Dominic’s POV
I had always known my father was a monster, but the evidence sprawled across Detective Jude’s desk revealed something far more depraved than I had imagined. This wasn’t just about Marcus’s betrayal of Thorne family codes or his exile for embezzlement. This was about crimes that made even hardened mafia soldiers sick to their stomachs.
Years ago, when I had finally managed to buy Marcus out of the family’s legitimate businesses, he had blown through the blood money within months and came crawling back for more. When I refused to bankroll his pathetic existence, he had made my life hell through every dirty trick in the book, typical Marcus style. Then suddenly, he had fled to Atlanta and remained relatively quiet until now.
I had never fully understood his abrupt departure from Port Serenity. There had been whispers in the underground about two women who had accused him of sexual assault, but the details had been murky, and the accusers had vanished from sight before any formal charges could be filed. The truth had always remained just beyond my grasp, buried beneath layers of corruption and fear.
Now, staring at Jude’s meticulously compiled dossier, everything became crystal clear with nauseating precision. My father, the man whose bloodline ran through my veins, was a serial predator. I forced myself to continue reading, though every word made my blood run cold.
Years back, while masquerading as a legitimate businessman with Thorne family connections, Marcus had rented an exclusive oceanfront estate for what he claimed would be a networking event. He had invited his equally reprehensible associates, including several low-level players from rival families who owed him favors. Two young women had attended the gathering, brought along by a friend who happened to be connected to Alfie Atkins’s organization.
According to the detective’s report, both women had firmly rejected Marcus’s advances early in the evening, which had only seemed to intensify his predatory focus. Like the calculating predator he was, he had arranged for a compromised bartender to serve them drinks laced with powerful sedatives. Once the drugs began taking effect, he had isolated them in a secured bedroom where he had sexually assaulted both victims.
The details were absolutely sickening. He had recorded the entire ordeal, violated them extensively, then discarded them the following morning with explicit threats to release the footage and destroy their lives if they dared to speak out against him.
Despite their terror and trauma, the women had found the courage to report him to the authorities. Unfortunately, they had encountered a corrupt cop who saw an opportunity for personal enrichment rather than justice. The corrupt detective had approached Marcus with a proposition, and that was when my mother had become entangled in this nightmare.
Marcus had threatened my mother with the most effective weapon in his arsenal, claiming he would manipulate my sister Nadia toward self-destruction if she refused to cooperate. Nadia had been extraordinarily vulnerable at that time, suffering from severe depression following a traumatic miscarriage that had nearly broken her spirit. Marcus’s psychological influence over her had been considerable, as she had only seen the devoted father figure, completely blind to the monster lurking beneath his mask.
My mother, trapped between protecting Nadia and her own moral compass, had been forced to comply with his demands. She had paid off the corrupt detective and helped bury the evidence that could have put Marcus away for decades. But during this process, she had discovered something even more horrifying: this had not been an isolated incident. Marcus had committed similar crimes in Atlanta before arriving in Port Serenity. My father was a serial rapist who had been operating for years.
When I reached the message transcripts that Jude had recovered from Marcus’s seized devices, bile rose in my throat. The exchanges between him and his criminal associates were revolting, filled with their sick laughter about their victims and graphic descriptions of their assaults.
One message stood out for its particular depravity. "I don’t give a damn about their complaints," he had written. "Those two were already drunk when they arrived, I just gave them a little something extra to make them more cooperative. They don’t even remember what happened. It’s their own fault for getting wasted at a private party. I took what they were offering anyway. They were playing hard to get, but they wanted it, and I gave them exactly what they deserved."
"Jesus Christ, this is absolutely disgusting," I slammed the folder shut and hurled it onto the conference table. "Do whatever you have to do to put him away forever."
Detective Jude studied my expression carefully. "You understand there’s more than enough evidence here to ensure he spends the rest of his life behind bars, don’t you?"

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