Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask (by Silver Spoon) novel Chapter 401

Chapter 401: Chapter 185 First Heartbeat

Dominic’s POV

I was in the executive lounge of Zenith Systems, our family’s most successful money laundering front, regaling Mia with stories of the incredible trip Gemma and I had taken to secure new offshore accounts. The Mediterranean had been perfect for both business and pleasure, and I was still riding high on the memory of watching Gemma command respect from our European contacts when my encrypted phone buzzed. Xavier’s name flashed across the screen.

"Xavier, we just had lunch at the safe house. Not even my wife calls me this much," I joked, expecting his usual dry humor about my newfound domesticity.

His voice came through the scrambled line, stripped of all lightness. "Brother, I need you to listen carefully. Gemma is safe."

My blood turned to ice. In our world, when someone starts with "she’s safe," it means she almost wasn’t. "What the hell do you mean Gemma is safe? What happened, Xavier?" Every instinct honed by years in the family business screamed danger.

"Dominic, there was an incident at the office, but our security protocols worked. Daniel had his people monitoring the building, and Hunter reacted according to training. She’s been taken to the medical facility."

"Xavier, stop dancing around it and tell me what happened," I demanded, already moving toward the private elevator, my hand instinctively checking the weapon at my hip as I gave Mia a curt nod of dismissal.

"Nancy made her move. She got past the front desk looking for Gemma, but Hunter intercepted. Whatever chemical compound that psychotic woman brought hit Hunter instead of its intended target. Nancy’s been neutralized and is in custody. Gemma’s blood pressure spiked from the shock, so we’re taking no chances with the pregnancy."

"Which facility?" My voice carried the deadly calm that made even hardened soldiers nervous.

"Taylor’s private clinic. We’re en route with a full escort."

"Copy that."

The elevator opened to reveal Zoe stepping out with her trademark predatory smile. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside, jabbing the basement parking button repeatedly. I quickly briefed her on Xavier’s report, watching her expression shift from casual confidence to the cold calculation that made her invaluable to family operations.

In the underground garage, my hands shook as I reached for the keys to my armored SUV. The weight of potential loss crashed down on me with devastating force.

"Boss, you need to let me drive. You’re compromised right now," Zoe said firmly, snatching the keys from my trembling fingers. "I didn’t survive multiple tours in Afghanistan to let you wrap us around a telephone pole."

She slid behind the wheel while I collapsed into the passenger seat. "Just get me there, Zoe. Whatever it takes."

"Roger that. Buckle up and hold on. I’m about to remind this city why they pay us protection money."

Zoe drove like the special forces operative she’d been before joining our family. She wove through Port Serenity traffic with surgical precision, using techniques that would have made our chase drivers jealous. We arrived at Dr. Taylor’s private medical facility before the armored ambulance convoy, though I was so pale and shaking that the security guard at the entrance initially mistook me for a patient in crisis.

Minutes later, Hunter’s ambulance pulled through the reinforced gates, followed immediately by the vehicle carrying my wife. When they rushed her stretcher past me, I fell into step alongside it, shouting that she was under family protection and that I was her husband. The paramedics, clearly briefed on family protocols, didn’t question my presence.

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