CHAPTER 2: THE OFFER
The next morning, Grace expected life to return to normal.
It didn't.
At 9:12 a.m., while sitting beside her mother's hospital bed, her phone rang.
Unknown number.
"Miss Grace Miller?"
"Yes?"
"This is Dominic DeLuca's office."
Grace nearly dropped the phone.
"We'd like to invite you to lunch."
"No thank you."
The woman paused.
"I'm sorry?"
Grace exhaled.
"People like Mr. DeLuca don't invite people like me to lunch."
A familiar voice suddenly came onto the line.
"That's exactly why I'm inviting you."
Dominic.
Grace froze.
He continued.
"My mother insists."
Grace glanced at Ellen, who was asleep.
"I have work."
"We can work around your schedule."
"I have family obligations."
"We know."
Grace stiffened.
Then Dominic immediately added,
"Nothing invasive. My mother told me enough last night."
Grace hesitated.
"Why?"
There was a pause.
Then he said something unexpected.
"Because my mother smiled for the first time in years."
That answer broke something inside her.
At noon, she arrived at a small restaurant overlooking Lake Michigan.
No bodyguards inside.
Just Margaret.
The older woman waved excitedly.
"Grace."
Grace sat awkwardly.
Margaret smiled.
"You remind me of myself."
Grace laughed nervously.
"I doubt that."
Margaret shook her head.
"When I was twenty-six, I was a waitress too."
Grace blinked.
"What?"
Dominic sat quietly beside them.
Margaret laughed.
"My son wasn't born into wealth."
She pointed at Dominic.
"He built his empire because he couldn't stand watching people suffer."
Dominic looked away.
Margaret smirked.
"He hates when I tell the truth."
Grace laughed.
For the first time in months…
Maybe years…
She genuinely laughed.
Then Margaret noticed Grace's exhaustion.
"You haven't been sleeping."
Grace looked down.
"No."
Margaret gently touched her hand.
"Tell me."
And for reasons Grace couldn't explain…
She did.
Everything.
The bills.
The hospital debt.
Her brother.
The fear.
The loneliness.
When she finished, tears silently rolled down her face.
Margaret squeezed her hand.
Then Dominic quietly stood.
"I'll be right back."
Twenty minutes later, his assistant arrived with a folder.
Inside was an envelope.
Grace opened it.
Her eyes widened.
Every single one of her mother's outstanding medical bills had been paid.
Every one.
She immediately stood.
"No."
Dominic looked at her.
"It's not charity."
"Then what is it?"
"A debt."
Grace shook her head.
"You don't owe me anything."
May you like
Dominic answered softly.
"You protected the person I love most in this world."
