Chapter 7 - The Confrontation
Maggie immediately stepped in front of Leo’s wheelchair, shielding his small body with her own.
“Put the gun down, Evelyn,” Maggie said, her voice terrifyingly calm despite the adrenaline surging through her veins. “It’s over. I have the binder. I have the vial.”
“Over?” Evelyn laughed, a shrill, hysterical sound that echoed off the high ceiling. “You think a dead server and a crippled boy are going to tell stories? I’ve spent seven years playing the loyal servant to that monster Dominic! Seven years watching him run his empire while my sister’s money sat in a vault!”
“It’s Leo’s money!” Maggie snapped. “He’s seven years old! You’ve been drugging your own nephew!”
“He is a weak lingering ghost of my sister!” Evelyn spat, her finger tightening on the trigger. “If he had walked, Dominic would have sent him away to boarding school in Europe, and my access to the trust would have been revoked! Dr. Vane was paid very well to make sure he stayed in that chair forever!”
“Evelyn, please,” Leo spoke from behind Maggie, his voice trembling. “Don't hurt Maggie.”
“Shut up, Leo!” Evelyn screamed, her eyes wild. “You should have died in that car crash with your mother!”
Before Evelyn could squeeze the trigger, a shadow materialized behind her in the doorway.
A massive, calloused hand reached out from the darkness, gripping Evelyn’s wrist with bone-crushing force and twisting it upward.
BANG!
A gunshot exploded into the ceiling, sending plaster raining down.
Evelyn shrieked in pain as the pistol was ripped from her grip and tossed onto the carpet.
Dominic Moretti stepped into the light.
His face was a storm of absolute, apocalyptic fury. Behind him stood Frank and four armed guards, their weapons raised.
Dominic didn't look at Evelyn. He looked past her, his eyes locking onto Leo, then onto Maggie, who was still standing protectively in front of his son.
“Dominic!” Evelyn gasped, clutching her broken wrist, her face draining of all color. “Dominic, thank God! She broke into your safe! She was trying to steal the trust documents!”
Dominic slowly turned his head to look at Evelyn. The expression on his face was so terrifyingly cold that even the armed guards behind him took a step back.
“I heard every word, Evelyn,” Dominic said, his voice dropping into a register that sounded like grinding tectonic plates. “I was standing outside the glass door.”
Evelyn’s eyes went wide with pure horror. “Dominic... no... please, I did it for Isabella—”
“Do not speak my wife’s name,” Dominic whispered. He didn't raise his hand. He didn't shout. He simply pointed two fingers toward the hallway. “Frank.”
“Boss?” Frank stepped forward.
“Take her to the cellar,” Dominic ordered. “Call the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Give them the binder, the safe contents, and Dr. Vane’s address. Tell them Dominic Moretti is handing them a medical conspiracy on a silver platter.”
Evelyn began to scream and thrash as Frank and another guard grabbed her arms, dragging her ruthlessly out of the room. “Dominic! You can't do this! You need me! You don't know how to run this house! Dominic!”
Her screams faded down the marble corridor until a heavy door slammed shut, burying the sound in silence.
The room fell completely still.
Dominic stood in the center of the office, his shoulders heavy, looking at the papers scattered across the floor. The great crime boss of Chicago looked suddenly human, shattered by the realization that the villain in his home had been sitting at his dinner table for seven years.
Maggie slowly stepped away from Leo’s chair. She picked up the binder from the floor, walked over, and held it out to him.
“She framed the wire transfers,” Maggie said softly. “I never took a dime from O’Malley.”
Dominic looked at the binder, then dropped his gaze to Maggie’s hands. He reached out, taking the binder, but his fingers wrapped around hers instead.
“I knew,” Dominic whispered.
Maggie blinked. “What?”
“I knew the bank papers were fake,” Dominic said, his dark eyes shining with an emotion so deep it made Maggie’s breath catch. “I locked you in your room to keep you safe while Frank swept Evelyn’s phone lines. I couldn't let her know I suspected her until I had proof.”
Maggie stared at him, stunned. “You... you were protecting me?”
“I will always protect you, Maggie,” Dominic said, his voice thick with uncharacteristic warmth. He pulled her slightly closer. “You brought my son back to life. You risked your life tonight to save him.”
“Maggie’s my hero,” Leo announced loudly from his chair, a massive grin breaking across his face.
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Dominic looked down at his son, then back at Maggie. A genuine, radiant smile—the first true smile Maggie had ever seen on his face—illuminated his features.
“She’s mine too, Leo,” Dominic said softly.
