Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask (by Silver Spoon) novel Chapter 305

Chapter 305: Chapter 89 Hidden Letter Found

Gemma’s POV

Each day drags by like a slow execution. After that night when Dominic appeared in my apartment like a shadow from my darkest dreams, something inside me shattered completely. Then seeing his face twisted with disgust at that restaurant days later—it was like watching my soul bleed out in real time. I never knew emotional suffering could feel this much like dying.

Ivy’s pregnancy reached its final stage, with everyone in the Thorne family buzzing about the quadruplets who would strengthen the bloodline. I had no right to burden the Don’s wife with my problems while she carried the future of the organization. My visits to the family compound became brief and strategic—see her, avoid lingering conversations with the other women in the circle, deflect questions about my mental state, leave before Vincenzo or any of the other soldiers could corner me with their concerned interrogation. I’ve become a master at dodging phone calls from the family network too.

Zander has become my lifeline through this hell. Over these months, he’s transformed from a fellow survivor of the streets into my most trusted confidant. We share a mutual understanding of what it feels like to be abandoned by the people who were supposed to protect us. Our evenings often consist of trading war stories and fresh wounds, though he consistently argues I’m being stubborn about reaching out to Dominic. I always counter that a Capo like Dominic has undoubtedly replaced me with someone more suitable for his position already.

Nick’s threatening letters still occasionally found their way to my old address despite his imprisonment. I finally visited the post office and arranged for them to note my relocation without disclosing my new location to anyone who might come looking. The letters stopped coming for a while, offering small relief while Daniel and Adler continued their investigation into his prison connections.

Another unexpected blessing was Marcus’s disappearance from my life. He hasn’t shown up to terrorize me in months, and I’m grateful for that reprieve. Perhaps even a disgraced former mafioso grows tired of tormenting someone so far beneath his notice.

I notice the looks Xavier, Jude, Caleb, Finn, and Daniel give me whenever we cross paths at family gatherings—like they’re harboring dangerous secrets they lack the courage to share. I pretend not to notice, assuming they want to tell me Dominic’s found a new woman, probably someone from a proper crime family. It would make sense; a man in Dominic’s position would never remain alone for long.

Recently there has been absolute chaos within the Thorne organization. Ivy delivered her babies, and one was nearly kidnapped from the hospital by rival family operatives. Roman, a traitor within our own ranks, broke into the Thorne compound and injured Caleb during a failed assassination attempt, though thankfully that snake was captured alive, and Caleb is recovering under heavy guard. It seemed Ivy and Caleb might finally find peace in their empire—until Ivy called requesting a private conversation, which struck me as unusual given the heightened security protocols.

"Where are those beautiful future soldiers?" I announced as I entered the heavily fortified nursery, making a fuss over the quadruplets arranged in bulletproof strollers throughout the armored living room.

"Just back from a supervised garden walk with the security detail," Ivy replied, embracing me carefully. "How are you surviving, my friend?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I’m managing, Ivy. And you?"

"Worried about you. I know I’ve been distant with the bed rest and heightened security measures, but now that the immediate threats are neutralized, I won’t rest until you tell me everything." She guided me toward the reinforced couch.

"There’s nothing to tell, Ivy," I insisted, forcing calm into my voice despite knowing she could read people like classified intelligence reports.

"Gemma, can I share something with you?" Her tone turned gentle but firm.

"Ivy, if it’s about Dominic, please don’t. Let’s leave that bloody Chapter buried where it belongs."

"But, Gemma..." I silenced her with a pleading look that held all my desperation.

"Thank you for understanding." My eyes welled with unwelcome moisture that threatened to expose my carefully maintained facade.

"But you’ll be my daughter’s godmother, right? Or are you planning to disappear from our family completely?" Ivy pouted playfully, though I could hear the underlying concern of someone who’d lost too many people to this life.

I laughed despite myself. "Of course I’ll be little Olive’s godmother!" I tickled the beautiful blue-eyed baby who would someday inherit part of this empire. "I’d be honored to help raise the next generation."

"You should know Dominic’s designated as her godfather." Ivy finally revealed the source of her worry.

"That’s not a problem. I can handle being in the same room as him for family obligations. I’ll attend the baptism ceremony and be there for everything Olive needs from her godmother. I won’t let personal history interfere with family loyalty," I assured her with more confidence than I felt.

"But seeing him will reopen wounds," Ivy sighed knowingly.

"The pain will fade eventually." I squeezed her hand gently, hoping I sounded more convincing than I felt.

I created elaborate excuses to leave before the usual gathering time when everyone arrives to see the babies and conduct family business. I’d strategically visit earlier, during lunch hours, or when cornered by circumstances, I’d make hasty exits claiming urgent errands.

Today, however, fate had other plans. As I was leaving through the compound’s main entrance, Dominic arrived in his black luxury sedan. Our eyes locked in a moment of painful recognition that cut through me like a knife, but neither of us spoke. He looked uncharacteristically disheveled—no suit jacket or tie, wrinkled dress shirt, messy hair, stubbled face that spoke of sleepless nights. This careless appearance seemed completely wrong for the typically immaculate Capo. Perhaps he’d just left some new woman’s bed after a long night of forgetting I ever existed. My chest constricted painfully as I turned away, passing him without acknowledgment like we were strangers.

Back in my modest apartment, I surveyed the chaos that had become my living space—as disheveled and broken as Dominic had appeared. I smiled bitterly; my surroundings perfectly reflected the wreckage of my mental state. I called Zander and invited him over for pizza, desperately needing to vent to someone who understood survival.

"Jesus Christ, Gemma!" Zander exclaimed, scanning my apartment in genuine shock. "What the hell happened here? Did someone ransack the place?"

"This is exactly how I feel inside, Zander," I lamented pathetically from my position buried under blankets on the couch.

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