Chapter 5
Dominic came to the house that night.
Not through the front door.
Through the garden gate.
The one he thought I had forgotten to recode.
He reached the patio before security stopped him.
I watched from the kitchen window as he argued in the dark.
No suit jacket.
No polished smile.
Just a man discovering locked doors are different when they lock against him.
Naomi told me not to go outside.
I went anyway.
Security stayed close.
Dominic looked at my face.
The bruise had deepened.
For one second, shame flickered across him.
Then pride smothered it.
“Amelia, we need to talk.”
“No.”
“You’re overreacting.”
“You hit me in public.”
“You threatened my business.”
“My business.”
His jaw tightened.
“I ran it.”
“You played king in a castle my father left me.”
“That store would be nothing without me.”
“Then build one without stealing mine.”
He stepped closer.
Security moved.
Dominic stopped.
His eyes filled with hate.
“Serena understands what it takes to stand beside me.”
I almost laughed.
“She wore stolen jewelry beside you.”
“She loves me.”
“She loves access.”
That landed.
He looked toward the upstairs windows.
“Let me see the children.”
“No.”
“I’m their father.”
“Then act like one through your attorney.”
His face twisted.
“You can’t keep them from me.”
“I can keep violence away from them.”
He stared at me.
“You think one slap makes me dangerous?”
“Two.”
His mouth opened.
No answer came.
Then Grace’s voice sounded from behind me.
“Mom?”
I turned.
She stood in the doorway in pajamas.
Dominic’s face changed.
“Gracie.”
She did not move toward him.
That broke something in him.
Good.
Children see more than adults think.
“Did you hit Mommy?” she asked.
Dominic looked at me.
“Amelia.”
I said nothing.
Grace looked at him.
“Did you?”
His silence answered.
She stepped back.
“I don’t want you inside.”
Dominic’s face crumpled.
But I saw anger underneath.
Security escorted him away.
I carried Grace upstairs.
She cried into my shoulder.
So did I.
May you like
But for the first time in years, my tears did not feel weak.
They felt honest.
