The Chicago Mafia Boss Was Driving Home With His Diamond-Covered Fiancée Until He Saw His Ex-Wife Pulling a Scrap Cart Through the Rain With Two Little Boys Who Had His Eyes

Dominic slowly shifted his body, positioning himself entirely between Claire and the incoming threat. Marco slid his hand inside his jacket, his fingers resting on the grip of his weapon.

"Vanessa," Dominic said, his voice dropped to a quiet, dangerous whisper. "You are trespassing on private property. Walk back to that elevator while you still have legs to stand on."

Vanessa chuckled, though a flicker of fear crossed her eyes at Dominic’s expression. "Don't take that tone with me, Dominic. My father just watched the security footage from the South Side. He knows you brought this whore and her illegitimate brats into a Vale facility. The engagement party is tomorrow night. The East Coast bosses are already flying in. You think you can call off a union between New York and Chicago for a gutter trash ex-wife?"

"She is not trash," Dominic said softly, stepping closer to Vanessa. The four enforcers behind her reached for their holsters, but Marco and three hidden Vale snipers in the shadows immediately trained red laser sights onto their chests. The enforcers froze.

"She is my wife," Dominic declared, the words ringing clear through the hallway. "She has always been my wife. And those boys are my legitimate heirs."

Claire gasped behind him, catching her breath.

Vanessa’s face distorted with fury. "Your father erased that illegal marriage five years ago! She has no standing! If you break this agreement, Dominic, my father will start a war that will burn Chicago to the ground. You will lose everything—your territory, your business, and your precious little street rats."

Dominic reached out, taking Vanessa gently by the jaw, his fingers tightening just enough to make her gasp. He leaned in close to her ear.

"Tell Anthony Bellini," Dominic whispered, "that if a single one of his men sets foot on Chicago soil after midnight, I will personally mail him his family's empire piece by piece. The alliance is dead. Get out."

He shoved her back toward her guards. Vanessa glared at him with pure hatred, her lip trembling with rage. "You've signed your own death warrant, Vale," she spat before turning on her heel and marching back to the elevator with her men.

When the doors closed, silence reclaimed the hall.

Dominic turned back to Claire. She was trembling, staring at him as if he were a stranger.

"You just declared war on New York," she whispered. "For us? Why?"

"Because five years ago, I was a coward who trusted the wrong people," Dominic said, walking up to her until only inches separated them. He gently reached out, his big, rough hand lifting her chin so she had to look him in the eye. "I lost five years of watching my sons grow up. I lost five years of holding the only woman who ever made me feel human. I will burn the entire world to the ground before I let anyone hurt you again."

"Dominic... it's not that simple," Claire said, tears rising again. "Ethan and Leo don't know you. They are terrified of men in suits. They are terrified of gunshots. They have lived in the dark for so long..."

"Then I will build them a home filled with light," Dominic promised. He looked toward the hospital room where Leo lay sleeping. "Starting tonight, you and the boys are coming to the estate. It's safe. It's guarded."

"No," Claire said firmly. "Not the Vale estate. That place is a fortress of blood, Dominic. Your father's shadow lives there. I won't raise my sons in a syndicate house."

Dominic paused, processing her words. He nodded slowly. "Then we go to the lake house. The one in Michigan. No mobsters, no business. Just us."