Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Within
The basement holding room beneath the Gallow estate was a concrete bunker built during the Cold War, soundproof and completely isolated from the luxurious floors above.
Dim yellow light illuminated five staff members standing against the concrete wall, trembling in terror. Among them was Clara, the young maid, and two kitchen prep staff.
Dominic stood in the center of the room, flanked by six heavily armed security men. He held a leather folder in his hands, his face completely emotionless.
"Five minutes ago," Dominic said softly, his voice echoing off the damp concrete, "someone attempted to murder the mother of my children in my own bed."
The staff gasped, Clara bursting into tears. "Mr. Gallow! I swear I didn't touch anything! I just carried the tray from the kitchen!"
Dominic walked slowly toward Clara. He stopped two feet away from her, looking down into her panicked face.
"I know you didn't put it in the tea, Clara," Dominic said quietly. "Because the security cameras in the kitchen show you picked up the tray at 11:14 PM. But the camera in the service corridor shows someone stopping you near the elevator."
Dominic opened the folder and pulled out a high-resolution printed photograph from the security feed.
The photo showed Marcus Vance—Julianna’s brother—standing in the service corridor, handing Clara a small glass vial while holding a thick envelope of cash.
Clara fell to her knees, sobbing hysterically. "He... he said it was just a mild sedative! He said Miss Julianna wanted the maid to fall asleep so she couldn't talk to you! He paid off my mother's mortgage! He threatened to kill my brother if I didn't drop it into the teapot!"
Dominic didn't look angry. He looked entirely lethal.
"Marcus Vance," Dominic whispered to himself.
He turned to his head of security, Vance’s former predecessor, a loyal lieutenant named Lev.
"Lev," Dominic ordered. "Take Clara to a secure safehouse in Wisconsin. Keep her alive until the trial."
"And Marcus Vance, Boss?" Lev asked, racking his shotgun.
Dominic’s amber eyes flared with absolute, unforgiving darkness.
"Bring Marcus Vance to me," Dominic commanded. "And tell my asset in the Vance organization to execute Protocol Black."
While Dominic handled the betrayal in the basement, Layla sat up in the master bedroom, unable to sleep.
She rubbed her belly, feeling her twin boys moving restless inside her. The realization that someone had tried to kill her babies—to erase their existence before they even drew breath—filled her with a sudden, overwhelming maternal rage. She was no longer the frightened maid who let people walk over her. She was a mother, and she had to protect her sons.
She got out of bed, wrapped a robe around herself, and walked over to Dominic’s private study adjacent to the bedroom.
The room was lit by a single desk lamp.
Layla walked behind his heavy mahogany desk, searching for a bottle of water. As she moved around the leather chair, her foot caught on something beneath the dark desk skirt.
She leaned down and pulled out a small, yellowed piece of paper that had been trapped under the furniture for months.
It was the appointment card from the Westside Community Women’s Clinic—the one she had dropped the morning Dominic fired her.
Layla stared at the card. On the back, in her own handwriting, she had written four months ago: Dr. Harrison - Ultrasound - Twins - Father: Dominic Gallow.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Dominic hadn't ignored this card four months ago. It had been kicked under the desk.
May you like
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. The day she was fired, Julianna Vance had arrived right after she dropped the glass. Julianna must have seen the card on the floor and hidden it from Dominic so he would never know about the babies!
Before Layla could process this discovery, the study door swung open.
