Chapter 2 - The Man She Left Behind
The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and cold coffee.
Nebula hated hospitals.
They reminded her of the last six months of her mother's life and the first six months after her funeral, when every person she knew had told her she was lucky to have married Richard.
Lucky.
The word made her nauseous now.
Matteo sat in the corner.
He had not left.
A doctor had examined her jaw, treated the cut on her temple, and ordered scans.
Nothing was broken.
The doctor called her concussion mild.
Her bruises would heal.
Her fear would take longer.
When the nurse left, Nebula looked across the room.
Matteo was staring out the window.
Rain traced the glass.
He looked like he belonged in it.
Dark.
Cold.
Untouchable.
Three years earlier, she had loved everything about him.
Tonight, she was terrified of how much she still did.
“Why are you here?”
He looked at her.
“You called.”
“That isn't what I mean.”
He was silent.
She sat up slowly.
“Three years ago, you let me leave.”
“Yes.”
“You didn't fight.”
“No.”
“You didn't even ask me to stay.”
“No.”
“Why?”
His expression hardened.
“Because you asked me to let you go.”
Her chest tightened.
“I thought you'd stop me.”
“That would've been a selfish thing to do.”
She looked down.
“Were you angry?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you show it?”
“Because you were afraid of me.”
She looked at him.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You weren't the one I was afraid of.”
He knew.
She could see it.
Richard hadn't been her husband yet.
Three years earlier, he had been her mother's young financial consultant.
He had seemed kind.
Safe.
Normal.
He had approached Nebula after her mother's funeral and told her she deserved a life away from crime.
He had been the one who convinced her to leave Matteo.
But she had never told Matteo the full reason.
She had never told him that Richard had shown her photographs of people Matteo's organization had buried.
He had told her:
“This is who you're choosing.”
Then he had shown her photographs of another woman.
A woman Matteo had supposedly loved.
Dead.
Shot twice.
He had told Nebula Matteo was dangerous even to the women closest to him.
She believed him.
Or wanted to.
Because loving Matteo meant surrendering to a world she didn't understand.
And she was tired of being afraid.
“I made a mistake,” she whispered.
Matteo looked at her.
“I know.”
Her head snapped up.
“You know?”
“I've known for three years.”
“How?”
“Richard bragged.”
Her stomach dropped.
“About me?”
“He told people he could take you from me.”
Nebula covered her mouth.
“He…”
Matteo's voice remained flat.
“I should have killed him then.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because you left me.”
She stared at him.
“And you respected that.”
“I did.”
The silence stretched.
Nebula looked at the scar near his jaw.
She remembered how she used to touch it.
He had been shot when he was twenty-nine.
She had cleaned the wound herself.
He had kissed her afterward.
She had believed nothing would separate them.
She had been wrong.
Or maybe she had simply been deceived.
“What was the message you received?”
Matteo's eyes changed.
“Nothing important.”
“Don't lie.”
He looked at her.
“You always knew when I lied.”
“I still do.”
He sighed.
“Three years ago, the day after you disappeared, I received a message.”
“What did it say?”
“That you left because you discovered what I really was.”
“I already knew.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“You knew what people told you.”
She looked at him.
“What did the message say?”
“It said you'd been threatened.”
Her heart stopped.
“What?”
“It said someone had forced you to leave.”
“Who?”
“I didn't know.”
“Why didn't you find me?”
“I did.”
She froze.
“You found me?”
“Three times.”
The room tilted.
“What?”
“I found your new apartment.”
“You knew where I lived?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you come?”
“Because I saw you smiling.”
She stared at him.
“You were smiling?”
“With Richard.”
Nebula's heart shattered.
“You thought I was happy.”
“I thought you were safe.”
“So you left me alone.”
“No.”
He stood.
“I watched from a distance.”
Her eyes filled.
“For three years?”
“Yes.”
“You watched?”
“I made sure no one hurt you.”
She laughed through tears.
“Except Richard.”
His jaw tightened.
“I wasn't close enough.”
He looked away.
“I should have been.”
She didn't know what to say.
The door opened.
A man named Marco entered.
He had been Matteo's right hand when Nebula knew him.
Now he was older too.
“Boss.”
Matteo nodded.
“Talk.”
“We found the company records.”
“What did they show?”
Marco looked at Nebula.
“Richard has been moving Vargas family assets for eighteen months.”
Nebula froze.
“What assets?”
“Your late mother's trust.”
She stared.
“My mother left me nothing.”
Marco shook his head.
“She left you everything.”
The room became silent.
Matteo looked at Nebula.
“Your father hid the original trust.”
“I didn't know I had one.”
“Richard did.”
“Why?”
“Because the trust contains controlling shares in three companies.”
“How much?”
“Enough to bankrupt him if you reclaim them.”
Her stomach dropped.
Richard hadn't married her because she was easy.
He married her because she was valuable.
He had been using her.
Matteo picked up a file.
“There is more.”
He opened it.
A photograph of Richard meeting a man at the marina.
Nebula recognized him.
Gabriel Sloan.
A rival businessman.
A man Matteo had been fighting for years.
“Richard is working with him.”
She stared.
“Why?”
Matteo looked at her.
“To get access to your mother's vault.”
“What vault?”
“The one your father built before he died.”
Nebula shook her head.
“My father didn't have a vault.”
Matteo gave her a look.
“He did.”
“Where?”
He placed a key on the table.
The key was old.
Bronze.
Engraved with a small star.
Nebula recognized it immediately.
Her father had kept it around his neck when she was a child.
“How did you get this?”
“Richard had it.”
Nebula's breath caught.
“Then why didn't he use it?”
“Because he didn't know what it opened.”
Matteo looked at her.
“You do.”
May you like
She whispered:
“My mother's piano.”
