Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Chapter 389: Chapter 173 Seaside Healing

Gemma’s POV

Dominic practically dragged me from the private bathroom of the Thorne family safe house, leaving me utterly bewildered as armed guards cleared the hallway ahead of us. My mind raced with confusion as I tried to process the bloodshed I had witnessed. Unable to contain my emotions any longer, I poured out everything that had shattered me during the hit attempt. Though he held me against his bulletproof vest and repeatedly swore his fear of losing me to rival families, I couldn’t ignore one crucial fact—not once during the firefight had he checked if I was okay. How could I believe his desperation was genuinely for me when his Capo instincts had kicked in so ruthlessly?

The thought crept into my mind that perhaps Dominic kept me close solely out of obligation because of my pregnancy. After all, Caleb was planning to marry that scheming woman thinking she carried Thorne blood. Maybe Dominic shared the same sense of duty as his Don, bound by the family’s codes regarding bloodlines and heirs.

God, I was so confused! My thoughts were a tangled mess of gunfire echoes and blood-stained memories, and I didn’t know what to believe anymore. After eating under the watchful eyes of family soldiers, I stretched out on the reinforced living room couch and closed my eyes, desperate to sort through my chaotic thoughts. Dominic joined me, wrapping his scarred arms around me and refusing to let go despite my silent protests. He remained stubbornly attached to me, as if afraid the rival families might steal me away in the night.

As dawn approached through the bulletproof windows, I remembered a conversation with Nadia from weeks ago about how she had recovered from losing her first pregnancy during a territory war. She’d found healing by the protected coastline, and suddenly, I yearned for the same solace away from the constant threat of surveillance and retaliation.

Moving with careful stealth to avoid the motion sensors, I slipped past the sleeping guards and made my way through the secured grounds to the rocky outcrop where Nadia had shown me she used to sit watching the ocean beyond the family’s coastal defenses. As I settled onto the cool surface, the sea breeze caressed my face, bringing with it the salty scent of water crashing against the fortified rocks below. The melodic sound of waves breaking on the private beach mingled with the morning calls of seabirds circling above the watchtowers. Night had almost completely surrendered to day, though the sun hadn’t fully risen beyond the horizon where Thorne patrol boats maintained their vigilant rounds.

Peace gradually enveloped me—a tranquility that seemed to synchronize my body with the steady, soothing rhythm of the waves, so different from the staccato burst of automatic weapons that still echoed in my ears. As I sat there, something began to shift inside me. When the first rays of sunlight crossed the sky and touched my skin, I felt the ice that had formed around my heart during yesterday’s bloodbath slowly melting, replaced by a comforting warmth flowing through my veins.

Alone with the vast expanse of sea before me, protected by the family’s invisible perimeter, I first wept for the violence I’d witnessed, then sighed deeply, releasing all my worries about rival hits and family obligations into the wind. Slowly, I felt my heart beating again—rhythmic, warm, restored. The moment the sun revealed itself in all its morning glory above the Thorne maritime territory, I felt renewed and ready to face whatever deadly games came next. It was precisely then that a steaming mug appeared before my eyes, carried by hands unmarked by the calluses of weapon handling.

"Coffee?" I inquired, reaching for the cup while scanning automatically for threats.

"Not today. Today it’s hot chocolate because we need comfort, not more stimulants after last night’s chaos," Nadia said, handing me the mug before settling beside me with the practiced ease of someone born into this dangerous world. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not," I smiled, still adjusting to having family allies in this brutal landscape. "I borrowed your sanctuary for a bit."

"It’s magical, isn’t it?" she asked with a knowing smile, her eyes scanning the horizon with the ingrained vigilance of a mafia daughter. "Even with all our security measures, this place still feels free."

"Completely!" I replied, still mesmerized by the expanse that seemed to stretch beyond the reach of family wars and blood debts.

"It’s here for you whenever you need it," she said, gazing at the sea while unconsciously checking her concealed weapon. "Want to talk about what’s happening inside you after yesterday’s hit?"

"Are you willing to listen to a civilian’s perspective on your family’s world?" I asked, meeting her gentle but alert gaze.

"I’ll always be here for you. You’re like a sister to me now, and in our family, we protect our own," Nadia responded with the fierce loyalty characteristic of Thorne women.

"The love I feel for Dominic transcends anything I ever imagined could exist in this world of violence and vendettas. It’s a connection that goes deeper than family codes," I began, hoping she’d understand my fears about navigating mafia relationships. "Yesterday, watching him handle that hit on Beatrix, I felt like I lost him to his Capo duties, like he couldn’t see past his responsibilities to notice I needed him."

"Like being caught in crossfire," Nadia finished my thought perfectly, using terminology that resonated with our reality. "You know, Gemma, I believe in predestined bonds—loves that transcend family territories and blood feuds, people born to connect beyond the codes that govern our world. And I think you and Dominic share that connection because he feels exactly the same consuming devotion, that love that’s waited through years of empty encounters with women like Beatrix."

"But Nadia," I complained, my voice carrying the frustration of an outsider trying to understand, "yesterday he focused entirely on neutralizing the threat. He didn’t even ask if I was okay after nearly losing me to that psychotic woman’s vendetta."

"Gemma, he knew you were safe. He shielded you from the gunfire, pulled you from the car’s trajectory, and secured you immediately. As he said, he looked into your eyes and confirmed you were unharmed. But Beatrix wasn’t," Nadia sighed, her expression reflecting years of witnessing family violence. "Before you entered Dominic’s life, he lived by our family’s casual rules—never forming permanent attachments to any woman, though he would occasionally use Beatrix for physical relief during territorial tensions. She constantly pursued him with the determination of someone seeking to climb our hierarchy, and he would end up sleeping with her during stressful periods, but he never misled her about his intentions or offered her any real position in his life."

"He told me about their arrangement. And she never accepted those boundaries," I said, meeting Nadia’s understanding gaze that carried the wisdom of someone raised in this world.

"No, she never did," she agreed grimly. "Then you arrived and completely transformed Dominic—that’s why I say he waited through years of meaningless encounters for you. After you, he never touched her again. I mean, after you caught them in that compromising situation—that was Shelton’ manipulation and Dominic’s moment of weakness. But that was the final time he was with her, and it happened so long ago in mafia time."

"Yeah, it feels like a different lifetime now."

"Beatrix has this dangerous obsession with Dominic that goes beyond normal attraction. I don’t believe it was ever love—just a desperate woman’s hunger to possess what represents power and status in our world," Nadia explained with the clinical assessment skills taught to mafia daughters. "However, Dominic feels responsible for creating the monster she became. He thinks that because he used her for stress relief during family crises for years, she developed delusions of having a permanent place in his life, and yesterday’s assassination attempt was her final desperate play. He feels guilty, Gemma—guilty that she’s hospitalized and fighting for her life, and especially that she nearly killed you twice while targeting our family. Do you understand the weight he carries?"

"He thinks it’s his fault she became unhinged enough to attempt murder?" I asked, still struggling with the moral complexities of this world.

"Exactly," Nadia smiled sadly. "That’s the burden of being raised in our family—we’re taught to take responsibility for the monsters our actions create."

"Your brother needs more than family counselors."

"He needs the woman he loves—and that’s you, no one else. You’re his anchor to something beyond the violence."

I breathed deeply, exhaling a heavy sigh while watching a Thorne patrol boat complete its circuit. After gazing at the sea for another moment, I turned back to Nadia.

"Do you think we can postpone the wedding until tomorrow?" I asked. "I don’t want to get married today. After witnessing that bloodshed and nearly dying in Beatrix’s revenge plot, I had a terrible night. I don’t want my wedding day to have started with such violence and trauma."

"I’m sure the family can arrange the security adjustments. And I think it’s the wisest decision given the circumstances. May I coordinate everything with our people?" Nadia asked with the organizational efficiency of someone trained in family operations.

"I’d be so grateful if you could handle the logistics, but please involve Zoe so our security coordinator doesn’t have a breakdown," I smiled at her, appreciating how naturally she balanced warmth with deadly competence.

"That terrifying woman runs our intelligence network like a dictator," Nadia laughed, pulling me into a protective hug that conveyed both affection and the promise of family protection. "I’m thinking of installing reinforced seating here with sight lines to our perimeter. What do you think?"

"That would be brilliant, and my civilian instincts will thank you," I replied, joining in her laughter while marveling at how even moments of peace required strategic planning in this world.