1298 I Tried To Hide My Pregnancy From My Mafia Boss—Until I Found Ginger Tea On My Desk And Realized He Was Surrendering Himself To Prison To Protect Our Child

Raines groaned, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the concrete as Dominic pinned him down with a heavy knee pressed firmly against his chest. Dominic’s knuckles were split and bleeding, his breathing shallow, but his dark eyes were locked entirely on me.

"Are you insane?" Dominic hissed, abandoning Raines to stride over to me in three long strides. He grabbed my arms, his hands shaking slightly as he pulled me against him. "I told you to stay in the car! What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that you're an idiot who tries to carry the whole world by yourself," I panted, looking up at him, my eyes burning with unshed tears. I dropped the iron wrench with a heavy thud. "We're a team, Dominic. For better or worse."

Dominic stared down at me, the hard, lethal edge of the syndicate boss completely melting away, replaced by a profound, overwhelming vulnerability that I had never seen before. Slowly, he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, burying his face in my hair.

"If he had touched you..." Dominic murmured, his voice cracking against my ear. "Penny... if he had laid a finger on you—"

"He didn't," I whispered, resting my hands against his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat match my own. "Because we're right here."

A dry cough from across the floor broke the quiet.

Raines was pushing himself up against the metal drums, holding his bleeding jaw, glaring at us with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.

"You think you've won, Bellano?" Raines spat, blood staining his teeth. "You think killing or arresting me stops what's coming? Look at her. Look at the ledger." He pointed a shaking finger toward the silver laptop lying near his feet. "You think the federal task force only has Vance’s files? They’ve had a federal grand jury subpoena sitting on your desk for three weeks, Bellano. Your corporate empire is already forfeited. Even if you marry her, even if you lock her in a golden cage, you're going away for twenty years."

Dominic didn't look at Raines. He didn't even turn his head. He simply kept his arms around me, his gaze fixed on the concrete floor.

"He's lying," I whispered against Dominic's chest.

"No," Dominic said quietly, his voice dead flat. "He isn't."

I pulled back, staring up at him in shock. "What?"

Dominic sighed, a heavy, tired sound that seemed to age him ten years in a single second. He looked down at me, his dark eyes filled with a sorrow I hadn't expected to find in a man like him.

"The federal subpoena is real, Penny," Dominic confessed softly. "Three weeks ago, before we... before that night at the gala, I received notice from the U.S. Attorney’s office. They’ve been building a racketeering case against the Bellano syndicate for five years. They don't need Raines’s laptop to tear this tower down. They already have enough signed documents, shell company transfers, and asset trails to freeze every account we own."

The words hit me like a physical blow. I stepped back, my hands dropping from his chest. "You knew? While we were working together on the forty-third floor... while I was helping you organize your corporate files... you knew the whole thing was about to collapse?"

"I knew," Dominic nodded, his expression grim. "Which is why I tried to keep you at arm's length. Which is why I never wanted you involved in any of this. I was trying to wind down the illegal operations, liquidate the assets, and buy a clean exit before the hammer fell."

"And the baby?" My voice dropped to a terrified whisper. "What happens to our child when the federal marshals walk into the penthouse?"

Dominic stepped forward, trying to reach for my hand, but I pulled away, the weight of his secrets crashing down around us.