Familiar Face

Dominic POV

He wasn’t a man who got distracted.

He didn’t forget faces, didn’t dwell on the past, didn’t lose sleep over unfinished chapters.

But today… something was off.

Dominic leaned back in the leather seat of his car, staring out the tinted window at the bustling street outside Riverside Books. His assistant sat beside him, tapping away on her tablet.

“Amanda,” he said without looking at her, “did you find out who she was?”

She paused. “The woman? She’s not on any employee records. Apparently, she rents a room upstairs and works part-time managing the register. Paid under the table.”

He turned to her now. “Name?”

Amanda hesitated. “I asked the shop owner. She said the woman goes by Lena Hart.”

The name dropped like ice water down his spine.

Dominic sat up straighter. “Say that again.”

“Lena Hart,” Amanda repeated. “Why?”

His mind went blank for a split second.

No. It can’t be.

“She was my wife,” he said flatly.

Amanda’s jaw dropped. “Wait—that’s Lena Hart? The one from the contract marriage thing?”

Dominic’s fists clenched in his lap. “She disappeared after the divorce. Changed numbers. Moved cities. I never heard from her again.”

Amanda frowned. “She didn’t take anything, right?”

“No,” he muttered. “She left everything… except the truth.”

He remembered the last time he saw her—small, pale, standing in that glass-walled office whispering the words: “I’m pregnant.”

He hadn’t believed her.

He hadn’t wanted to believe her.

But now, after seeing that child…

He turned sharply. “Did she have a little girl with her?”

Amanda blinked. “Yes. Around four or five, I think.”

His chest tightened.

And for the first time in years, Dominic Black—the man who controlled entire empires—felt something foreign creeping in.

Doubt.

⸻

Lena POV

She couldn’t sleep.

Eliana was tucked into bed upstairs, peacefully dreaming in her little pink pajamas. But Lena sat at the kitchen table, heart racing, staring at the silence around her.

She knew the look on Dominic’s face when he turned toward them at the event. He hadn’t recognized her… but something had clicked. Something had stirred.

And when Dominic Black got curious, things burned.

She pressed a hand to her forehead.

God, what if he comes back tomorrow? What if he asks questions?

Would he demand a paternity test? Try to take Eliana away just to prove a point?

No.

She wouldn’t let him touch her daughter. Not after what he did.

Lena stood and crossed to the cupboard, pulling out a small box tucked behind a stack of dishes. Inside were folded papers—Eliana’s birth certificate, a few old photos, and a copy of her divorce agreement.

Her hands trembled as she unfolded them.

So much of her life had changed… but one thing hadn’t.

She had always known that this day might come.

Lena stared down at the birth certificate.

Eliana Grace Hart.

Born April 4th, five years ago. Father: —

She had left the space blank. Not out of spite, not even out of anger—but out of survival.

Dominic had made it clear back then: he didn’t believe her. He thought she was using the pregnancy to trap him. As if she wanted more years of silent dinners, cold glances, and a marriage that only looked perfect in photographs.

Lena pressed the paper flat, her fingers trailing over Eliana’s name.

Then—unbidden—the memories came flooding back.

Five Years Ago

She had sat across from him in his office, the sonogram photo in her hand trembling.

“I’m pregnant,” she said softly.

Dominic didn’t even blink. He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “Whose is it?”

The words hit her like a slap.

“Yours,” she whispered, stunned.

He scoffed. “We haven’t shared a bed in months.”

“You know that’s not true—”

“I know you want out of the marriage. This is a bold way to negotiate.”

“Negotiate?” Her voice cracked. “Dominic, I’m not lying. I didn’t sleep with anyone else. You’re the father.”

His jaw clenched. He stood, walking to the window.

“Then prove it,” he said coldly. “But don’t expect me to rearrange my life around your stories.”

Something shattered inside her that day. The fragile hope she’d held onto—the dream that maybe, deep down, he could care—was gone.

And so, she left. With nothing but her name and the baby in her belly.

Present Day

Lena folded the documents back into the box, carefully, as if they were made of glass.

She knew he would come back. She felt it in her bones.

What do I do if he demands answers? If he wants Eliana?

Would the courts believe a billionaire or a bookstore cashier?

Before she could spiral further, her phone buzzed.

A text.

From Rina, her boss.

“Dominic Black was asking for you by name today. Said he wants to meet tomorrow. Privately. I said I’d pass the message along.”

Lena’s stomach dropped.

It was happening.

Dominic remembered her.

And he wasn’t walking away this time.

She rose slowly from the table, crossing to Eliana’s bedroom and peeking inside. Her daughter was fast asleep, one hand tucked under her cheek, her stuffed lion tucked beneath the other arm.

So innocent. So unaware of the storm about to hit.

Lena stood there, whispering to the quiet:

“I’ll protect you. No matter what it costs me.”