CHAPTER 4

Dom watched the tail end of a car’s headlights vanish beyond the service road curve. One of his men shouted from the front of the motel when he saw a car screeching and driving towards the road.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

His voice was quiet, deadly certain.

“She was in that car.”

His men looked shocked.

“How can you tell, sir? In the dark—”

Dom’s jaw tightened, gaze still locked on the vanishing road.

“I don’t need light to know my own wife.”

His hand curled into a fist.

“She’s alive,” he murmured, something fierce igniting behind his eyes. “And she’s running from me.”

A beat.

“No,” he corrected softly. “She’s running from the man I used to be.”

He stepped forward.

“Get the cars. We’re following.”

Althea POV

Only when the motel lights vanished behind them did Althea finally break.

Her breath came in sharp, painful gasps.

“He found me,” she whispered, trying to stop herself from going into panic. Tears profusely spill down her face. “Jess… he found me.”

Jessica reached over and squeezed her hand. “I know. But we’re not stopping.” She assured firmly. “I texted Dr. Helena and once we arrive at her place, she’ll do everything in her power as well as her husband to hide you.”

Althea tried to swallow, but her throat burned.

“I saw him,” she said, voice cracking. “In the doorway. He—he looked different.”

Jessica nodded grimly.

“He looked furious.”

Althea shook her head.

“No. Not furious.” Her voice trembled. “He looked hurt.”

Jessica glanced sideways.

“That’s more dangerous.”

Althea closed her eyes.

She knew Jessica was right.

Dominic POV

The chase didn’t stop at the motel.

Dominic’s convoy sped down the mountain road, headlights carving through the mist. Every few minutes, his tracker team updated him.

“Sir—there’s a traffic cam hit,” one guard said from the passenger seat. “A sedan matching their vehicle left through the old highway exit.”

Dom’s jaw clenched.

“She’s taking the coastal road,” he murmured. “That’s the route she takes when she’s afraid.”

The guard hesitated. “You… remember her routes?”

Dominic didn’t answer for a moment. His voice—when it finally came—was low.

“I remember everything about her.”

He leaned forward.

“Speed up.”

The car surged ahead.

But something in Dom’s chest twisted with each mile. Fear, frustration, guilt—all braided into something dark and relentless.

Why are you running from me, Thea…? He asked silently. What did I do to make you this terrified?

He had answers, of course. But none he wanted to face.

Not yet.

Althea POV

Althea could feel Dom closing in.

It was irrational, impossible, and still—undeniable. She had been through enough to know that his dominating presence is near.

Jess gripped the steering wheel. “We’ll reach the coastal road in ten minutes.” She said, sensing her fear. “There’s a fork there—if we lose him, we lose him for good. The rain will wash our tracks immediately. He wouldn't be able to track us.”

Althea swallowed hard, staring down at her trembling hands. She must decide.

A drastic one.

“He’ll follow us forever,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “He won’t stop until… until he has a body.”

Jessica nearly slammed the brakes. “No.”

Althea turned to her, eyes wet, hollow.

“Yes. Jess… you know what kind of man he is.” She argued, clenching her fists. “The only thing that will make him stop looking is believing I’m dead.”

Jessica felt her stomach twist.

“Thea, that’s—”

“No. It’s my only chance.”

Her fingers curled against her chest.

“Our only chance.”

Jessica looked at her—pale, shaking, terrified—and knew there was no convincing her otherwise.

“Okay,” Jessica whispered. She finally nodded as she reached for her phone and pressed a number. “But if we do this… we do this perfectly. I’m calling Helena now. She’ll know what to do.”

Althea nodded, tears spilling silently.

She wasn’t crying for herself.

She was crying because she had to let Dominic believe the one thing that would break him.

The storm hit the cliffs before Dominic had reached them. It was more than three hours when Jessica finally stopped the car. Jessica got out after Althea did and followed her towards the edge.

Thunder rolled across the sea. Waves crashed against jagged rocks below. The road was slick, the air electric.

Althea stood at the edge, wind ripping her hair, Jessica’s hand tight on her arm.

Below them, the drop was fatal.

Suddenly, behind them, engines can now be heard approaching.

He was close.

“Thea, we need proof,” Jessica said desperately. “Your scarf—your bracelet—anything.”

Althea pulled off the bracelet Dom gave her on their first anniversary.

A gift.

A chain.

She kissed it once, then let it fall.

The wind caught it.

It vanished into the storm below.

Headlights appeared over the hill.

“He’s here,” Jessica breathed.

Althea had only seconds.

She backed toward the edge, face soaked in rain, eyes burning.

“I’m sorry, Dom,” she whispered into the wind. “But I can’t belong to you anymore.”

Dom’s car skidded to a stop just as Althea stepped up onto the rock barrier.

“Thea!” Dom roared, bursting out of the car.

Lightning split the sky.

Their eyes met.

His—wide, desperate, broken.

Hers—full of apology and resolve.

“Thea, NO—!”

With one final look at Dominic, whose face is full of desperation, she let go of her deep breath and took a step back towards the edge.

She dropped out of sight.

Jessica screamed.

Dominic lunged toward the cliff edge—too late—just in time to see a flash of her dress disappear into the storm.

A splash. Then silence.

His scream tore from the depths of his chest, raw and guttural.

“Thea—ALTHEA!”

His men held him back as he fought to throw himself into the sea after her.

Rain mixed with the tears he refused to acknowledge.

“She’s gone, sir,” someone whispered.

Dominic fell to his knees.

And for the first time in his life—

Dominic Valtieri broke.