Chapter 2 — THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
The first bullet had been meant for Carrie.
The second one nearly killed Walter.
He shoved her behind the bathroom wall just as another shot tore through the hotel room.
CRACK!
Plaster exploded above her head.
Carrie screamed.
“Stay down!”
Walter crouched beside her, one hand gripping his weapon, the other braced against the floor.
The fire alarm screamed overhead.
Water poured from the ceiling.
The room had become chaos.
But through all of it, Carrie heard one thing clearly.
Dominic.
“CARRIE!”
His voice came from the hallway.
Closer now.
Angrier.
Desperate.
She had spent nine years hearing Dominic speak with absolute control.
She had heard him negotiate million-dollar deals without raising his voice.
She had seen men twice his size lower their eyes when he entered a room.
She had watched him order people out of his life with a single sentence.
She had never heard him sound like this.
Afraid.
Walter looked toward the door.
“Don't move.”
Carrie grabbed his sleeve.
“That's my husband.”
Walter's eyes hardened.
“And the man outside could be the reason we're being shot at.”
Another bullet struck the door.
Dominic shouted something.
Then three gunshots answered from the hallway.
Not one weapon.
Several.
Walter's expression changed.
“They're fighting.”
Carrie swallowed.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
The hotel alarm continued screaming.
Water soaked the carpet.
Carrie's hair clung to her face.
Her daughter kicked violently.
She placed both hands over her stomach.
“Please.”
Walter looked at her.
“Is the baby okay?”
“I don't know.”
Carrie tried to breathe.
Then she felt it.
A tightening sensation.
Not pain.
Pressure.
Her eyes widened.
“Walter…”
“What?”
“I think…”
Another contraction tightened across her stomach.
Carrie gripped the edge of the bathtub.
“I think I'm having contractions.”
Walter went pale.
“No.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“It's too early.”
“I know.”
A door slammed somewhere down the hallway.
Then Dominic's voice came again.
“CARRIE!”
Walter stood.
“Stay here.”
He moved toward the bedroom.
Carrie grabbed his wrist.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because if you die, I'll never forgive myself.”
Walter looked at her.
For the first time, his hard expression softened.
“You sound like your mother.”
Carrie froze.
Before she could respond, the hotel room door exploded inward.
Walter raised his gun.
Dominic stepped through.
Black suit soaked with rain and sprinkler water.
Blood streaked one side of his face.
His tie was gone.
His shirt was torn at the collar.
Two armed men stood behind him.
Carrie stared.
Dominic found her immediately.
His eyes dropped to her stomach.
Then to the blood on her hand.
His face changed.
“Are you hurt?”
Carrie didn't answer.
He moved toward her.
Walter raised his gun.
“Stop.”
Dominic froze.
His eyes moved to Walter.
“You're protecting her.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Walter's expression hardened.
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn't.”
That answer surprised everyone.
Dominic slowly lowered his hands.
“Not tonight.”
Carrie stared at him.
Dominic looked directly at her.
“But if you want your daughter alive, you need to leave this building.”
Walter frowned.
“What happened?”
Dominic glanced toward the hallway.
“Six men came through the south entrance.”
“Who?”
“Professional.”
“Whose?”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“Whitmore.”
The name seemed to change the temperature in the room.
Carrie whispered:
“Charles.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Yes.”
“You said he was alive.”
“He is.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he called me twenty minutes ago.”
Carrie's heart stopped.
“What did he say?”
Dominic's expression became grim.
“He said you were never supposed to leave me.”
Silence.
Carrie felt cold.
“Why?”
Dominic looked at her stomach.
“Because the moment you left, the trust activated.”
Carrie stared.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Since before our wedding.”
The words struck harder than any bullet.
Carrie's face went blank.
Walter lowered his gun slightly.
Dominic took one step forward.
Carrie backed away.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the trust?”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my family?”
Dominic didn't answer.
“Did you know my marriage to you was arranged?”
His silence was enough.
Carrie's eyes filled.
“You knew.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
She slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
Walter looked away.
Dominic didn't move.
Carrie's hand trembled.
“You let me love you.”
His jaw tightened.
“You think I planned that?”
“You knew.”
“I knew why you were brought into my life.”
“You knew!”
“I didn't know I would love you.”
Carrie's expression cracked.
“Don't.”
“It's the truth.”
“You don't get to tell me what was real.”
Dominic looked at her.
“I don't know what was real anymore.”
Another shot sounded in the hallway.
Everyone turned.
Dominic's men raised their weapons.
“We have thirty seconds,” one of them said.
Dominic nodded.
Then he looked at Carrie.
“We're leaving.”
“No.”
“Carrie.”
“You lied to me for nine years.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me build a life around a lie.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe I was your wife because you loved me.”
Dominic's voice broke.
“I did love you.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if I told you, you'd have died.”
Carrie stared.
“What?”
Dominic stepped closer.
“My father killed everyone who knew what the Whitmore trust really was.”
He looked at Walter.
“Your mother knew.”
Carrie's breath caught.
“Your father knew.”
Walter nodded.
“Charles knew.”
Carrie whispered:
“Who else?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Everyone who tried to tell you.”
The hallway erupted in gunfire.
Dominic grabbed Carrie's arm.
“Now.”
She pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
He stopped.
For one second, they stared at each other.
Then Carrie felt another contraction.
Her face tightened.
Dominic noticed.
His expression changed immediately.
“Carrie.”
“I can walk.”
“I know.”
He removed his jacket.
Wrapped it around her shoulders.
Then turned toward his men.
“Get the elevator.”
One of them shook his head.
“It's compromised.”
“Stairs.”
“Twenty-three floors.”
Dominic didn't hesitate.
“Then we run.”
They reached the stairwell.
The hotel had descended into panic.
Guests were screaming.
Security alarms blared.
Smoke filled the lower floors.
Dominic stayed beside Carrie.
Not touching her.
Not ordering her.
Just walking at her pace.
Walter followed behind them.
At the tenth floor, Carrie stopped.
Her hand went to the railing.
Dominic turned.
“What?”
She breathed through the pain.
“Contraction.”
“How long?”
“Maybe forty seconds.”
Dominic's face tightened.
“Can you continue?”
“Yes.”
Walter looked at him.
“She shouldn't be walking.”
“I know.”
“Then stop asking.”
Dominic looked at Walter.
“Do you have a better option?”
Walter didn't answer.
Dominic turned to Carrie.
“We have a medical team waiting outside.”
Carrie frowned.
“You brought a doctor?”
“I brought three.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew this might happen.”
Carrie's eyes narrowed.
“You knew?”
“I've been monitoring your pregnancy.”
She stopped.
“What?”
Dominic's expression became guarded.
“Not secretly.”
Carrie laughed bitterly.
“That's exactly what it sounds like.”
“You were high-risk.”
“My doctor told me.”
“I had additional specialists.”
“You had people watching me?”
“Yes.”
“Without telling me?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head.
“Unbelievable.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Carrie, there were three attempts to get near you in the last six months.”
Her face changed.
“What?”
“Two were stopped before they reached you.”
“And the third?”
Dominic looked away.
“The third was your car accident.”
Carrie froze.
“What car accident?”
“You don't remember?”
She stared at him.
“Dominic, I have never had a car accident.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Exactly.”
Walter's eyes widened.
“Then what was he talking about?”
Dominic looked at Walter.
“Someone tampered with Carrie's brakes six months ago.”
Carrie's stomach dropped.
“My brakes?”
“I replaced the car before you noticed.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know who did it.”
“And now?”
Dominic's eyes turned cold.
“Now I do.”
“Who?”
“Charles.”
Carrie shook her head.
“Why would he want me dead?”
Dominic's voice became quiet.
“He doesn't.”
“Then why attack me?”
“He wants you frightened.”
“For what?”
Dominic looked toward her stomach.
“To make you give up the baby.”
Carrie went completely still.
Walter whispered:
“Jesus.”
Dominic nodded.
“Your daughter is the key to the Whitmore trust.”
Carrie stared at him.
“How?”
“Because she carries the bloodline.”
“I carry it too.”
“You're a Whitmore by blood.”
“What?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Your mother's maiden name wasn't Carter.”
Carrie felt dizzy.
“What was it?”
Dominic hesitated.
“Whitmore.”
The stairwell seemed to tilt.
“My mother…”
“Was Charles Whitmore's younger sister.”
Carrie's mouth opened.
No sound came out.
Walter looked devastated.
“I didn't know that.”
Dominic turned toward him.
“You did.”
Walter's face tightened.
“I knew your mother had a connection to Charles.”
“You knew she was his sister.”
Walter looked away.
Carrie whispered:
“Everyone knew.”
“No,” Dominic said.
She turned toward him.
“Everyone but me.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“That was the point.”
They reached the parking garage.
Three black SUVs waited.
Rain hammered the concrete ramps.
Security teams surrounded the vehicles.
Dominic opened the rear door.
Carrie hesitated.
“I don't want to go to your house.”
“You won't.”
“Where then?”
“Somewhere they can't find you.”
“Does such a place exist?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Dominic looked at her.
“My father's old estate.”
Carrie shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because everything connected to your family has been a lie.”
Dominic nodded.
“I know.”
“So why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn't.”
Carrie stared.
“Then why should I get into your car?”
Dominic looked at her stomach.
“Because right now, I am the only person standing between your daughter and a man who has spent nine years preparing for this night.”
Carrie hated that he was right.
She hated even more that part of her still trusted him.
She climbed into the SUV.
Dominic followed.
Walter entered the vehicle behind them.
The convoy moved.
For twenty minutes, nobody spoke.
Chicago disappeared behind them.
The skyline faded.
Rain continued falling.
Carrie stared out the window.
Finally she asked:
“Did you ever love me?”
Dominic didn't answer immediately.
Then:
“Yes.”
“When?”
“All the time.”
She looked at him.
“Even when you lied?”
“Yes.”
“Even when you brought Vanessa into our house?”
Dominic's face tightened.
“Vanessa was never supposed to replace you.”
“Then what was she?”
“A decoy.”
Carrie blinked.
“What?”
Dominic looked at her.
“She wanted you to think she was taking your place.”
“Why?”
“To make you leave.”
Carrie's blood ran cold.
“You wanted me to leave?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“Charles.”
“Why?”
“Because the trust activates when you voluntarily separate from me.”
Carrie stared.
“So my leaving was part of the plan.”
“Yes.”
“Whose plan?”
“Charles's.”
“And Vanessa?”
Dominic's voice became bitter.
“She works for him.”
Carrie closed her eyes.
Everything clicked.
The bedroom.
The robe.
The photograph.
The cruelty.
The deliberate humiliation.
Vanessa hadn't simply wanted Dominic.
She had wanted Carrie out.
And Dominic had allowed the deception to continue.
Carrie whispered:
“You used my marriage as bait.”
Dominic looked down.
“Yes.”
“And now?”
“Now the trap has changed.”
“What does that mean?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Charles didn't expect you to hire a lawyer.”
Carrie frowned.
“Why?”
“Because he expected you to come back.”
“And if I don't?”
“The trust becomes permanent.”
Carrie's eyes widened.
“What?”
“Once activated, the trust cannot be reversed.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
Dominic stared at her.
“Because the person who controls the trust controls the Marino empire.”
Carrie understood.
“Me.”
“Yes.”
The car became silent.
Carrie looked at her hands.
“I'm worth four hundred and eighty million dollars.”
“No.”
She looked up.
Dominic's eyes were fixed on her.
“You're worth more than that.”
She almost laughed.
“That sounds like something you should have told me nine years ago.”
“I should have.”
“Yes.”
“I was afraid.”
Carrie stared.
“Of what?”
“Of loving you enough to destroy my family.”
The convoy turned onto a narrow private road.
Trees swallowed the headlights.
A stone gate appeared.
No sign.
No security booth.
Only an old iron crest.
Carrie recognized it immediately.
A letter W inside a circle.
Whitmore.
The gates opened.
The SUV drove through.
At the end of the road stood a massive Victorian estate.
Dark.
Abandoned.
Beautiful.
Dominic stepped out.
“This is where my father kept his records.”
Carrie looked at the house.
“Why bring me here?”
“Because everything started here.”
Walter looked toward the upper windows.
“Someone's been here.”
Dominic nodded.
“I know.”
Carrie turned.
“How?”
He pointed.
A light had appeared in the third-floor window.
Then another.
Then another.
Someone was inside.
Dominic pulled his weapon.
“Get back in the car.”
Carrie didn't move.
“Who is there?”
Dominic stared at the house.
“I don't know.”
A figure appeared behind the third-floor window.
An elderly man.
Silver hair.
Black suit.
He raised one hand.
Carrie stopped breathing.
She knew that face.
She had seen it in the photograph.
Charles Whitmore.
Dominic raised his weapon.
“Charles!”
The man smiled.
Then lifted something toward the glass.
A photograph.
Carrie squinted.
It was an old photograph of her mother.
And beside her—
a young Dominic.
Carrie's eyes widened.
Dominic went pale.
“No.”
Charles smiled.
Then mouthed four words through the glass.
Ask him who your father was.
The window went dark.
Carrie turned slowly toward Dominic.
“Who was my father?”
Dominic didn't answer.
Walter looked away.
Carrie's voice became colder.
“Dominic.”
He closed his eyes.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Then why did he show me that photograph?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Because Charles wants you to believe your father was someone else.”
“Who?”
Dominic swallowed.
“Your father wasn't a gambler who disappeared.”
Carrie's face went blank.
“Then who was he?”
Dominic looked toward the dark house.
“He was the only man who ever came close to taking the Marino empire away from my father.”
Carrie's heartbeat accelerated.
“Name.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“Anthony Whitmore.”
Carrie stared.
“Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
“Charles's brother?”
“No.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Charles's son.”
Carrie couldn't breathe.
She looked toward the house.
Then toward the photograph still burned into her mind.
“My father was a Whitmore.”
Dominic nodded.
“And that means…”
Carrie touched her stomach.
Her voice barely existed.
“My daughter isn't just the heir.”
Dominic looked at her.
“No.”
He lowered his weapon.
“She is the last legitimate heir to everything.”
Behind them, the gates suddenly slammed shut.
Every light around the estate turned red.
Walter spun around.
“Ambush.”
Gunfire erupted from the trees.
Dominic grabbed Carrie and pulled her behind the SUV.
Bullets tore through the windshield.
Security men returned fire.
Carrie screamed as another contraction hit.
Dominic looked at her.
“Carrie?”
She gripped his arm.
Her face went white.
“Something's wrong.”
“What?”
She looked down.
Her dress was wet.
Not from rain.
Blood.
Dominic's face lost all color.
“Call the doctor!”
Walter shouted into his radio.
“We need an ambulance!”
Dominic lifted Carrie into his arms.
She grabbed his shirt.
“Don't let my baby die.”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“She won't.”
Another burst of gunfire ripped through the darkness.
Dominic carried her toward the estate.
The front doors opened.
A voice echoed from inside.
Charles Whitmore.
“Bring her to me, Lorenzo.”
Dominic stopped.
Charles laughed.
“Or your daughter dies before she ever learns what her father did.”
Dominic's expression became murderous.
Carrie looked at him.
“What did my father do?”
Dominic said nothing.
Charles's voice came again.
“He didn't abandon you, Caroline.”
A pause.
“He was murdered by the man your mother married.”
Carrie stared at Dominic.
The world seemed to disappear.
Dominic whispered:
“Carrie…”
She pushed against his chest.
“Put me down.”
“You're bleeding.”
“Put me down.”
He didn't.
Carrie looked into his eyes.
“Did your father kill mine?”
Dominic's face broke.
“Yes.”
One word.
One devastating truth.
And then Carrie screamed.
Not from fear.
Not from pain.
May you like
From the realization that the man she had loved for nine years belonged to the family that had destroyed hers.
And somewhere inside the dark Whitmore estate, Charles began to laugh.
