Chapter 2 - The Threat That Broke My Son
“What promise?”
My voice didn't sound like my own. It sounded like a stranger’s. Cold. Hollow.
I looked at the man I had slept beside for thirty-one years. Dominic’s jaw was tight, his dark eyes locked on Sophia. He looked like a predator whose trap had just been sprung early.
“Sophia, get out,” Dominic said, his tone dangerously low.
“No,” I said, stepping between them. “Nobody is leaving this dining room until I know what you did to my son.”
Sophia’s hands were shaking. She reached for her purse, her perfect red dress suddenly looking like a costume she was desperate to take off.
“Rose, you don't understand how dangerous he is,” Sophia whispered, tears finally breaking through her composed facade. “I didn't want to hurt Jack. I swear I didn't. But Dominic caught us. He caught Jack trying to leave the family business.”
I frowned, the pieces not fitting together. “Jack told me he was leaving Chicago because his heart was broken. Because he couldn't marry you.”
“He couldn't marry me because I was already sleeping with his father!” Sophia cried out.
The words hit me like a physical blow.
“But that wasn't the threat,” Sophia continued, stepping back as Dominic moved toward her. “Jack didn't care about me. He was going to leave me anyway. He was in love with someone else. Someone Dominic forbade him from seeing.”
My mind raced. Jack had never mentioned another woman.
“Elena,” Dominic spat out, the name tasting like poison in his mouth. “He was going to throw away our family’s alliance with the Rossi syndicate for a waitress from the West Side.”
“He loved her,” Sophia said. “And she was pregnant.”
The dining room went completely still.
I stared at Sophia. Then at my husband. “Pregnant?”
“A boy,” Sophia whispered. “Jack was packing his bags the night before our wedding. He walked into the study to tell Dominic he was leaving me, leaving the mob, and taking Elena away. And he found me in Dominic’s arms.”
Dominic poured another glass of bourbon. He didn't look at me. “I did what had to be done to protect this family's reputation. A Moretti does not run away with a nobody.”
“What was the promise, Dominic?” I demanded, my voice shaking.
Dominic finally looked at me. His eyes were completely dead. “I promised him that if he ever spoke to you about it, or if he ever tried to see the child, Elena would have a fatal car accident.”
I couldn't breathe. My husband had held his own grandchild hostage to break our son.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“Safe. As long as Jack stays in Seattle,” Dominic replied smoothly.
I looked down at the dining table. Next to Dominic’s plate rested a heavy gold pocket watch. It was Jack’s. He had left it behind four years ago. I thought it was lost. Dominic had been keeping it as a trophy.
I picked up the watch. The metal was cold. “You destroyed our son,” I whispered.
“I saved him,” Dominic corrected.
Sophia wiped her face. “No, Dominic. You didn't. Because Elena didn't stay hidden.”
Dominic froze. “What are you talking about?”
Sophia reached into her purse and pulled out a folded ferry ticket. She placed it on the table. “Jack didn't call you tonight, did he, Rose?” Sophia asked softly.
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“No,” I said.
“That’s because he’s not in Seattle,” Sophia said, looking at Dominic with a terrifying mix of fear and triumph. “Jack landed in Chicago an hour ago. And he’s not alone.”
