Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO WALKED AWAY
Over the next year, Dominic dismantled the criminal side of the Gallo empire.
Ports were sold.
Illegal operations were exposed.
Money was redirected into legitimate companies.
Some men betrayed him.
Others followed him.
Vincent went to prison after federal prosecutors received the evidence.
Dominic cooperated.
The city expected revenge.
Instead, he chose testimony.
It cost him billions.
It also gave him something money never had.
Peace.
Layla returned to school.
Dominic paid for it, but she insisted on finishing her degree herself.
He agreed.
The twins grew.
Their names were Daniel and Sofia.
Dominic became a different father than anyone expected.
He learned how to change diapers.
He learned nursery songs.
He learned that babies did not care about quarterly earnings.
One evening, Layla found him sitting on the nursery floor surrounded by stuffed animals.
Daniel was asleep against his chest.
Sofia had one tiny hand wrapped around his finger.
Layla leaned against the door.
“You look comfortable.”
Dominic glanced up.
“I've been negotiating for forty minutes.”
“With whom?”
“Your daughter.”
“What did she demand?”
“Another bottle.”
“And?”
“I lost.”
Layla laughed.
Dominic smiled.
Then he stood.
He walked toward her.
“I have something for you.”
He opened a small box.
Inside was the silver bird locket.
The same one she had accidentally left behind years earlier.
Layla's eyes widened.
“You kept it?”
“For a long time.”
She touched it.
“Why?”
“Because it reminded me that the woman I lost was never really lost.”
Layla looked at him.
“What are you saying?”
Dominic took her hand.
“I want to spend the rest of my life proving I deserved the chance you gave me.”
He lowered himself onto one knee.
Layla's breath caught.
“Layla Bennett, will you marry me?”
May you like
She smiled through tears.
“Yes.”
