The following morning arrived with storm clouds rolling over Manhattan, mirroring the heaviness in Alicia's chest. She sat on the edge of the sofa, the journal still in her lap, while Dominic stood across the room, his phone buzzing nonstop with encrypted alerts.
Neither of them had slept.
"You're saying," Alicia said slowly, still trying to process it all, "that my real mother was a scientist. That she created something—some kind of genetic code—and hid it in me?"
Dominic nodded, his tone low but urgent. "A bio-encoded key. It's buried deep in your DNA. The Board wants it. They believe it opens access to a prototype your mother created before she was killed. Something that could control global surveillance and warfare tech."
Alicia's blood ran cold. "Why would she hide it in her own daughter?"
"Because she didn't trust anyone else," Dominic replied, walking closer. "Not even your father at first. But when she realized she was being hunted… she begged him to protect you. To erase your identity. That's when he came to me."
He dropped into the chair opposite her, exhaustion lining his face. "He knew I was already entangled in the company's darker side. I was the only one who could navigate it while keeping you safe."
"And now they know who I am," she whispered.
"Yes. And they won't stop."
Alicia's mind spun. Her entire life had been built on a lie. Her family wasn't just dysfunctional—they were dangerous. And the man she was falling for? He'd been protecting her from a truth that could kill her.
"So what do we do?" she asked, lifting her eyes to his.
"We disappear," Dominic said, voice firm. "At least for now. I have a safehouse off-grid. I can encrypt your biometric data, change your access markers, and reroute anything that leads to you."
"You want me to run?"
"I want you to live," he snapped, eyes blazing. "Alicia, this isn't just about your safety. It's about keeping a weapon out of the wrong hands. You're not just a woman anymore—you're a threat to them. And they won't hesitate to erase you."
She swallowed hard. "And if I refuse?"
"Then I stay and fight beside you," he said without hesitation. "But I need you to understand: from this point forward, there's no going back. You can't un-know who you are."
Silence filled the space between them.
Then Alicia stood.
"I'm not running. Not anymore. But I'm not letting them use me either."
A flicker of pride lit Dominic's face. "Then we fight together."
She crossed the room slowly. "You've always been protecting me. Watching over me. But when were you going to tell me you cared?"
He looked startled for a second. Then he stood, closing the final distance between them.
His voice dropped to a whisper. "I never wanted you to be part of this world. But from the moment I saw you… I stopped caring about what I wanted. I only cared about you."
Her breath hitched.
"And now?" she asked, trembling slightly.
"Now?" His hand brushed her cheek. "Now I want to kiss you so badly it hurts."
The tension snapped.
Their lips met in a kiss that stole the air from her lungs. There was no hesitation, no restraint. Just weeks of suppressed feelings pouring out in one desperate, fiery moment.
She clung to him, hands tangled in his shirt, and he pulled her closer like he never wanted to let her go again.
But just as things deepened, Dominic's phone buzzed violently on the table.
He froze, pulled away slightly, breathing hard.
He grabbed the device, eyes narrowing. A message flashed across the encrypted screen:
Intercepted breach. Your location is compromised.
He looked at Alicia. "We have to go. Now."
Ten minutes later, they were racing down an underground tunnel beneath the penthouse, accessed through a secret panel in the elevator shaft. Alicia's heart thudded with every step.
"Where does this lead?" she asked.
"To the abandoned subway station under 46th. From there, I've got a secure car waiting with a tracker-blocking signal."
"And after that?"
"We vanish."
They reached the steel doors at the end of the tunnel. Dominic scanned his retina, and the locks hissed open.
But before they could step through—
Boom!
An explosion rocked the tunnel behind them, throwing Alicia forward. Dominic grabbed her, shielding her with his body as debris rained down.
Gunfire echoed down the passage.
"They're already here," Dominic growled, pulling a weapon from his side holster and guiding Alicia into the escape vehicle.
"Drive!" he ordered the AI-controlled car.
As the doors sealed, Alicia watched the tunnel fade behind them.
Tears pricked her eyes—not from fear, but from the weight of everything she was leaving behind. Her name. Her company. Her old life.
"I'm not ready," she whispered.
Dominic reached over, gently taking her hand. "No one ever is. But I swear to you, Alicia—I'll get you through this. And I'll destroy anyone who tries to hurt you."
Hours later, they reached a hidden estate in the Catskills, surrounded by high fences and sensor-activated security.
Alicia walked the grounds restlessly while Dominic made encrypted calls.
When he joined her outside by the firepit that evening, she looked at him with new eyes.
"I used to think I was just unlucky in love," she said. "But this? Falling for the one man who knew everything before I did?"
Dominic stepped closer. "Do you regret it?"
She studied him.
"No," she said. "I just hate that it took all of this to find out who I really am—and what you truly mean to me."
He tilted her chin up. "I don't care what happens next. I want to be with you, Alicia. Even if the world burns around us."
She leaned into him, heart thudding. "Then let it burn."