Chapter 5 - The Medical Suite
An hour later, the sun had fully risen, casting a bright, clear light across the snow-covered lawns of the estate.
Dominic walked down the second-floor corridor toward the private medical suite. The heavy oak door was propped open slightly, and the low, gentle murmur of a child’s laughter drifted out into the hallway.
He paused at the threshold.
Inside, Mia sat propped up against a pile of plush pillows in the medical bed, wearing a clean white cotton lounge shirt provided by the estate staff. The bruises on her wrists were bandaged, and the color had begun to return to her cheeks.
Sitting cross-legged on the edge of the mattress was Harper, happily eating a plate of scrambled eggs and buttered toast, her pink rabbit backpack resting safely on the chair beside her.
"And then the dragon said, 'No more pancakes!'" Harper giggled loudly, waving a piece of toast in the air.
Mia smiled, her dark eyes shining with tears as she stroked her daughter’s tangled hair. But when she looked up and saw Dominic standing quietly in the doorway, her smile faltered, replaced by a quiet, anxious tension. She pulled the blanket slightly higher over her shoulders.
"Mr. Vale," Mia whispered respectfully, trying to shift to a sitting position.
"Stay down, Mia," Dominic said, stepping into the room and walking toward the bed.
He stopped beside the mattress, looking down at the woman who had managed his household with quiet excellence for three years—and who had endured three days of hell simply because she had been born into a world where power corrupted everything it touched.
"How are your wrists?" he asked, his voice softening into a tone that none of his business associates or enemies would have ever believed he was capable of producing.
"They're... they're healing, sir," Mia answered softly, her gaze dropping to her hands. "Dr. Alvarez said I'll have full mobility back in a week. Thank you. For... for coming down to the cellar. If you hadn't arrived when you did..." She swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence.
"You don't need to thank me, Mia," Dominic interrupted, pulling up a chair and sitting beside the bed. He reached out, placing his large, calloused hand over her bandaged wrist with infinite gentleness. "You saved my life indirectly by simply existing in this house with absolute integrity. And your daughter... your daughter saved us all."
Harper paused mid-bite, looking up at Dominic with wide, serious eyes.
"Is the bad man gone?" she asked quietly.
Dominic looked down at the little girl, a rare, genuine smile touching the corners of his mouth. He reached out and tapped the ear of her pink rabbit backpack.
"The bad man is gone, Harper," Dominic promised, his voice carrying the absolute weight of a king giving his word. "And he is never coming back. Neither is anyone else who wishes harm on you or your mother."
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Mia looked up, a tear finally spilling over her lashes and tracking down her cheek. "What happens now, Mr. Vale? The estate... your engagement... everything is in ruins."
"Everything that was false has been burned away," Dominic corrected quietly, squeezing her hand a fraction tighter. "What remains is what is real. And from this moment forward, this house belongs just as much to you and Harper as it does to me."
