Chapter 4 - The Fortress on the Lake
The Gallow Estate was not merely a house; it was a private fortress situated on fifty acres of dense woodland along the icy shores of Lake Michigan in Lake Forest.
High stone walls topped with razor wire surrounded the perimeter. Thermal security cameras panned the forest, and heavily armed men in dark suits walked the grounds with tactical dogs.
The Suburban roared through the heavy iron gates, which slammed shut behind them with a definitive metallic clang.
Layla was carried into the warm, grand foyer of the mansion. White marble floors, soaring ceilings, and crystal chandeliers filled the space, echoing the luxury of Dominic’s penthouse, but far more isolated.
A elderly, silver-haired butler named Mr. Sterling hurried forward with warm blankets and a glass of warm water.
"Mr. Gallow! What happened? Is the young lady hurt?"
"She’s fine, Sterling," Dominic said, setting Layla down gently on a velvet sofa near the massive roaring fireplace. "Bring Dr. Harrison up to the master suite immediately. And order the perimeter security to Level One lockdown. No one enters or leaves without my personal clearance."
"Understood, sir."
Layla wrapped the warm fleece blanket around her shoulders, staring into the roaring fire. Her body was still shivering from the cold, but the warmth of the room began to thaw her frozen limbs.
Dominic knelt down on the rug in front of her.
The sight of the most feared mob boss in Chicago kneeling before a former maid would have shocked anyone in his syndicate. He reached out, his large hands carefully picking up her swollen, bare feet, rubbing them gently to restore circulation.
"Why didn't you tell me, Layla?" Dominic asked quietly, looking up into her eyes. "The morning I fired you... why didn't you say something?"
Layla let out a bitter, exhausted laugh. "Tell you? Dominic, you were standing over me like a tyrant! You threw five hundred dollars at my face for breaking a glass! You told me you didn't run a charity for careless maids. How was I supposed to tell you I was carrying your babies?"
Dominic closed his eyes, a flicker of genuine pain crossing his sharp features.
"I didn't recognize you without the mask," he said softly. "If I had known..."
"If you had known, what?" Layla demanded, pulling her feet back from his hands. "You would have forced me into a private hospital? You would have taken my babies away from me because I'm poor? I'm just a servant to you!"
"You were never just a servant to me," Dominic said fiercely, standing up and towering over her. "That night in the library... I didn't touch you because you were a maid. I touched you because you looked at me without fear. You spoke to me like I was a man, not a monster."
He leaned down, placing his hands on the armrests of the sofa, trapping her gently within his frame.
"And now, you are carrying the heirs to the Gallow empire," he whispered, his eyes blazing. "You will stay here. You will have the best doctors in the country. You will sleep in my bed, eat whatever you desire, and you will never work a day in your life again."
"And your fiancée?" Layla countered, her eyes narrowing. "Julianna Vance? What happens when she finds out the maid you fired is living in your master suite carrying your twin sons?"
Dominic’s expression went cold. "Julianna is a business arrangement. Nothing more. She has no power here."
Before Layla could respond, the heavy wooden doors of the foyer burst open.
Julianna Vance stormed into the mansion, her platinum hair windswept, her eyes flashing with murderous fury. She was flanked by two of her father’s personal bodyguards.
"Dominic!" Julianna shrieked, her sharp heels clicking angrily against the marble. "What is the meaning of this?! My brother told me you brought a pregnant waitress into your home!"
Dominic slowly turned around, stepping between Julianna and Layla, his body forming an impenetrable wall.
"You speak softly in my house, Julianna," Dominic warned, his voice dropping into a lethal register. "And you do not enter without my permission."
Julianna stopped ten feet away, her eyes sliding past Dominic to lock onto Layla sitting on the sofa, wrapped in cashmere, her rounded stomach prominently displayed.
Julianna’s face twisted into an expression of pure, unadulterated hatred.
"You," Julianna hissed at Layla. "The little trash maid from the penthouse. You trapped him, didn't you? You stretched your legs for my fiancé and now you think you're going to be the mistress of this estate?"
Layla stood up slowly from the sofa, holding the blanket around her. She was exhausted, pale, and heavily pregnant, but she refused to cower.
"I didn't trap anyone, Miss Vance," Layla said clearly. "I was trying to stay out of your way until your fiancé pulled me out of a diner during a shootout."
"Silence!" Julianna screamed. She turned to Dominic, her hands shaking with rage. "Dominic! Get rid of her! Put her in a home, pay her off, give her a million dollars when the bastards are born, but get her out of this house! Our wedding is in two months!"
Dominic took three slow steps toward Julianna.
The air in the foyer temperature dropped below freezing.
"There will be no wedding, Julianna," Dominic said flatly.
May you like
Julianna froze. "What?"
"The alliance between the Gallow family and the Vance family is terminated," Dominic announced coldly. "Take your men, leave my estate, and if you ever step foot near Layla Bennett again, I will destroy your father's business before sunrise."
