited for Dominic to speak.
He tore the message in half.
“That sounds romantic,” she said. “It’s also reckless.”
“If I pay once, he will threaten you forever.”
“So what do we do?”
“We end his ability to threaten you.”
“We?”
Dominic looked at her. “Only if you choose to be involved.”
The federal task force wanted Dominic’s records on Caruso. In return, prosecutors were prepared to consider immunity for certain financial offenses tied to Dominic’s legitimate companies.
It would not erase his past.
But cooperation could dismantle Caruso’s network and create a path away from the criminal empire Dominic had inherited from his father.
“You would give them your records?” Chloe asked.
“For my daughter.”
“Not for me?”
His expression softened.
“For you, I would destroy Caruso. For her, I have to become someone who can remain after the destruction.”
That was the first time Dominic spoke of a future.
Not a fantasy.
A difficult, costly future with consequences.
Chloe closed the trust folder.
“I will not raise her inside a war.”
“Neither will I.”
“And I won’t become a secret apartment you visit when your real life allows.”
“You won’t.”
“What will I be?”
Dominic stepped closer but did not touch her.
“The woman who decides whether I deserve a place beside her.”
For once, the most powerful man in Chicago was asking rather than taking.
May you like
Chloe did not give him an answer.
But she invited him to the next appointment.
