Chapter 4 - The Tides TurnThe unanimous vote to oust the Wexlers took less than three minutes.
By the time the elevator doors opened downstairs, two federal agents in dark suits were waiting in the lobby. I stood beside Dominic in the glass-walled executive suite, watching through the floor-to-ceiling windows as Nathan and his father were led out of the building in handcuffs.
Emily had tried to run after them, screaming for Nathan to tell her it was all a lie, but security had unceremoniously escorted her and Victoria out the back entrance. The empire they had tried to steal from me had crumbled into dust in a single morning.
“It’s over,” I whispered, staring down at the busy street below.
“No, Nora,” Dominic said, stepping up behind me. I could feel the heat radiating off his chest, a comforting weight in the massive, quiet office. “The defense is over. Now begins the reconstruction.”
I turned to face him, leaning back against the cool glass. “Why did you do all this, Dominic? The debt, the board, setting up the FBI... you planned this long before I grabbed your sleeve last night.”
Dominic stared at me, his sharp grey eyes piercing right through my defenses. “I told you, I wanted to destroy Richard Wexler. He was a cancer in this city.”
“And me?” I asked softly. “Am I just a convenient pawn that helped you checkmate him?”
For the first time since I met him, Dominic looked away, his expression darkening slightly. He walked over to the sprawling wooden desk, picking up a silver pen, turning it over in his hands.
“Three weeks ago,” Dominic began, his voice dropping into a quiet, reflective tone, “I was sitting in a car outside a coffee shop on 4th Street. I had just ordered a hit on a traitor in my organization. I was bitter, tired, and disgusted with the world.”
I held my breath, listening intently.
“I watched a young woman walk out of that café,” he continued, looking up to lock eyes with me. “She was holding an expensive pastry, clearly late for something important. But she stopped. She stopped because an elderly, homeless woman had dropped her bag of aluminum cans in the middle of a busy sidewalk.”
My heart skipped a beat. The coffee shop.
“That young woman didn't just kick the cans aside like everyone else,” Dominic said softly. “She got down on her knees in the dirt, in her work clothes, helped pick up every single can, bought the old woman a hot meal, and gave her a fifty-dollar bill. She did it when no one was watching. No cameras, no press, no strategic gain.”
He walked back toward me, stopping just inches away. “In my line of work, Nora, purity does not exist. Everyone wants something. Everyone has a price. But when I saw you that morning, I realized that there was still something good left in this godforsaken city.”
“You remembered me,” I whispered.
“I couldn't forget you if I tried,” Dominic murmured, his large hand coming up to gently cup my cheek. His thumb stroked my cheekbone with incredible tenderness. “When I saw you at the gala last night, surrounded by those wolves, looking so small and broken... I decided I was going to give you back your power.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, catching on his thumb. “Dominic...”
Before I could say another word, the heavy wooden doors of the executive office burst open.
Kyle, Dominic’s right-hand capo, rushed into the room, his face pale and sweating. “Boss! We have a major problem.”
Dominic didn't remove his hand from my face immediately; he took his time, turning slowly to face his lieutenant. “What is it, Kyle?”
“It’s the Wexler trial... or rather, what’s happening on the street,” Kyle gasped, holding up an iPad. “Richard Wexler’s primary cartel contact—Moretti—just hit the city. He heard about the arrest and the asset seizure. He thinks Nora has the account keys to the fifty million dollars.”
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Dominic’s eyes narrowed into slits of pure, terrifying ice. “Moretti is in New York?”
“He just landed at Teterboro,” Kyle confirmed. “And Boss... he put a two-million-dollar bounty on Nora’s head. Every dirty crew in the tri-state area is hunting for her right now.”
