Chapter 6 - Four Stars
By the time I reached the townhouse, Dominic was no longer laughing.
I heard his voice before I entered the sitting room.
“You expect me to believe this?”
Dad sat in an armchair wearing khakis and a gray sweater.
No uniform.
No medals.
No visible sign of rank.
Just Charles Brooks.
Across from him, Dominic stood beside the supervised visitation specialist.
Leo slept in Clara’s arms near the window.
Dominic turned when he saw me.
“There she is.”
I hated the ownership in his voice.
Dad stood.
I walked straight to Leo.
Only after I had him against my chest did I breathe normally.
Dominic stared at me.
“You lied to me.”
I almost laughed.
“About what?”
“Your father.”
Dad said calmly, “She didn’t lie.”
Dominic turned.
“She told me you were a retired government employee.”
“I am.”
“You were a general?”
Dad’s eyebrow moved.
“I was.”
“Four-star?”
“Yes.”
Dominic stared at me.
Seven years of marriage and this was the betrayal he cared about.
Not the forged signature.
Not the hospital.
Not the money.
My father’s résumé.
“You made me look like an idiot.”
“No, Dominic.”
I adjusted Leo’s blanket.
“You did that yourself.”
His face reddened.
The supervisor stepped closer.
“Mr. Vale, remember this is a child-focused visit.”
Dominic turned to her.
“I’m trying to see my son, but these people are turning this into theater.”
Dad’s eyes cooled.
“Nobody invited you to interrogate my daughter.”
Dominic pointed at him.
“And you stay out of my marriage.”
Dad did not move.
“Your marriage is ending.”
The room went silent.
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“That’s between me and Audrey.”
I answered.
“No. It’s between my attorney and yours.”
He looked at me as if I had slapped him.
“You’re really doing this?”
“Yes.”
“Because of one bad day?”
I stared at him.
“One bad day?”
“I made a mistake.”
“You left me on a Manhattan sidewalk five days after surgery.”
“You had transportation.”
“You gave me twelve dollars.”
“You’re still on that?”
My mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
He genuinely did not understand.
The supervisor did.
She wrote something down.
Dominic saw it.
His face changed.
“Are you documenting everything I say?”
“That is part of my role.”
“Unbelievable.”
He paced.
Dad leaned against the fireplace.
I saw how hard he was working not to interfere.
This mattered.
Dad could intimidate rooms without trying.
But he had promised me he would not use his former rank to fight my personal battles.
This had to be mine.
Dominic stepped closer.
“Audrey, stop this.”
“No.”
“Look at me.”
“I am.”
“We have a child.”
“That is why I’m stopping this.”
His face twisted.
“You think your father can buy you a perfect life?”
“No.”
“Then what do you think happens next?”
“I heal.”
A tiny pause.
“I raise Leo.”
Another pause.
“And I stop letting you make me feel small.”
His eyes hardened.
“That therapist was right about you.”
The room went dead.
Rachel had warned me not to react to that.
I failed.
“What did you say?”
Dominic realized too late.
“The therapist?”
Dad stepped forward.
I lifted one hand.
He stopped.
This was mine.
“What did Dr. Mason tell you?”
Dominic looked toward the supervisor.
“Nothing confidential.”
“What did he tell you?”
“He said you were anxious.”
“You knew that before I saw him.”
“He said—”
The supervisor interrupted.
“Mr. Vale, you should speak with your attorney before discussing privileged medical information.”
Dominic snapped, “I am her husband.”
“Not her medical proxy.”
His face flushed.
Then Leo started crying.
Dominic reached for him.
My entire body stiffened.
The supervisor noticed.
“Ms. Brooks, would you like to transfer the baby?”
I looked at Dominic.
For seven years, I had watched him charm strangers.
Now I watched him hold out his arms to our son.
Part of me hated him.
Part of me remembered the man who cried when we heard Leo’s heartbeat.
Both things could be true.
I carefully handed Leo over.
Dominic’s anger vanished.
He looked down at his son.
“Hey, buddy.”
His voice cracked.
For one second, I saw grief.
Real grief.
Then he whispered something.
Too low.
The supervisor stepped closer.
“What did you say?”
Dominic looked up.
“Nothing.”
I had heard it.
So had Dad.
So had Clara.
He had whispered:
“Daddy’s going to bring you home.”
The supervisor wrote it down.
Dominic saw.
His jaw tightened.
The visit ended thirty minutes early.
At the door, he turned toward me.
“You think this is over?”
I held Leo.
“It is.”
“No.”
He smiled without warmth.
“You still don’t know what your father did.”
Dad’s expression changed.
For the first time all day.
“What are you talking about?”
Dominic looked at him.
“That wedding loan.”
Dad stepped forward.
“There was no wedding loan.”
Dominic laughed.
“That’s what Audrey thinks.”
Then he walked out.
I looked at my father.
“What is he talking about?”
Dad did not answer.
That frightened me more than Dominic’s threat.
“Dad.”
He slowly sat down.
“There is something I never told you.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
May you like
He looked at me.
“Three weeks before your wedding, Dominic came to see me alone.”
