Chapter 7
I didn't sleep that night.
At 3 AM, unable to stop replaying the look on his face, I pulled out my laptop and opened Natasha's encrypted files.
The case against Elena was nearly complete.
Bank transfers, surgical records, testimony from three nurses, communication logs with a forger in Geneva.
But we needed one final piece: Elena's confession, recorded.
And for that, I needed access to the Ashford estate.
My phone lit up with a message from Natasha.
"Elena is getting nervous. She's been making calls to her contacts in Switzerland. If we don't move soon, she'll run."
I typed back: "I have an idea. But I need Dominic's cooperation."
"Can you trust him?"
I stared at those four words for a long time.
Could I trust the man who had shattered my world?
No. But I could use him.
The next morning, I called Dominic.
He answered on the first ring.
"Serena."
"I need to meet with you. Today. And I need you to listen without interrupting."
"Anything. Name the place."
Two hours later, we sat in my hotel suite.
I laid everything on the table. Natasha's files. The surgical records. The bank transfers. The connection between Elena Marchetti and a crime syndicate that had been laundering money through Ashford Industries' subsidiaries.
Dominic read in silence, his face growing darker with every page.
"She's been siphoning funds," he said finally. "For four years."
"$47 million, by our count," I confirmed. "Routed through your Southeast Asian operations."
"And the blackmail evidence she holds over me?"
"Fabricated by the same forger who created her DNA match." I crossed my arms. "Dominic, she's not just a con artist. She's connected to the Marchetti family. Organized crime. This was a hostile takeover disguised as a love story."
He set down the papers and looked at me.
"What do you need from me?"
"A dinner party. At your estate. With Elena present."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to make her confess. And you're going to record every word."
His eyes searched my face.
"This is dangerous."
"Less dangerous than letting her continue."
"If she finds out—"
"She won't. Not until it's too late."
Dominic was quiet for a moment.
"There's something else I should tell you," he said. "Three months ago, Vivienne — Elena — started pressuring me to marry her. When I refused, she made a threat."
"What kind of threat?"
"She said if I didn't propose by the end of the month, she would release information about a woman and two children in London."
Every nerve in my body went electric.
"She knows about the twins?"
"She knows you exist. She knows about the children. But she doesn't know you're here." His voice was steel. "And she will never touch them. I will die first."
For the first time in four years, I saw something in his eyes that wasn't guilt or grief.
It was fury. The protective rage of a father who had finally woken up.
"Then we move fast," I said. "The dinner party. This weekend."
Dominic nodded.
"I'll make the arrangements."
As I gathered the files, his hand closed gently over mine.
"Serena. After this is over — can I meet them? Lucas and Lily?"
I pulled my hand away.
"Let's survive Saturday first."
At 3 AM, unable to stop replaying the look on his face, I pulled out my laptop and opened Natasha's encrypted files.
The case against Elena was nearly complete.
Bank transfers, surgical records, testimony from three nurses, communication logs with a forger in Geneva.
But we needed one final piece: Elena's confession, recorded.
And for that, I needed access to the Ashford estate.
My phone lit up with a message from Natasha.
"Elena is getting nervous. She's been making calls to her contacts in Switzerland. If we don't move soon, she'll run."
I typed back: "I have an idea. But I need Dominic's cooperation."
"Can you trust him?"
I stared at those four words for a long time.
Could I trust the man who had shattered my world?
No. But I could use him.
The next morning, I called Dominic.
He answered on the first ring.
"Serena."
"I need to meet with you. Today. And I need you to listen without interrupting."
"Anything. Name the place."
Two hours later, we sat in my hotel suite.
I laid everything on the table. Natasha's files. The surgical records. The bank transfers. The connection between Elena Marchetti and a crime syndicate that had been laundering money through Ashford Industries' subsidiaries.
Dominic read in silence, his face growing darker with every page.
"She's been siphoning funds," he said finally. "For four years."
"$47 million, by our count," I confirmed. "Routed through your Southeast Asian operations."
"And the blackmail evidence she holds over me?"
"Fabricated by the same forger who created her DNA match." I crossed my arms. "Dominic, she's not just a con artist. She's connected to the Marchetti family. Organized crime. This was a hostile takeover disguised as a love story."
He set down the papers and looked at me.
"What do you need from me?"
"A dinner party. At your estate. With Elena present."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to make her confess. And you're going to record every word."
His eyes searched my face.
"This is dangerous."
"Less dangerous than letting her continue."
"If she finds out—"
"She won't. Not until it's too late."
Dominic was quiet for a moment.
"There's something else I should tell you," he said. "Three months ago, Vivienne — Elena — started pressuring me to marry her. When I refused, she made a threat."
"What kind of threat?"
"She said if I didn't propose by the end of the month, she would release information about a woman and two children in London."
Every nerve in my body went electric.
"She knows about the twins?"
"She knows you exist. She knows about the children. But she doesn't know you're here." His voice was steel. "And she will never touch them. I will die first."
For the first time in four years, I saw something in his eyes that wasn't guilt or grief.
It was fury. The protective rage of a father who had finally woken up.
"Then we move fast," I said. "The dinner party. This weekend."
Dominic nodded.
"I'll make the arrangements."
As I gathered the files, his hand closed gently over mine.
"Serena. After this is over — can I meet them? Lucas and Lily?"
I pulled my hand away.
"Let's survive Saturday first."