Chapter 6 - The Man Who Controlled Vesper Knew My Every Move—and He Was Standing Close Enough to Dominic to Kill MeWe returned to the mansion.
Security doubled.
Everyone was questioned.
No one admitted anything.
Then Dominic noticed one person missing.
His chief of staff.
Marcus Bell.
Marcus had worked for the family for twenty years.
He knew every secret.
Every account.
Every safe room.
He was also the man who had recommended Clara Hayes as Dominic's wife.
Me.
I looked at Dominic.
"He chose me."
Dominic nodded.
"Yes."
We searched Marcus's office.
Found the answer.
His computer contained files about me dating back fifteen years.
School records.
Employment history.
Medical records.
Financial problems.
Everything.
Even my father's debt.
Dominic stared at the screen.
"He knew."
"Before you met me."
"Yes."
"Then my financial problems weren't coincidence."
Dominic's voice became cold.
"They were engineered."
Someone had bought my father's debts.
Someone had ensured I would be desperate.
Someone had created the perfect situation for me to accept Dominic's marriage proposal.
My entire marriage had been engineered.
I felt sick.
Marcus appeared behind us.
"I can explain."
Dominic turned.
"You knew."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
"Who ordered it?"
Marcus looked at me.
"You."
I stared.
"What?"
"Your mother."
My heart stopped.
"My mother?"
"She knew you would eventually need to return."
"But she's dead."
"She died protecting the ledger."
Marcus told us the truth.
My mother had once worked with Dominic's mother.
The women had planned to expose Vesper together.
They hid the ledger.
They separated their children.
They waited.
When I grew older, Marcus began watching me.
When Dominic became powerful enough to challenge the network, he brought us together.
Not to destroy us.
To give us a chance.
But Marcus had made one mistake.
He hadn't told Dominic.
Dominic was furious.
"You manipulated my marriage."
"I saved your life."
"You lied to me."
"Because you would have refused."
"Yes."
Marcus looked at me.
"Would you have married him if you knew why?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
Maybe I would have.
Maybe I wouldn't.
But the one thing I knew was this:
I had fallen in love with him after the marriage.
Not because of the money.
Not because of the contract.
Because I saw the man beneath the scar.
The man who couldn't sleep.
The man who still grieved his mother.
The man who had spent years pretending he wasn't afraid.
Then Marcus gave us one final piece of information.
"Vesper is no longer controlled by the Russo family."
"Who controls it?"
Marcus looked at me.
"Your uncle."
I froze.
May you like
My uncle was supposed to be dead.
But apparently, dead people in our families had a habit of surviving.
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