Chapter 8 - The Dialysis Bill
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The morning after the gala, Cassidy woke up to a notification on her phone that made her drop her coffee mug.
It was an automated message from Chicago General Hospital.
Payment Received in Full. Balance: $0.00.
Cassidy stared at the screen, her vision blurring. Her mother’s medical debt—the crushing, impossible weight that had dictated every choice she had made for five years—was gone. Nearly eighty thousand dollars, wiped out in a single transaction.
She didn't need to ask who had done it.
She marched down the grand staircase of the estate and pushed open the heavy oak doors to Dominic’s private study.
Dominic was sitting behind his massive desk, reviewing shipping manifests. He looked up, unsurprised by her sudden entrance.
“You paid it,” Cassidy said, her voice shaking with a mixture of overwhelming relief and sudden fear.
“I did,” Dominic stated simply, setting his pen down.
“Why?” Cassidy demanded, stepping closer. “That wasn't in our contract. I didn't ask you for charity. Now I owe you something I can never repay.”
Dominic stood up, his tall frame imposing in the quiet room. He walked around the desk until he was standing just inches from her.
“You owe me nothing,” Dominic said softly, his gray eyes intense. “You stood in front of a bully to protect a child who wasn't yours. You stood in a ballroom full of vipers and defended my family name. You have given Bella her smile back.”
He reached out, his knuckles gently grazing her cheek. Cassidy’s breath caught in her throat.
“I paid the bill, Cassidy, because you are spending your life taking care of everyone else. I decided it was time someone took care of you.”
Cassidy closed her eyes, a single tear escaping. For the first time in her adult life, she didn't have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. She felt a profound, terrifying shift in her heart. She wasn't just working for this man anymore. She was falling for him.
“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning slightly into his touch.
May you like
“There is no debt between us,” Dominic promised. “You are safe here.”
But outside the impenetrable walls of the Valenti estate, Vincenzo was meeting with a rival syndicate, plotting a betrayal that would burn their safety to the ground.
