Chapter 5 - MARCO CAME TO THE HOUSE AND TRIED TO BLAME A DEAD WOMAN
Dominic did not invite him.
Marco came anyway.
Black car.
Two men.
Security stopped them at the gate.
Dominic allowed Marco in alone.
Rachel was present.
So was Dominic’s legitimate corporate counsel.
I stayed upstairs with the children.
At least for ten minutes.
Then shouting started.
Marco’s voice.
“You’re trusting a dead woman over me?”
Dominic answered:
“I’m trusting records.”
Good.
Marco laughed.
“Elena hated how we did business.”
“Not relevant.”
“She wanted you out.”
“Maybe she was right.”
Silence.
Even upstairs, I felt that line.
Then Marco said:
“She was going to take Leo.”
Dominic’s voice changed.
“What?”
There it was.
New poison.
“She told me.”
I looked at Leo.
His face went pale.
Of course Marco knew exactly which wound to press.
I went downstairs.
Probably inappropriate.
Did it anyway.
Dominic stood near the fireplace.
Marco faced him.
He looked nothing like the villain I imagined.
Forty-two.
Expensive coat.
Warm eyes.
The sort of man who remembered birthdays and tipped well.
Danger rarely dresses correctly for stories.
Marco saw me.
“Housekeeper?”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“Careful.”
I hated the automatic defense.
Still appreciated it.
Marco looked at me.
“You know nothing about this family.”
“Correct.”
“So leave.”
“No.”
That surprised him.
Rachel almost smiled.
Then I said:
“Leo heard you.”
Marco glanced toward the staircase.
Leo had followed me halfway down.
Dominic saw him.
His face changed.
Marco did too.
Then, unbelievably, Marco smiled at the child.
“Hey, champ.”
Leo stepped backward.
Dominic moved instantly.
Not violently.
Between them.
“Don’t.”
Marco stared.
“You’re turning him against me?”
Dominic answered:
“You did that yourself.”
Then Leo spoke.
“Did Mom die because of me?”
Everything stopped.
Marco’s expression changed.
He looked almost annoyed that the question was being asked publicly.
“No.”
Leo stared.
“But you said—”
“I said she was upset.”
“You said I made her drive away.”
Marco looked at Dominic.
“I was trying to make him behave.”
There.
Not misunderstanding.
Admission.
Dominic’s face went blank.
“You told my four-year-old son his mother died because he was bad.”
“Don’t dramatize.”
I saw Dominic’s hand close.
Rachel saw it too.
“Dominic.”
He stopped.
Good.
Then Marco said:
“You disappeared into work.”
“You left me with him.”
“He was impossible.”
Leo flinched.
Dominic saw it.
That was the moment Marco lost whatever remained.
Dominic opened the front door.
“Leave.”
Marco laughed.
“You need me.”
“No.”
“You think Rachel Kim and some maid are going to hold this family together?”
Dominic looked at me.
Then Rachel.
Then his son.
“No.”
He said:
“Leo is.”
Marco scoffed.
“Six-year-old boy?”
“My son.”
Simple.
Then:
“And you don’t see him again unless a court or therapist says otherwise.”
Marco’s face hardened.
“You don’t control me.”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice stayed calm.
“But I control access to my house.”
Security escorted Marco out.
No beating.
No gun.
No dramatic revenge.
That mattered.
Then Leo started shaking.
Dominic crouched.
“I’m sorry.”
Leo whispered:
“For what?”
“Leaving you with someone who made you afraid.”
“You didn’t know.”
“No.”
Dominic looked at him.
“But I should have known more.”
That answer was better than innocence.
Leo stared.
Then:
“Are you mad at me?”
“No.”
“For following downstairs?”
“No.”
“For bubbles?”
Dominic almost smiled.
“No.”
Then Lily shouted from upstairs:
“BUBBLES AGAIN?”
I closed my eyes.
Dominic actually laughed.
Leo looked at him.
Then laughed too.
Something shifted.
Small.
Real.
But Marco’s visit created another problem.
He had claimed Elena planned to leave Dominic and take Leo.
Was that true?
The blue box contained an answer.
A draft custody consultation.
Elena had spoken to a family-law attorney weeks before the crash.
Dominic found the letter.
His face went white.
She had been considering separation.
Not because she feared Dominic physically.
Because she believed his family structure was dangerous for Leo.
She wrote:
Dominic loves our son, but he believes money and guards equal safety. He does not see the fear inside this house because everyone is afraid to tell him.
Dominic read it alone.
Then gave it to me.
“Was she right?”
I hated the question.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
May you like
No defense.
That was the moment I began believing he might actually change.
