Chapter 5 - The Glass Fortress Cracks
"You lied to me," Clara spat, holding the folder against her chest like a shield. Tears of anger burned her eyes. "My whole life... my mother... you knew!"
Dominic stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He didn't look flustered or remorseful; his expression was a wall of stone. "I didn't lie to you, Clara. I simply didn't tell you truth you weren't ready to handle while recovering from seven gunshot wounds."
"You married me for this!" She threw the folder across the desk. Papers scattered across the rug. "You married me because I'm a Costa! Because of some ledgers!"
"I married you to keep Victor Costa from putting a bullet in your head while you were unconscious!" Dominic snapped, his controlled persona finally cracking. His voice thundered through the quiet room. "Do you have any idea what Victor would do to you if he found out who you were? He murdered your mother, Clara! He would have cut you to pieces just to find out where those ledgers were hid!"
"And what about you?!" Clara shouted back, tears spilling over her cheeks. "You're no different! You're keeping me in a gilded cage so you can use me against him!"
Dominic walked right up to her, stopping inches away. Clara felt the heat radiating from him, the sheer intensity of his gaze cutting right through her defenses.
"If I wanted to use you, Clara, I would have forced you to dig up your mother’s past the moment you woke up," Dominic said softly, his voice trembling with a rare, raw emotion. "I haven't asked you a single question about Elena Moretti. I haven't searched your belongings. I haven't forced you to do anything except stay alive."
"Why?" she whispered, her breathing ragged.
Dominic lifted a hand, hesitation visible in his fingers before he gently brushed a tear from her cheek. His touch was surprisingly soft for a man whose hands were covered in blood.
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"Because the moment I saw you standing over my mother, dying for a stranger... I didn't see an asset," Dominic admitted quietly. "I saw the only innocent thing left in my world. And God help me, I decided I was never going to let anyone hurt you again."
Clara stared at him, caught between mistrust and the undeniable truth burning in his eyes. Before she could answer, a muffled explosion shook the foundation of the house, followed by the blare of security alarms and the rapid fire of automatic weapons outside.
