“Your mother will always find a way, because she still holds the power.”

“She has the judges, she has the police, and she has your family’s money.”

Dominic’s mouth thinned into a hard line.

“I will handle her,” he said.

“How?” I demanded.

“By hiding us away while you play her games?”

“No.”

“Either you dismantle her corrupt influence once and for all, or you walk away from us right now.”

“I mean it, Dominic.”

“If you cannot tear down the empire she built on lies, then leave.”

“Go back to your high-rise and let us go.”

He stared at me, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

The radiator in the corner hissed, releasing a puff of steam into the chilly air.

Outside, a siren wailed in the distance, drawing closer before fading away toward First Avenue.

“I am not leaving you,” Dominic said, his voice quiet but absolute.

“And I am not going back to her.”

“Then prove it,” I said.

“Show me how you plan to stop a woman who owns the federal bench.”