Dominic’s POV

I left Caleb’s estate and drove straight to Nadia’s place, but my mind kept spiraling back to the image of Gemma with Hunter. The thought was eating me alive from the inside. When I arrived at my sister’s house in the family’s protected residential district, she wrapped me in her arms immediately. The pain Marcus had caused her was written all over her face, but at least she was finally seeing our exiled father for the snake he really was. The awakening had come at a brutal cost.

We settled into her living room, and I spilled everything. The harassment incidents at the Social Union where our family laundered money, the formal complaints brewing against Marcus through the Commission, what he had done to Gemma, what I had done to Gemma, and how he was now stalking her like some deranged predator seeking revenge against the family. By the time I finished, I was stretched out on the couch with my head in Nadia’s lap, sobbing like a child and drowning in regret for being such an impulsive fool who destroys first and thinks never.

Nadia stroked my hair and told me to stop wallowing and start fighting for Gemma. Her husband, normally a man of few words who handled family security, even chimed in with encouragement. But Vincenzo was a different story entirely. That kid worships Gemma and looked ready to tear my throat out with his bare hands. I had to endure a full moral breakdown from my teenage nephew, and honestly, every word he said about dishonoring the family and betraying trust was deserved.

I left Nadia’s house with renewed determination burning in my chest. I drove directly to Gemma’s apartment in the civilian district, prepared to camp outside her door if necessary. If she wasn’t home, I would wait until she returned. Either way, I was starting my campaign for forgiveness tonight.

Relief flooded through me when the doorman confirmed she was upstairs and that my access hadn’t been revoked yet. The building’s security knew better than to cross a Thorne family Capo without direct orders. I took the elevator up two steps at a time in my mind. When Gemma opened the door, I almost lost my nerve. She wasn’t just angry or furious. This was pure, concentrated rage that could have melted steel. She looked like she wanted to disembowel me slowly while I was still breathing. But when I caught fragments of her phone conversation, everything clicked into place.

I stepped inside and waited while she finished her call. When she finally stood before me with her arms crossed like a prosecutor about to deliver a death sentence, I knew I needed the complete picture. I held up one finger, pulled out my phone, and dialed.

"Vincenzo, you little gossip, what exactly did you tell her?" Vincenzo’s voice came through stammering and guilty. "Speak up, kid, I can’t understand you."

"Uncle Dominic, I wasn’t planning to say anything, but she called and..." I cut him off before he could spin some elaborate excuse.

"What did you tell her?" I demanded.

"Everything!" He exhaled heavily. "Including how you were crying like a baby with your head in Mom’s lap."

"Christ, Vincenzo! We’ll have words about this later."

I ended the call and turned back to Gemma. She took two deliberate steps toward me, raised her finger to my nose, and spoke through clenched teeth. "If you so much as raise your voice at Vincenzo, I will personally remove your scalp with a rusty spoon."

She moved to the living room and dropped onto the couch. Perfect, now my teenage nephew had a bodyguard who’d witnessed enough family violence to make good on her threats. I took a steadying breath and followed her, settling beside her on the cushions.

"Why, Dominic? Why believe some photograph that witch sent you instead of having an actual conversation with me?" Gemma’s voice carried bone-deep exhaustion.

"I could throw that same question back at you, Gemma. Why didn’t you tell me what Marcus was doing? Why keep his harassment and stalking to yourself?"

"Jude filled you in, obviously."

"Yeah, he told me because he’s genuinely worried about your safety. Marcus isn’t just some civilian creep. He’s a dangerous man with dangerous connections." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Dominic, I kept quiet because you were already drowning in stress after your father showed up trying to worm his way back into family business. You were barely holding it together, and I didn’t want to pile more problems on top of everything else."

"God, Gemma! You should have told me immediately. He’s not just a predator, he’s an exiled family member with nothing to lose! I would have had him dealt with long ago. You don’t understand Marcus like I do. He has connections to rival families, friends who are just as twisted as he is."

"I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Dominic."

"Not against Marcus, you’re not. He has access to resources, people who owe him favors from before his exile." I felt my control slipping but forced myself to stay calm. "If you had spoken up, I could have acted through the Commission, and several other women wouldn’t have suffered even worse harassment than what he put you through."

"I do regret not filing an official complaint through Caleb’s people. Maybe it would have protected those other women."

"No, Gemma, it wouldn’t have stopped him. But if you had told me, I could have used my position in the family to demand his immediate elimination, just like I did Friday."

"I’m glad you finally took action. Now explain yourself, Dominic." I knew exactly what she was asking.

"Because I’m a complete idiot."

"That much I already figured out."

"Ouch, that stings." Gemma’s mouth curved into the smallest, saddest smile I’d ever seen.

"I was completely blinded by rage. Marcus has this talent for bringing out my absolute worst instincts, and he’s a master manipulator who knows exactly which buttons to push. I believed that snake Beatrix because that’s Marcus’s specialty. Every time he resurfaces in my life, he destroys everything good I have."

"Your relationship with him is toxic beyond repair. Why keep someone like that in your world?"

"My mother. She’s never allowed us to choose sides. She insists what happened between them was a private marriage issue, but that doesn’t change his role as our father. She’s deeply religious and takes that commandment about honoring your parents seriously, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done to the family."

"That’s exactly how so many people romanticize family, even when it’s completely dysfunctional. Real family should be built on love, understanding, acceptance, and genuine unity. Not just shared blood. Sometimes the person who shares your blood is the one who damages you most."

"I completely agree. That’s why I work to keep my father satisfied but at arm’s length, so I don’t have to tolerate him while keeping my mother happy."

"Even so, Dominic, that doesn’t justify or excuse your actions. You didn’t even have the backbone to break up with me properly."

"I was a complete coward, Gemma. I hoped you would just vanish so I wouldn’t have to face you, because confronting you would have been harder and more painful than I could handle. I slept with Beatrix trying to convince myself I could return to my old life before you existed, but I couldn’t. Every time I was with her only made me feel more empty, only proved that I can’t survive without you."

"Hold on, it wasn’t just that one day when I walked in on you? How many times did you sleep with her?" I watched the fury reignite in Gemma’s eyes and realized Vincenzo hadn’t shared absolutely everything after all.

"Shit." I pressed my palm against my face and closed my eyes before answering. "Multiple times."

"You bastard! You screwed that witch in your house, in your bed, where you used to make love to me! But that wasn’t enough satisfaction for you. No! You had to keep going back for more."

Gemma shot to her feet and began pacing like a caged animal while tears streamed down her cheeks. I stood and reached for her, but she recoiled like I had struck her.

"Gemma, please, I was out of my mind! Let me try to make this right."

"Get out of here, Dominic! Leave right now, or I’ll claw your eyes out while I’m throwing you down the stairs."

"Gemma, please, just listen to me."

"You had plenty of opportunities to talk to me, but you were too busy between that whore’s legs, so now go have your conversations with her."

Gemma yanked the door open and pointed toward the hallway. I decided to give her space and try again tomorrow, but I absolutely would not give up. I left her apartment and immediately called Zoe.