His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 15

Isabella’s POV

Mateo was finally asleep.

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His small hand still clutched the corner of his blanket, curls wild across the pillow, lips parted in a soft sigh. I brushed my fingers gently over his hair before slipping out of the room, leaving the door cracked just a sliver.

The apartment was dim, lit only by the warm glow of the kitchen light. I had just poured myself a glass of water when the intercom buzzed, sudden, sharp, unwelcome.

My stomach dropped.

Who could come to my apartment so late at night?

I pressed the button with a hand that wasn’t quite steady. “Yes?”

“It’s me.”

Dominic.

My breath hitched.

“What do you want?” I forced out. “It’s late.”

“If it wasn’t urgent,” he said, voice low, “I wouldn’t be here.”

Silence stretched between us. Heavy. I felt the weight of every unanswered question pressing down on me.

“Let me up,” he said.

“No.”

On the other end, a quiet exhale, not quite frustration, but determination.

“You’re not safe,” he said. “Neither is Mateo.”

My heart stumbled painfully.

He knew.

There was no doubt in my mind that he knew.

He had said Mateo’s name so casually, like he had the right, like he had always been saying it.

Anger surged within me.

“You don’t get to say his name,” I hissed.

21:44 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 15

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“I’m coming up,” he replied. “Or I’m standing here all night and trust me, more eyes than mine will notice.”

His voice held no threat. Just brutal, immovable reality.

I closed my eyes.

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Okay. I’ll let him come up, say what he wanted to, and then throw him out within minutes. It was better than having him loom over me and my son like an unwanted ghost.

I pressed the buzzer.

The lock clicked.

The knock that came minutes later was soft but unyielding.

I pulled open the door just enough to face him. Dominic stood there, no suit tonight, just dark clothes that seemed to blend with the shadows. But nothing could soften the intensity in his eyes.

Those eyes

used to own me.

But not anymore.

“You have two minutes,” I said coldly.

Dominic stepped inside without waiting for permission, scanning every inch of the apartment like danger seeped from the walls. He moved with purpose. Predatory or protective? I didn’t know anymore.

“There’s a Vitelli car tailing you,” he said. “For two days.”

I stared. Ice slid into my bloodstream.

“How do you know that?” My voice cracked. “And how-”

He looked right at me. “Because I’ve had surveillance on you since the moment I realized you were alive.”

Alive.

Like I was a ghost he’d buried.

“And on your son,” he added quietly.

Everything inside me froze. It was one thing hearing him mention my son over the intercom, but it was completely different hearing him say it in person.

“My… what?”

“Mateo,” he said the name softly this time, almost reverent. “He’s mine.”

For a moment, the world just stopped. The walls blurred. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

“You really want to do this now?” I whispered, a laugh breaking out, bitter and sharp. “You want to claim rights

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