Chapter 16
When Chloe returned to the Hinton villa, Dominic stood before the floor–to–ceiling windows with a half–smoked cigarette between his fingers.
The hazy smoke curled around him, sharpening the lines of his jaw
Where were you?”
Dominic didn’t turn around, his voice dangerously low.
Chloe’s steps faltered. Then she quickly lifted her chin, her tone casual “Just getting some air.
“Air”
Hearing her response. Dominic’s hand froze mid–motion. He finally turned, his gaze cutting, “Getting air all the way at the Brooklyn Arts Center to fuck with Isabella?
Chloe’s expression flickered briefly. She stared directly back at him with a cold laugh. []
Well, you obviously already know. So what? She’s married now. You still hung up on her?”
Dominic violently crushed out his cigarette, tiny sparks flying.
He stepped forward, barely containing his fury
“Chloe, do you think that marrying me gives you free rein to do whatever the hell you want?“||
“What the hell did I do?!”
Chloe’s anger flared. “She slapped me across the face! Then her precious husband threatened met They-
“Thought
Dominic’s sharp voice cut her off. “You go after her. Are you trying to humiliate her or trying to remind me exactly what I’ve lost?“||
Chloe was stunned into silence by the intensity in his eyes.
Dominic closed his eyes. 1 low you set up that wedding for me to crash, but chose to let it go. Yet you keep provolding her…”
Chloe swallowed, tears pooling in her eyes. ||
“Because she doesn’t deserve you! She only latched onto you when you were down. Now that you’re hack on top and she couldn’t compete with me. So she’s sucking up to Lucas Montgomery. Thathitch“]
“SHUT UPT
Dominic’s hand shot up. Chloe flinched instinctively, but he didn’t hit her. Instead, he grabbed the heavy glass ashtray and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the cabinet, shards scalering.
He fixed her with a glacial stare, enunciating each word. “Chloe, don’t make me regret marrying you.“]]
Chlor’s face drained of color, her nails digging into her palms||
Domine stalked out, leaving Chlor alone with the mess
“Isabella.…,” she whispered. I will absolutely destroy you.
Later that night
Dominic sat alone at a bar, downing drink after drink
Theylcohol burned his throat but couldn’t extinguish the pain churning in his chest
He pulled out his phone and once again checked Isabella’s Instagram–bat she hadn’t updated in ages.[]
Her last post was from before the wedding a sunset over the New York skyline, bathed in a golden light. [
The caption was simple. Just one words
Goodbye.
Yeah, they met again. Though not the way Dominic had imagined.]]
That unexpected encounter on the bridge..[]
I stand quietly behind him, waiting for him to love her.]
Dominic’s vision blurred as he stared at the screen. He remembered once is
Isabella would s
But the never did ||
The bartender slid a freshly mixed drink toward him. “Hitting it pretty hard tonight, Mr. Hinton, Rough day?:]
Dominic didn’t answer, his gaze fixed on the ring on the bartender’s hand
It was an unremarkable ring, yet somehow familiar
Dominit suddenly grabbed the bartender’s wrist, his voice tight. Where did you get this ring? ||
The bartender flinched. “It’s my girlfriends. My girl beaght it from some thrift shop.
Dominic’s palse hammered in his ears. Up close, the ring looked even more familiar.
…could take a look at i-
pure, I guess. It’s just a cheap secondhand thing. Is there something special about in-
Dominic was beyond answering. Holding it up to the amber light, he turned the ring and spotted a slight scratch on the band
This was Isabelle’s mother’s heirloom
When Dominic went bankrupt and struggled to find work, he couldn’t even afford a decentsù t. ||
To help him look presentable for interviews, bella secretly sold this ring
Dominic remembered how Isabella once wore that ring, laughing of she told by kunnes by her childhood mischief that had caused the tiny scratch on ins bund
“Oh, it’s nothing. 1 barely wear it anyway. Just takes up space she’d said chilially
But he knew that ring was the last thing labella had from her mother – the only thing of value she had left.]
Now it had been passed around cheaply, ending up on a strangers wrist |
Dominar lurched to his fret, tossed a stack of hills on the counter. And stumbled out of the bar with the ring clutched in his hand.
The cold night air could dear the alcohol fruin this system, but it stung his eye to redness.
He pulled out his phone and called his sistant “Find her I need you to find out where Isbella is right now. I need her exact location.”
“And dig t
into what happened with Chloe during those years she was abroad
The thought came from nowhere, but bomines instincts had been screaming at him for reasons he couldn’t explaist
Dominic stood in the shadows of his study, gripping a freshly delivered investigation report.
His intuition had been right.
The paper’s edges crumpled In his grip, is knuckles while from pressure[]
His assistant stood nearby. He bowed, spoiling with careful precision. “Mr. Hinton as requested, we conducted a thorough investigation Lipo Miss Winslow’s acuvities over the past seven years. Besides the Maldives photos, we found some questionable financial transactions”
Dominie’s gate fixed on one particular page
Chloe’s private account is transferred $500,000 monthly to an offshore account for the past three years, labeled as consulting fees.
The receiving entity was a shell company controlled by someone named Brockton.
A name that rang familiar
“This Mr. Brockton–is he the former VP of Brockton Group who was sentenced last year for embezzlement?” Dominic’s voice was ice–cold. Yes, sir. And there’s something even more suspicious…-
The assistant handed over another document. “A week before Chloe returned to New York, that account received a one–time transfer of $2 million. The sender identified as Mr. Harrington.”
Dominic slammed the file shut. He recalled Chloe’s desperate eagerness to marry Lucas after returning, and her parents‘ strangely enthusiastic support for the
match.
“Keep digging,” he said through clenched teeth. “Especially the Winslow family’s financial movements around the time of Hinton Group’s collapse seven years
A few hours later, in a private VIP room, Dominic slapped a stack of photos down in front of Chloe.
“Explain this.” His voice was terrifyingly calm. “Why did your father transfer $20 million to a Swiss bank the day after my father jumped?”
Chlor’s smile froze on her face
The banking records clearly showed the money flowing into an offshore account with no connection to Winslow holdings.
Dominic listen to me.” She reached for him but was shoved away
“And this.”
Dominic pressed play on a voice recording, and Chloe’s voice rang
rout clearly:]
fit my dad could take down old man Hinton back then, he can still…
The recording cut off shruptly–words she’d let slip while drunk
Chloe’s face turned ashen
“Your family was behind it all from the beginning Dominic’s gaze was like a poisoned blade. “You only got close to me to monitor whether I was investigating the truth.”
As he turned to leave, Chine suddenly burst into laughter,
“You think Isabella’s so innocent? he’s been fucking Lucas Montgomery behind your back since…
(SHUT UP!” Dominic lunged forward, his hands around her throat, but finally he caught himself and released her.
“Don’t ever say her name again.
