Chapter 7 - DOMINIC LEARNED WHY CLARE NEVER ASKED HIM FOR HELP
Ellie got sick in February.
Nothing dramatic.
High fever.
Respiratory infection.
Four-year-old misery.
Clare missed two shifts.
Then three.
Sylvio called.
“Stay home.”
“I can’t keep missing.”
“You have sick leave.”
“I used most of it when Ellie had pneumonia last winter.”
“We changed the policy.”
Clare went silent.
“What?”
Dominic had changed that too.
Household staff now received ten emergency caregiving days separate from personal sick leave.
Clare came to the estate the following week furious.
“You need to stop solving things around me.”
Dominic looked up from physical therapy notes.
“I changed policy for everyone.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
She folded her arms.
“Why?”
He knew what she meant.
Not policy.
Her.
He looked toward Mara.
Mara suddenly found another patient very interesting and left the room.
Coward.
Dominic said:
“Because I care about you.”
Clare froze.
There.
Too direct.
He continued before she could retreat.
“I am not asking you for anything.”
“Good.”
“I’m not buying anything.”
“Good.”
“And I’m not pretending I don’t notice you because that would be another kind of dishonesty.”
Clare stared at him.
Then:
“You’re my employer.”
“Yes.”
“That matters.”
“I know.”
“My daughter lives around this house.”
“I know.”
“You have power over everything.”
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Dominic.”
He corrected himself.
“I have more power than you in this context.”
“Thank you.”
“And that means I don’t get to turn feelings into pressure.”
Silence.
Clare’s expression softened despite herself.
Then:
“I care about you too.”
Dominic stopped breathing.
“Unfortunately.”
He almost laughed.
“But nothing happens while I work here.”
“Agreed.”
“That easy?”
“No.”
Honest.
“But agreed.”
Good.
Clare continued working.
Nothing romantic happened.
No secret kisses.
No employer fantasy.
Instead Dominic kept rehabilitating.
Three months after the brace incident, he graduated from cane use inside the house on good days.
Not miracle walking.
Not total recovery.
Outside, uneven ground still required a cane.
Long days caused swelling.
Some nerve pain remained.
He stopped measuring success by whether he could imitate his old body.
That mattered more.
Then Arthur’s investigation concluded.
Prosecutors charged him with several financial offenses tied to undisclosed related-party transactions and conspiracy to falsify certain corporate and medical records.
Not attempted murder.
Evidence did not support it.
Dr. Trent faced professional discipline and fraud charges.
Caleb received immunity on limited conduct in exchange for cooperation after admitting he improperly altered medical equipment under instruction.
Arthur maintained that he never intended physical injury.
The courts would decide what could be proven.
Vale Holdings pursued civil claims.
Dominic testified.
Then returned to work.
No public vendetta.
No disappearing enemy.
The old Vale culture expected blood.
Dominic gave it subpoenas.
Some people found that scarier.
Good.
Then Clare resigned.
Dominic read the letter twice.
Her new position:
Facilities operations supervisor at a rehabilitation hospital.
Better pay.
Regular schedule.
Daycare nearby.
Health insurance.
Promotion path.
Everything she deserved.
He looked at her.
“When?”
“Four weeks.”
“You planned this.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I’m telling you now.”
“Why leave?”
She smiled slightly.
“Because you told me something without meaning to.”
“What?”
“Needing help does not mean surrendering control.”
There.
She loved the estate.
Cared about Edith—no Edith here. Different story. No older woman. Need keep continuity. She cared about staff? She had built community there.
But she wanted her own career back.
Not housekeeping forever.
Dominic could not argue.
So he didn’t.
Four weeks later, Clare finished her final shift.
Sylvio gave her a proper farewell dinner.
Vincent bought Ellie an absurdly elaborate mechanical puzzle.
Mara gave Clare a list of pediatric clinics near her new workplace.
Dominic gave nothing.
Clare noticed.
“Nothing?”
“You told me not to buy things around feelings.”
She smiled.
“Learning.”
Then he said:
“Dinner Friday?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Are you serious?”
“You no longer work for me after five.”
She checked the clock.
4:47.
“Thirteen minutes.”
Dominic looked at Sylvio.
“Can we fire her early?”
Sylvio replied:
“No.”
May you like
Clare laughed.
At 5:01
