Chapter 3 - A WEDDING WITH NO VOWS OF LOVE
At two the following morning, Norah learned that eight numbers could frighten a crime boss more than a loaded gun.
Dominic had taken her to his estate overlooking Lake Michigan, a sprawling limestone residence hidden behind iron gates and dense rows of trees.
The property seemed designed to keep the world outside.
Cameras watched every driveway.
Armed security patrolled the grounds.
Inside, however, the house was strangely quiet.
There were no parties, no women in expensive gowns, no extravagant displays of wealth.
Only polished floors, enormous windows, and rooms that looked as though nobody had lived in them for years.
Dominic examined Liam's note in his study.
Norah stood beside the fireplace.
"Are you going to tell me what it means?"
"Not until I know whether you're involved."
She stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"Your brother left information that could compromise people who have spent decades making sure nobody discovers what they do."
"And you think I helped him?"
"I think you may know more than you're telling me."
Norah walked to the desk.
"Let's establish something. Yesterday, I was worried about paying my electric bill. Today, somebody shot through my apartment window. I have absolutely no interest in joining whatever criminal mystery you're conducting."
Dominic looked up.
"You have an unfortunate habit of speaking to dangerous men as if they're incompetent."
"Only when they're acting incompetent."
He leaned back.
For a moment, Norah thought he might lose his temper.
Instead, he placed the note inside a locked drawer.
"Those numbers identify an archived transaction."
"What kind?"
"A medical equipment payment."
Norah frowned.
"Medical equipment?"
"Yes."
"Then why are the Tarasovs willing to kill over it?"
"That's what we're going to find out."
He stood and approached her.
"Tomorrow morning, we're getting married."
She stared.
"Tomorrow?"
"The attack changed our timetable."
"I don't even have a dress."
"That can be arranged."
"I don't have witnesses."
"I do."
"I haven't decided whether I like you."
"That may require more time."
Despite everything, she almost smiled.
---
By ten the next morning, three women were arranging wedding dresses in a guest bedroom.
Norah chose the simplest.
Ivory silk.
Long sleeves.
No veil.
She refused the diamond necklace offered by the stylist.
Her mother had married wearing a blue ribbon around her wrist, and Norah wanted something that felt like her own history rather than Dominic's money.
She found the ribbon in her music box.
At eleven forty-five, someone knocked.
A small woman with silver hair entered.
"My name is Teresa Bellini," she said. "I managed this house before Dominic was tall enough to reach the kitchen counter."
Norah smiled cautiously.
"I'm Norah."
"I know, sweetheart. The entire household knows."
Teresa examined her dress.
"You're beautiful."
"Thank you."
"And terrified."
Norah looked away.
Teresa approached the dresser.
"Dominic's father used to say that fear was the price of belonging to this family."
"Was he right?"
"No."
The older woman's answer came without hesitation.
"Fear is how his father controlled people. Dominic has spent half his life pretending he doesn't remember the difference."
Before Norah could respond, Teresa gently adjusted the blue ribbon.
"Don't let him convince you that love and obedience are the same thing."
---
The wedding took place in the estate's winter garden.
Twenty guests attended.
Most were men whose suits concealed weapons.
Victor served as Dominic's witness.
Teresa stood beside Norah.
The officiant appeared uncomfortable.
Dominic looked impeccable in a black suit, but his expression suggested he was negotiating a hostile takeover.
When the officiant asked whether Norah entered the marriage freely, she hesitated.
The room became still.
Dominic turned toward her.
For a brief moment, something like regret appeared in his eyes.
Norah thought about the Tarasovs.
Her missing brother.
The bullet that had nearly killed Mrs. Alvarez.
She said yes.
But she knew the answer was not as simple as the word sounded.
When the officiant pronounced them husband and wife, Dominic reached for her hand.
"May I?" he asked quietly.
Norah realized he was asking permission to kiss her.
She nodded once.
He kissed her cheek.
Nothing more.
Yet every guest seemed startled.
Perhaps because they expected him to claim her publicly.
Perhaps because he had asked.
---
At the reception, a woman in a red dress approached.
She was elegant, dark-haired, and about Dominic's age.
Her smile was sharp enough to cut glass.
"So this is the nurse."
Dominic stiffened.
"Camille."
The woman ignored him.
"I'm Camille Devereaux. Dominic and I have known each other since childhood."
Norah extended her hand.
"Congratulations."
Camille looked at the wedding ring.
"That belonged to his grandmother."
"So I've heard."
"She would have hated seeing it on a stranger."
Dominic stepped forward.
"Enough."
But Norah had already withdrawn her hand.
"Then perhaps you should have asked the grandmother before arranging the marriage."
Camille's smile vanished.
Norah turned to Dominic.
"Where's the restroom?"
"Victor will show you."
"I can find it myself."
She walked away before either of them could object.
Halfway down the corridor, she heard Camille's voice behind a partially open door.
"You don't understand what you've done, Dominic."
"I understand perfectly."
"No. You married the sister of the man who stole the ledger. Alexi will never forgive this."
Norah stopped.
Camille continued.
"And when the Americans discover what happened to those patients, your wife will be the first person they question."
A chill traveled down Norah's spine.
Patients?
What patients?
She moved closer.
Dominic's voice dropped.
"Keep your voice down."
Camille laughed bitterly.
"You're still protecting the wrong people."
Norah stepped away before they discovered her.
When she reached the restroom, her hands were shaking.
She opened Liam's photograph on her phone.
The woman standing beside him at the waterfront facility looked familiar.
Norah enlarged the image.
Her stomach dropped.
She had seen that woman before.
Not in a nightclub.
Not in a newspaper.
In the emergency department.
Three weeks earlier, the woman had arrived claiming to be a hospital compliance auditor.
Her badge identified her as Dr. Evelyn Price.
Two days later, she had disappeared.
And Norah had been told she never worked there.
---
That evening, Norah confronted Dominic in his study.
"Who is Evelyn Price?"
His expression changed immediately.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"She was at my hospital."
Dominic stood.
"Norah—"
"And Camille mentioned patients. What happened to them?"
He walked toward her.
"Some questions are dangerous."
"So is ignorance."
Before Dominic could answer, Victor entered carrying a tablet.
"Boss. We have a problem."
He turned the screen toward them.
A surveillance photograph filled the display.
It showed Liam Hastings sitting inside a warehouse.
Alive.
Bound to a chair.
Holding a newspaper dated that morning.
A message appeared beneath the photograph.
TRADE YOUR NEW WIFE FOR HER BROTHER.
Norah stared at the image.
Then looked at Dominic.
For the first time since meeting him, she wasn't afraid of what he might do to her.
May you like
She was afraid of what he might become for her.
---
