Chapter 10 - Dominic’s VersionDominic cried for the first time when he realized I was not alone.
Not because he regretted what he had done.
Because his performance had witnesses.
“Who’s with you?” he asked.
“My father. Mara. Detective Bennett is aware of the call.”
His breathing changed.
“Vivienne, why would you do that?”
“Because you lied to me for months.”
“No,” he said quickly. “I made mistakes. There’s a difference.”
I sat at the small writing desk in my childhood bedroom. Morning light spilled across the wood, touching old scratches from where I used to press too hard with pencils.
My father stood near the door.
Mara leaned against the wall, phone in hand.
Detective Bennett listened silently from speaker.
Dominic kept talking.
“My family was drowning. You don’t understand that pressure. My father built that company for thirty years. My mother’s entire life is tied to our name. Chloe’s marriage to Nathan was supposed to stabilize everything.”
“So you used me.”
“I tried not to.”
That almost made me laugh.
“Dominic, you gave Lydia samples of my signature.”
“I thought they were for preliminary reviews.”
“Reviews of documents I never agreed to sign?”
“You always made everything impossible!” he snapped.
There he was.
The real Dominic.
Not helpless.
Angry.
“You had access to money that could have saved us, and you acted like using it would poison you. We were your family.”
“You never asked for help honestly.”
“Because you would have said no.”
“Yes,” I said. “To fraud.”
He inhaled sharply.
“You’re making me sound like a criminal.”
“You did that.”
A pause.
Then his voice softened.
The shift was so familiar my chest hurt.
“Viv. Baby. Listen to me. I was scared. My mother pushed. My father begged. Chloe was losing Nathan’s family because of the debts. I thought if we got temporary financing, I could fix it before you ever had to worry.”
“You planned to use our daughter’s trust.”
“No. Mom talked about it. I never agreed.”
“But you stayed.”
Silence.
“You knew there would be a scene at the wedding.”
He did not answer.
“Dominic.”
He exhaled.
“I knew Mom wanted to confront you.”
“Confront me?”
“I didn’t know she would tear your dress.”
“But you knew they would accuse me.”
“I thought Chloe would imply something. Not—”
“Not what? Not enough for bruises? Not enough for cameras?”
“I was going to stop it if it went too far.”
“You didn’t.”
His voice cracked.
“I froze.”
“No,” I said. “You waited to see whether your family would win.”
That silence was different.
Because truth has a sound when it lands.
Dominic whispered, “I love you.”
Three years ago, those words made me feel chosen.
Now they felt like a rope thrown after the ship had already sunk.
“No, you love the version of me that keeps quiet.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither was ripping open my dress while I was carrying your child.”
He started crying again.
“You can’t keep my daughter from me.”
Nobody moved.
My father’s face turned to stone.
I kept my voice calm.
“I’m not making custody decisions over the phone.”
“You’ll let your father take her from me.”
“You did that when you made her safety negotiable.”
“She’s not even born yet!”
“And you’ve already failed her.”
A harsh breath came through the speaker.
Then Dominic said something I would never forget.
“You think your money makes you untouchable.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
There it was.
The resentment.
The poison root.
“No,” I said. “I think evidence makes consequences possible.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You sound just like him.”
“My father?”
“Yes. Cold. Superior.”
“My father came when I called.”
“I’m your husband.”
“Then you should have been first.”
Silence.
Mara looked down.
Even Detective Bennett’s expression shifted.
Dominic lowered his voice.
“If you press charges against my mother, she won’t survive it.”
I thought of Eleanor’s hands tearing fabric from my body.
“I survived her.”
“That’s different.”
“Because I’m not important to you.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant.”
He sounded panicked now.
“Vivienne, please. Drop the charges. I’ll sign anything. I’ll cut off my family. We’ll move. We’ll start over before the baby comes.”
The offer might have broken me a year ago.
Maybe even a month ago.
Pregnancy had made me sentimental. I had wanted the nursery complete, the marriage repaired, the family whole enough for photographs.
But I had learned something in the ballroom.
A man who waits until there are consequences to offer protection is not protecting you.
He is bargaining.
“No,” I said.
His voice went flat.
“So that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“You’re destroying us.”
“No, Dominic. I’m documenting what you destroyed.”
He hung up.
The room remained silent.
Detective Bennett stopped the recording.
“That was useful,” she said.
I nodded, though I felt hollowed out.
Mara stepped forward.
“Vivienne, Ridgeway Capital has agreed to cooperate. The loan freeze is formal. No Bellamy asset exposure.”
“Good.”
“There is another issue.”
I looked at her.
“Chloe and Eleanor are trying to leave the hotel.”
My father straightened.
“With what?”
“A garment bag, two suitcases, and a locked cosmetic case they refused to open.”
Detective Bennett was already moving.
“Where are they now?”
“Service elevator.”
My father looked at me.
“You stay here.”
I should have agreed.
I was exhausted, pregnant, emotionally wrecked.
Instead, I stood.
“No.”
“Vivienne.”
“I won’t chase them. I won’t confront them alone. But I want to be present when the next lie opens.”
Mara looked at my father.
He looked at me.
Then he saw what everyone would eventually have to accept.
I was done being escorted out of rooms where my life was being discussed.
Twenty minutes later, we watched hotel security footage from Bellamy House as Detective Bennett stopped Eleanor and Chloe near the loading dock.
The locked cosmetic case sat on a metal cart between them.
Eleanor’s face was pure fury.
Chloe looked like she had aged five years overnight.
Detective Bennett said something.
Eleanor refused.
A warrant arrived digitally within minutes, supported by the night’s evidence and Lydia’s statement.
An officer opened the case.
Inside were passports, cash, jewelry, the flash drive Eleanor had carried, and a small orange prescription bottle.
Mara zoomed in.
My blood went cold.
The label showed my name.
Vivienne Vale.
Medication I had never seen.
Detective Bennett read it aloud through the live audio.
“Lorazepam. Prescribed three weeks ago.”
My father turned toward me.
I shook my head.
“I don’t take that.”
Mara’s face sharpened with alarm.
The officer searched deeper.
Beneath the bottle was a folded note in Dominic’s handwriting.
The camera zoomed.
Only part of it was visible.
But part was enough.
If she becomes unstable after delivery, we’ll need the doctor ready.
My daughter kicked once.
Hard.
As if she, too, understood.
May you like
The plan had not ended at the wedding.
The wedding was only the beginning.
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