part 9
PART 9
Dominic came undone slowly.
Not in public.
Not where anyone could call it justice.
In emails he was not supposed to send.
In messages through relatives.
In voicemail drafts forwarded by mistake to his attorney.
He blamed Victoria first.
Then Paige.
Then Dr. Reed.
Then Audrey.
Never himself for long.
Paige gave a statement two weeks later.
She admitted Dominic had told her Audrey was infertile.
She admitted he said the marriage was ending before the fall.
She admitted Victoria hated Audrey and wanted her gone.
She also turned over messages.
One from Dominic read.
After the divorce, we can start fresh.
No children.
No complications.
Sophia read that line to Audrey in the hospital garden.
Audrey sat in a wheelchair under pale winter sun.
No children.
No complications.
The baby had been a complication in Dominic’s story before he even knew they existed.
Audrey touched her empty stomach.
“What happens to Victoria?”
Sophia sat beside her.
“Charges are likely.”
“And Dominic?”
“Civil exposure is certain.”
“Criminal depends on what investigators prove about his delay and statements.”
Audrey nodded.
She no longer needed prison to believe the truth.
But she wanted consequences.
For the baby.
For Maria.
For the woman she had been at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for someone to choose her.
Dominic’s final attempt came in person during mediation.
A court-approved setting.
Glass walls.
Two attorneys.
No physical access.
He looked exhausted.
For once, not handsome.
“I did love you,” he said.
Audrey studied him.
Maybe he believed that.
Maybe men like Dominic call comfort love and obedience peace.
“You loved being forgiven,” she said.
He flinched.
“You don’t know what I lost.”
Audrey’s face changed then.
For the first time, anger came through clean.
“You lost a future you never protected.”
“I lost a child inside my body.”
“Do not compare your regret to my grief.”
Dominic lowered his eyes.
The settlement was signed that day.
Divorce.
Asset division in Audrey’s favor due misconduct.
No contact.
Full preservation of evidence for the criminal case against Victoria.
Dominic signed with a shaking hand.
Audrey signed without looking at him.
When she left, he whispered, “What am I supposed to do now?”
Audrey stopped at the door.
May you like
“Live with the family you chose.”
Read the full story 👉 Dominic tried to turn regret into grief, but Audrey refused to let him claim the child he never protected.
