CHAPTER 5 – THE PRICE OF PROTECTION
Dominic Castelli had always understood the cost of power.
Money had a price.
Influence had a price.
Fear had a price.
Every empire was built on sacrifices, and every man who climbed high enough eventually had to look down and count what he had lost.
But Dominic had never expected the most expensive thing in his life would be something he could not buy.
Peace.
And now, because of Alice Fitzgerald, peace was no longer possible.
The message remained on Dominic’s phone.
Leave Alice Fitzgerald alone.
Or she dies.
Five words.
A simple threat.
But Dominic had learned something over decades.
The most dangerous threats were rarely the loud ones.
They were the ones written calmly.
The ones sent by people who had already made a decision.
Silas stood across from him in the office.
“We need to move her.”
Dominic said nothing.
“Dominic.”
“I heard you.”
“Then answer me.”
A pause.
“No.”
Silas frowned.
“No?”
“If we move her, whoever sent this knows we are afraid.”
“They already know you care.”
Dominic looked at him.
Silas sighed.
“That is exactly my point.”
The room went quiet.
Because Silas was right.
For years, Dominic Castelli had been untouchable because people never knew what mattered to him.
They could attack his businesses.
They could attack his money.
They could attack his reputation.
But they could never find his weakness.
Until now.
Alice Fitzgerald.
Alice woke up that morning believing things could not get worse.
She was wrong.
Her name was everywhere.
Online articles.
Business forums.
Social media.
People who had never met her were suddenly experts on her life.
They called her greedy.
Unstable.
A woman trying to destroy a successful man.
Bradley had done exactly what he always did.
He controlled the story.
And Alice finally understood something terrifying.
Bradley did not need to convince everyone he was good.
He only needed to make people doubt that she was.
“He’s winning.”
Alice stood in Dominic’s library, staring at the news on the tablet.
Dominic looked up.
“No.”
She turned.
“Everyone believes him.”
“Not everyone.”
“Enough people.”
Her voice cracked.
“I spent years trying to be a good person.”
Dominic watched her.
“And now strangers think I’m a monster.”
He walked closer.
“Alice.”
She looked at him.
“Do you know what Bradley’s greatest mistake was?”
“What?”
“He thought destroying your reputation would destroy you.”
A pause.
“But he forgot something.”
“What?”
“You know who you are.”
Alice looked away.
“Do I?”
The question surprised him.
Because it was not about Bradley anymore.
It was about herself.
“I used to.”
Her voice became softer.
“Before him.”
Dominic understood.
Because some people did not break you all at once.
They erased you slowly.
A criticism here.
A doubt there.
Until one day you looked in the mirror and could not recognize yourself.
That afternoon, Dominic did something unexpected.
He invited Alice to his charity foundation.
Not as a guest.
As someone important.
The Castelli Foundation had funded schools, hospitals, and community programs throughout Chicago.
It was the part of Dominic’s empire most people never saw.
The part that confused them.
Because monsters were not supposed to build playgrounds.
They were not supposed to pay for children’s surgeries.
They were not supposed to spend hours reading reports about families they would never meet.
Alice noticed everything.
“You really do this?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Do what?”
“Help people.”
“Yes.”
She looked around.
“Why?”
He was quiet.
Because the honest answer was complicated.
“Because someone should.”
“That’s it?”
“No.”
She waited.
Dominic looked at the children playing outside.
“When I was young, people helped my family.”
A pause.
“And some people hurt us.”
Alice studied him.
“You remember both.”
“Yes.”
“That must be hard.”
Dominic smiled faintly.
“It is.”
But someone else was watching.
From across the street, a man photographed Alice entering the foundation.
Then he sent the image.
To Bradley Hayes.
Bradley stared at the photograph.
Dominic.
Alice.
Together.
His jealousy burned hotter than his anger.
Because Bradley finally understood the thing that frightened him most.
Alice was not running away because she hated him.
She was running away because she had found someone who made her feel safe.
And Bradley Hayes could not tolerate being replaced.
He grabbed the phone.
“Find out everything about Dominic and Alice.”
The man on the other end hesitated.
“Everything?”
“Yes.”
“Even if—”
Bradley interrupted.
“Everything.”
Meanwhile, the Castelli family meeting became a battlefield.
Luca stood at the table.
“This ends now.”
Dominic looked at him.
“What does?”
“You choosing her over us.”
The room became silent.
Dominic’s eyes hardened.
“I have chosen nobody over anyone.”
“You protected a stranger.”
“I protected someone innocent.”
Luca laughed.
“Innocent?”
He leaned forward.
“Do you even know who she is?”
Silas looked at him.
“What are you implying?”
Luca opened a folder.
Inside were documents.
“Her father.”
Dominic looked down.
Richard Fitzgerald.
Alice’s father.
Luca continued.
“His company nearly collapsed years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Who saved him?”
Silence.
Dominic looked at the papers.
A familiar company name appeared.
A company connected to his father.
His expression changed.
“What is this?”
Luca smiled.
“The Fitzgerald family has been connected to the Castelli family for years.”
Silas looked shocked.
“Impossible.”
“No.”
Luca looked at Dominic.
“Just inconvenient.”
That night, Dominic confronted Alice.
Not angrily.
But seriously.
“Your father.”
Alice looked confused.
“What about him?”
“Did he ever mention my family?”
She froze.
“My family?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Dominic studied her reaction.
She was telling the truth.
“He never talked about you.”
Dominic believed her.
But the question remained.
Why had their families been connected?
Alice noticed something in his expression.
“You think my father knew something.”
Dominic hesitated.
“Yes.”
“About you?”
“About my father.”
She stepped closer.
“And you think I’m involved.”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
She looked surprised.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Because you’re the worst liar I’ve ever met.”
For the first time in days…
Alice laughed.
A small laugh.
But real.
And Dominic felt something he had forgotten existed.
Warmth.
That night, Alice found Dominic outside.
“You never sleep.”
He looked over.
“Neither do you.”
She smiled.
“Fair.”
They stood together quietly.
Then Alice asked:
“Are you afraid?”
The question surprised him.
“Of what?”
“Losing.”
Dominic looked at the lake.
“I lost before.”
“What happened?”
“My family.”
She waited.
He continued.
“I spent years becoming someone nobody could hurt.”
Alice looked at him.
“And did it work?”
Dominic looked at her.
“No.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“Because eventually you realize being untouchable is just another kind of loneliness.”
Alice felt the sadness behind his words.
“You’re lonely.”
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt.
Because powerful people were not supposed to admit that.
The next morning, everything changed.
A phone call.
A hospital.
Richard Fitzgerald had collapsed.
Alice arrived first.
Her father was unconscious.
Doctors moved quickly.
Then the doctor approached.
“Ms. Fitzgerald?”
“Yes?”
“There’s something you should know.”
Her heart sank.
“What?”
“Before his collapse, your father left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
The doctor handed her an envelope.
Her name was written on it.
Alice opened it.
Inside was one sentence.
Her hands shook.
Alice, if Bradley Hayes ever tries to control your life, find Dominic Castelli.
She looked up.
Confused.
Terrified.
Because her father knew.
He had known.
Before she ever met Dominic.
When Dominic arrived at the hospital, Alice was waiting.
Her face was pale.
“What happened?”
She handed him the letter.
He read it.
And for the first time in years…
Dominic Castelli looked genuinely shaken.
Silas arrived moments later.
“What is it?”
Dominic handed him the letter.
Silas read it.
Then whispered:
“No.”
Dominic looked at him.
“What?”
Silas looked up.
“Your father didn’t just know the Fitzgerald family.”
A pause.
“He protected them.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“From what?”
Silas answered quietly.
“From Bradley Hayes’ father.”
Silence.
Everything connected.
The threats.
The documents.
The secrets.
The past.
Bradley Hayes was not just an abusive husband.
He was the final piece of an old war.
And Alice Fitzgerald had been placed in the middle of it before she was even born.
That evening, Bradley received a call.
The voice on the other end was nervous.
“We found something.”
Bradley looked out his office window.
“What?”
“The connection between Dominic and Alice.”
“Tell me.”
A pause.
“Your father tried to destroy the Fitzgerald family years ago.”
Bradley smiled.
“And?”
“But Dominic’s father stopped him.”
The smile disappeared.
“What?”
The man continued.
“And there is more.”
“What?”
“The reason Dominic is protecting Alice…”
A pause.
“He promised her father.”
Bradley slowly sat down.
A promise.
That was worse than attraction.
Worse than emotion.
Because promises were the one thing Dominic Castelli never broke.
Bradley looked at the city.
Then smiled.
A cold, dangerous smile.
“Then I know how to hurt him.”
At the hospital, Dominic stood beside Alice.
She looked exhausted.
Scared.
But she was no longer alone.
“I’m sorry.”
Dominic looked at her.
“For what?”
“For bringing all this into your life.”
His expression softened.
“You didn’t bring it.”
“Then who did?”
He looked toward the window.
“The past.”
A pause.
“And now I’m going to end it.”
Alice looked at him.
“Dominic…”
“Yes?”
“Promise me something.”
“What?”
“Don’t become the man everyone says you are.”
The words stopped him.
Because everyone else asked him to be stronger.
Colder.
More dangerous.
Only Alice asked him not to lose himself.
He looked at her.
“I promise.”
But neither of them knew…
That promises were about to be tested.
Because Bradley Hayes was preparing his final move.
And this time…
May you like
He was not attacking Alice.
He was attacking Dominic’s heart.
