Chapter 1 - Fifty Dollars and a Broken Vow
“This should cover your bus fare,” Dominic said, pressing a crumpled fifty-dollar bill into my hand. “Hurry up. Mom’s waiting for lunch.”
I stood outside the private Manhattan hospital, clutching our five-day-old son, Leo, tight against my chest. Every single movement sent white-hot fire shooting through my lower abdomen where thirty-two surgical staples held my C-section incision together. My legs trembled beneath the thin cotton of my sweatpants. I could smell the cold exhaust of city traffic mixing with the sweet, milky scent of my baby’s breath.
“Dominic, please,” I whispered, tears blurring the gray sidewalk. “I just had major surgery. My doctor told me I can't lift anything heavier than the baby, let alone climb the stairs of an M15 city bus while carrying a diaper bag and a car seat.”
Dominic rolled his eyes, adjusting the collar of his bespoke designer coat. “My sister Natalie was walking around the mall three days after giving birth. Stop acting like you’re the first woman in human history who’s ever pushed out a child. You’re always looking for an excuse to play the helpless victim.”
Parked right behind him at the curb sat the obsidian-black luxury SUV. It was a top-tier German vehicle that glided like silk over asphalt—the exact car my father had bought and titled under my maiden name as an early wedding gift. Dominic drove it everywhere. He bragged to his country club acquaintances that driving a six-figure vehicle established his status when pitching his tech startup, Apex Digital, to elite venture capitalists.
“Can’t you just drop Leo and me at the apartment first?” I pleaded, swallowing my pride for our son’s sake. “It’s only ten blocks out of the way. It will take you seven minutes.”
He glanced down at his gold watch, sneering. “Absolutely not. Victoria booked reservations at Carbone three weeks ago. We’re already running late, and I am not having my mother sit on a waiting bench because you require special princess treatment.”
Before I could answer, the glass revolving doors of the hospital lobby spun open. Victoria emerged like a peacock, draped in camel cashmere, accompanied by Dominic’s father, Arthur, and his sister, Natalie. They were laughing loudly, talking about the spicy rigatoni they intended to order.
Natalie glanced at my bundle with mild distaste. “Oh, good, the discharge nurse finally cleared you. Dominic, hurry up! Valet is going to give away our reservation if we don’t hit the FDR Drive right now.”
Nobody asked if I was in pain. Nobody offered to hold Leo so I could stretch my aching back. Dominic snatched the heavy leather diaper bag from my arm, threw it into the cargo trunk, and slammed the door shut.
“There’s leftover rice in the fridge from Tuesday,” Dominic said over his shoulder as he opened the driver’s door. “Heat that up when you get home. And don’t blow up my phone with neurotic texts while I’m dining with my family.”
He slid behind the wheel, cranked the heated seats, and pulled smoothly into the downtown traffic.
I stood on the curb of First Avenue, holding my newborn, clutching a crumpled fifty-dollar bill in my shaking fist. A brutal winter wind cut through my jacket. When the city bus pulled up to the curb, lifting my right foot onto the high metal step felt like someone was ripping my surgical incision open with bare hands. I collapsed into a hard plastic seat near the window, buried my face in Leo’s blanket, and let the hot tears fall.
For two years, I had concealed my family’s reality from Dominic. He thought my dad was just Charles Brooks, a retired, small-town construction worker who lived quietly upstate. I had hidden the truth because I wanted a man to love me for my heart, not for the multi-billion-dollar empire of Brooks Global Corp.
At a red light on 34th Street, the city bus shuddered to a halt right alongside that sleek black SUV. Through the tinted glass, I saw Dominic throwing his head back in laughter, handing an imported water bottle to his mother. He never once looked toward the crowded public bus beside him. He didn't even wonder if his wife had survived the curb.
Something inside me, carefully preserved through years of emotional neglect, snapped into sharp, unforgiving crystal. I took out my phone with trembling fingers and dialed the private line I had sworn never to abuse.
“Dad?”
“Audrey? Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Did the baby arrive home safely?”
“Dad... Dominic left me at the hospital curb. He gave me fifty dollars and told me to take the bus with Leo so he wouldn't miss lunch at Carbone with his mother.” My voice broke into a ragged sob. “I can barely walk, Dad. The staples are pulling. I'm leaving him.”
A deadly silence fell over the receiver. When my father spoke, the gentle parent vanished, replaced by the ruthless titan who controlled critical infrastructure across four continents.
“Tell me your current bus route, Audrey. I’m sending Marcus and the security convoy right now. You and my grandson will never set foot in that man’s apartment again.”
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Then Dad paused, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy cadence.
“And Audrey... there is something about Dominic’s company you need to know before he finds out who your father truly is.”
