Chapter 4 - The Aftershocks
By 8:00 a.m., the Mercer estate was enveloped in an eerie, unnatural quiet—the kind of stillness that usually precedes a major hurricane.
Brooke Harrington was gone. True to Dominic’s strict orders, Miller and his security detail had packed her designer luggage into her white Mercedes SUV before the sun had even fully crested the Newport horizon, escorting her off the private property without allowing her to make a single phone call to her influential father until she was well past the estate gates.
Inside the main mansion, the domestic staff moved with cautious, hushed reverence. Everyone knew the wedding was off. Word had already leaked through the secure digital networks, and by mid-morning, the phones at the estate switchboard began ringing off the hook—journalists, socialites, panicked wedding planners, and furious political allies desperately trying to find out why one of the most powerful alliances in New England had imploded overnight.
Emma handled the switchboard with ice-water calm, routing every media inquiry straight to the legal department with a single standard message: “No comment. The wedding is canceled.”
Upstairs in the private family wing, the atmosphere was entirely different.
In the sunlit sitting room of the east wing, Natalie Mercer sat on a plush velvet sofa, holding a warm mug of chamomile tea between both hands. Her delicate features still carried the quiet, enduring sadness of a young widow, but for the first time in six months, the chronic tension around her eyes had vanished.
Sitting on the rug right beside her knees was nine-year-old Noah. He was busy building an elaborate castle out of wooden blocks, chattering happily about moat defenses and knights.
Standing by the large arched window overlooking the coastal gardens, Dominic watched them, his hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets.
“I still can’t believe she’s actually gone,” Natalie murmured softly, looking up at her older brother. “When you called me into the kitchen this morning and told me what Brooke had been planning… I felt like the floor was dropping out from under me again, Dom.”
“She’s gone, Nat,” Dominic said, his voice reassuring and steady. “And she’s never coming back. Neither she nor her family will ever set foot on this property again. You and Noah have my absolute word.”
Natalie set her teacup down on the glass coffee table and walked over to her brother, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist in a fierce, emotional hug. Dominic wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her dark hair.
“Thank you, Dom,” Natalie whispered against his chest, her voice thick with unshed tears. “For keeping Mom’s promise. For protecting us.”
“It was never a question,” Dominic replied softly.
Just then, Noah’s wooden block castle collapsed with a loud clatter. The little boy scrambled up from the floor, running over to his uncle and grabbing the hem of Dominic’s trousers.
“Uncle Dom?” Noah asked, looking up with wide, bright eyes. “Does this mean we don't have to pack our boxes anymore? We get to stay in Grandma Catherine’s cottage forever?”
Dominic knelt down on one knee so he was eye-level with the boy, placing a warm, strong hand on Noah’s small shoulder.
“Forever, buddy,” Dominic promised, offering a rare, gentle smile. “Nobody is ever making you or your mom leave this place. In fact, starting today, we’re going to fix up the old treehouse in the backyard. Just you and me.”
Noah let out a loud cheer, throwing his arms around Dominic’s neck.
As Dominic stood up holding his nephew, his phone buzzed sharply against his thigh. He pulled it out, glancing at the encrypted screen.
It was a text message from Thomas Miller:
“Senator Harrington’s chief of staff is downstairs at the front gates demanding an audience. He brought two armed state troopers with him.”
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Dominic’s warm smile vanished in a fraction of a second, replaced instantly by the cold, calculating mask of the man who ruled the Newport underworld.
“Nat, keep Noah in the family suite for a little while,” Dominic instructed calmly, handing the boy back to his mother. “I have some business to attend to downstairs.”
