Chapter 5 - The Aftermath and Return
Sunlight broke blindingly over the snow-covered Catskill mountains the next morning, melting the icicles hanging from the Gothic windows. The snowplows had cleared the estate roads, and the weekend gathering was officially declared over.
The car ride back to Manhattan was agonizingly silent. Dominic sat beside her in the back of the blacked-out SUV, staring straight ahead, his expression once again locked behind the impenetrable mask of the ruthless Russo boss.
Harper sat on the opposite side, her heart heavy with a confusing mix of euphoria and terror. What have we done? she thought, pressing her fingers against her stomach. They had broken the golden rule. They were no longer just business partners acting a part; they were tangled in something infinitely more dangerous.
Back inside the sprawling Tribeca penthouse, Dominic retreated immediately to his private office, shutting the door behind him. He barely looked at her for the next two weeks. He doubled down on his protection detail, increased his security measures, and kept his distance, trying desperately to push the genie back into the bottle to protect her from his enemies.
Harper, meanwhile, tried to resume her normal routine, but her body began betraying her.
One morning in early January, a wave of intense nausea hit her as she poured her morning coffee. She gripped the marble countertop, dizzy and breathless. Over the next few days, the fatigue deepened, and a terrifying realization began to form in the back of her mind.
She drove to a local pharmacy, bought three different pregnancy tests, and locked herself in her bathroom.
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Minutes later, staring down at the unmistakable pink double lines on all three sticks, Harper’s breath caught in her throat.
She was pregnant. She was carrying the heir to the most deadly criminal empire in America.
