13. Dominic #2
“Thank you. And thanks for coming. We didn’t get a chance to talk much, but it meant a lot that you were there.”
He waves it off. “It was beautiful. But I didn’t want to miss the chance to speak with you both. I figured you’d disappear on a honeymoon and I’d lose my window. I’ve got something important to discuss. With both of you.”
His gaze shifts toward the door, like he’s expecting Lena to walk in at any moment.
“She’ll be here,” I say. “Just a few more minutes.”
The mayor nods and takes a thoughtful bite of his croissant. I pour myself a coffee. The silence isn’t awkward, but it’s not exactly relaxed either. I can feel the tension beneath his calm surface.
Then the door opens. Lena steps in, smiling faintly, her hair loosely pulled back. She’s wearing a simple dress that somehow makes her look even more beautiful in the morning light. Her presence shifts the room instantly. I get to my feet, meet her halfway, and kiss her on the cheek.
“Mayor Lang,” I say, turning to him with a smile and a flash of pride I don’t bother hiding, “this is my wife.”
He wipes his hands with a napkin, stands, and greets Lena with a warm hug. “Congratulations. You two are a great match. Dominic’s been needing a woman like you.”
Lena blushes. The mayor picks up his coffee again and gestures to the sofa. “Let’s sit. The three of us have things to discuss.”
I glance at Lena, silently asking if she wants coffee. She gives me a small shake of the head. She’s tense, I feel it. I sit on the backrest of the couch so I can keep an arm around her. To my surprise, Lena takes my hand and leans into me.
“I’m sorry to intrude this morning,” the mayor begins, “but this conversation couldn’t wait.”
Then he turns more fully toward Lena. “I believe you tried to speak with me at the charity event at City Hall. But Anton stopped you. Right?”
Lena doesn’t answer right away. She studies him, then squeezes my fingers the slightest squeeze.
“After the photos of you two went public,” he continues, “I looked into you. You’re sharp, driven. I’ve heard great things about you as a journalist.”
“Thank you,” Lena says softly.
“I also found out you tried several times to talk to me, but Anton kept blocking you.”
Lena leans in slightly, shoulders tense. Curious, but guarded.
“I asked around. Front desk, assistants. You’d be surprised how many people at City Hall know who you are. And I’m ashamed to admit it, but I never had the chance to meet you myself. I did know your grandmother. Grace Medina was a star in this city. An extraordinary woman.”
Lena hasn’t told me much about her grandmother. It sounds like the mayor knows more than I do. “You’ve done your homework,” I say, my arm still around her. “Now maybe you can tell us why you’re here.”
Lena stays silent.
“I just wanted to understand,” he says gently, “why you were so determined to reach me, Lena?”
She turns to me, looking for a signal, something to go on.
I’ve known Mayor Lang for a long time. A lot of people I respect speak well of him.
If he were corrupt, I’d have sensed it by now.
I give her a small nod. She turns back to him.
“It’s about Anton. I want to know if you knew what he was doing and why you let it happen. ”
“Direct and sharp. Like your reputation,” the mayor says with a tired half-smile. Then his expression shifts. “I’ve known for about a year that he’s taken over City Hall. I let it happen because he blackmailed me.”
He sighs and rubs a hand through his beard. “He fabricated some fund transfers from City Hall to my brother’s business. It’s a long story. At first, I thought he was just ambitious about politics. Nothing unusual.”
He glances at Lena, then back at me. There’s weight behind his words now. “It started a few years ago. His father supported some causes I cared about and funded a few social projects. All he asked in return was that I let his son shadow me. And get a feel for how local government works.”
He shakes his head. “Next thing I knew, I was being blackmailed and pressured to make him Chief of Staff.”
Lena’s posture stiffens beside me.
“Now he wants to run for mayor,” the mayor says quietly. “And he expects me to publicly back him as my successor.”
“And are you going to?” Lena asks. The hesitation’s gone. She’s bracing under my arm, tense and fierce.
“Lena, I’ll be straight with you. I need help getting him out. Show me what you’ve got on him. I know you’ve already investigated him. And I promise I’ll remove him, no matter what the consequences are for me.”
He sounds like a man who’s tired of hiding things. A man who’s finally made up his mind.
“This might be a problem,” Lena says. “Because I don’t just want him removed. I want him to pay for what he’s done. Legally. Years behind bars. That’s what the victims want. The ones who trusted me to bring him to justice.”
“Victims?” the mayor asks.
“You didn’t know? I find that hard to believe. Especially when some of them worked in your own office. What were you waiting for, Mayor? For it to reach your family?”
Lena’s voice rises, shaken. I step in, calm but firm. “Let’s take a breath. Let’s stick to the facts.”
“No, Dominic. Your wife is right.” The mayor’s voice drops. “I have no excuse. But it’s not too late. And if you both trust me, I’ll hit him so hard he won’t recover.”
His eyes darken. “I know where it hurts. That part I got right. I studied him. He’s ambitious, greedy, and addicted to power. And that’s exactly what I’ll take from him. Just when he thinks he’s untouchable.”
Lena looks at me again. Damn it. I promised to protect her. And now the man I thought I could trust is showing me another side. I want her to speak. To be honest with him. But part of me still hesitates. Trusting anyone is hard. Trusting someone enough to let Lena drop her guard, even harder.
The mayor turns to me. “Dominic, let me walk away from public life by doing one last thing right. You have real power in this town. And with your wife beside you, you’re unstoppable. But when it comes to Anton, I can help. We can end this. Fast and ugly. Give me that chance.”
Fast. That’s the word that sticks. The one I like most. Lena needs this done, so she can finally breathe again, live her life, our life.
I stand and gently pull Lena up with me into my arms. Then I lean in, so only she can hear me.
“Can you show him something? Just enough so he understands how to act? I’ll handle the rest. He won’t break his word, not to me. ”
I pause, letting the next part settle. “Anton’s a criminal. Dangerous, sure… but reckless. The kind of man who threatens from the shadows. But me? I’m a force in this city, backed by people who matter. Business partners. Allies. Friends in the right places. He knows that.”
Lena thinks for a second, then turns to the mayor. “I’ll show you a redacted version. Facts, no names. The victims’ identities will only be shared with the police.”
She heads back to the apartment to get the case file. I stay with Mayor Lang. He sips his coffee in silence. Once, he looks up and says, quietly, “Thank you.”
I give him a brief nod, and I wait. I’ve never seen everything she’s collected. Whatever she brings back now, it’ll be the first time I see the full picture.
Twenty long minutes later, my wife walks in, holding her pink laptop hugged to her chest. She places it on the table, opens it, and we both sit beside her.
She plugs in the USB. Documents flash on the screen: statements, reports, screenshots.
Then come the audio files. One by one, the voices of women fill the room.
Calm at first. Then shaking. Some barely whispering.
Others were angry, trying not to cry. They talk about Anton.
About the messages. The late-night calls.
The hands that lingered too long. The threats that followed when they said no.
Some worked at City Hall. One was a receptionist for the Rinaldi family business.
Two were waitresses from a downtown bar.
One taught third grade at a public school not far from here.
Different jobs, different lives, but same pattern.
Each story ends the same way. When they didn’t give in, he got mean.
Then he got violent. In front of the laptop, the mayor hasn’t moved.
Not a sound. Just the quiet churn of the laptop fan and the low hum of those voices telling the same truth. Over and over.
“Was there a rape?” he asks, voice tight, almost cracking.
Lena doesn’t answer right away. When she does, her voice is quiet, measured. “Yes. Unfortunately, yes. I don’t have an official statement. She confided in me, but she’s not ready to testify. She has a new life now. I’ll try again once I take the file to the police.”
I’m horrified. And I don’t know how to hide it. I’ve seen power abused, people broken, silence bought. But a man who hurts women like that? That’s beyond forgiving. Not in my world. Not in any world with rules.
She’s had this file for a while. Quietly, carefully, she’s been collecting every piece, every voice.
And from the way Anton reacted at the wedding, he didn’t just suspect.
He knew. He knew exactly what she was doing.
And he’s been circling her this whole time.
Waiting. Calculating. She’s been in danger. Constantly. And I didn’t see it.
God! If I’d seen what was really underneath... the things this man is capable of... I wouldn’t have let him anywhere near Lena.
The mayor has gone pale. His hands fall into his lap, shoulders slumping as if the weight of the last few minutes has pressed directly into his bones.
He doesn’t look at either of us. He stares at the laptop, like it’s shown him not the crimes of a man, but the cost of his own silence.
He drags a hand down his face, like he’s trying to wipe off something he can’t undo.