Chapter 3 - The Secret I Swore Never to Tell Roman
At 3:12 a.m., Roman came to my door.
I was awake.
I had been awake for hours.
The moment I opened it, I knew something was wrong.
He held a file.
Not a weapon.
Not a phone.
A file.
“You lied to me.”
My heart stopped.
“About what?”
“Lily.”
I said nothing.
Roman lifted the file.
“Her birth certificate.”
My hands went cold.
“You ran a background check?”
“I ran one before I hired you.”
“You knew?”
“I knew your name.”
He opened the file.
“I didn’t know hers.”
He pulled out a document.
“There is no father listed.”
Silence.
He studied my face.
“Why?”
I swallowed.
“Because there was no father.”
Roman stared at me.
“That isn’t true.”
I looked away.
He stepped inside.
“You have thirty seconds.”
“Roman…”
“Thirty.”
I closed the door.
“Her father is dead.”
Roman’s expression barely changed.
“When?”
“Before she was born.”
“Who?”
I shook my head.
“I can’t.”
“Twenty seconds.”
I looked at him.
“You’re not going to like the answer.”
“I’m not asking what I’ll like.”
He placed the file on the table.
“I’m asking what’s true.”
I took a breath.
“His name was Daniel Hail.”
Roman froze.
I had never seen him look shocked.
Not once.
Now he did.
“Daniel?”
“Your brother.”
Silence.
Roman stared at me.
“No.”
“Yes.”
He backed away.
“You knew?”
“I met him three years before Lily was born.”
“You were together?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Daniel was dead.”
“He was reported missing.”
“He was dead.”
Roman’s jaw tightened.
“Who killed him?”
I said nothing.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
He slammed his hand against the table.
“Who knew he had a child?”
“I did.”
“You?”
“And one other person.”
“Who?”
I looked at him.
“Your mother.”
Roman went completely still.
“My mother knew?”
“She met Lily once.”
“When?”
“Six months before she died.”
His face changed.
“My mother died believing Daniel was still alive.”
“She knew.”
“She knew?”
“She asked me to keep Lily away from your family.”
“Why?”
“She was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
I whispered:
“Victor.”
Roman’s expression hardened.
“You think Victor killed Daniel?”
“I think Daniel discovered something he shouldn’t have.”
“What?”
“Money transfers.”
Roman stared at me.
“From your company?”
“From one of your companies.”
He sat down.
I continued.
“Daniel found millions moving through shell companies.”
“Whose?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because after Daniel disappeared, two men came to my apartment.”
Roman’s eyes lifted.
“They told me if I spoke, Lily would disappear too.”
His face became terrifyingly calm.
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Because I didn’t trust you.”
That hurt him.
I could see it.
Not anger.
Pain.
“You thought I would hurt my own niece?”
“I thought you would choose your organization over us.”
He stared at me.
“And now?”
“I don’t know what I think.”
Roman stood.
He walked to the window.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then his phone rang.
Darius.
Roman answered.
“What?”
Darius spoke quickly.
Roman’s eyes narrowed.
“Bring it upstairs.”
A few minutes later Darius entered with a small evidence bag.
Inside was a photograph.
Daniel.
Standing beside Victor.
Behind them was a warehouse.
I recognized the building.
“I’ve seen that place.”
Roman turned.
“Where?”
“In your old shipping reports.”
Darius pointed to the date.
“This photo was taken six months before Daniel vanished.”
Roman stared at it.
Then he noticed something in Daniel’s hand.
A red notebook.
“Find that notebook.”
Darius nodded.
Roman looked at me.
“Until we know who killed Daniel, you and Lily are not leaving this house.”
“That sounds like imprisonment.”
“It’s protection.”
“You don’t get to decide everything for me.”
He stepped closer.
“You’re right.”
His voice softened.
“I don’t.”
The room became quiet.
“I should have known,” he said.
“Knew what?”
“That my brother had a daughter.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“He never got to meet her.”
Roman looked toward Lily’s bedroom.
“Then I will.”
The next morning, Roman walked into Lily’s room holding the red toy car.
She smiled.
“You came.”
“I said I would.”
He sat beside her.
“I need to tell you something.”
Lily looked at him.
“What?”
“Your daddy was my brother.”
Lily tilted her head.
“Like family?”
“Yes.”
“Are you family?”
Roman swallowed.
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Then you can stay.”
Something broke inside him.
He pulled her gently into his arms.
I watched from the doorway.
Roman held my daughter as if she were something sacred.
Then his phone rang.
Darius.
Roman answered.
“We found the notebook.”
His face changed.
“What does it say?”
Silence.
Then:
“Where?”
Roman listened.
“Destroy nothing.”
He hung up.
I knew immediately.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“Daniel wrote down the names.”
“Whose?”
“Everyone involved.”
May you like
He glanced at Lily.
“And one of them is my father.”
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