Chapter 6 - The Man Gabriel TrustedVictor D'Angelo had been Gabriel's right hand for fifteen years.
He had protected him.
Fought beside him.
Saved his life.
And apparently betrayed him.
Gabriel couldn't believe it.
“He's been loyal.”
Mara looked at him.
“Sometimes loyalty is the best disguise.”
Gabriel hated that she was right.
They confronted Victor.
He didn't run.
He smiled.
“You finally figured it out.”
Gabriel stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father chose you.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“You got everything.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Not everything.”
Victor looked at Mara.
“You found her.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“Leave her out of this.”
Victor laughed.
“She is the reason you are vulnerable.”
Mara stepped forward.
“No.”
She looked directly at Victor.
“She is the reason he has something worth protecting.”
Victor's smile vanished.
The confrontation exploded into violence.
Victor escaped.
But the evidence remained.
Mara's father had hidden another clue.
A bank account.
They traced it to a small town outside Chicago.
There they found Samuel Ellis.
Alive.
Older.
Broken.
But alive.
Mara saw him through the doorway.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then she ran.
He caught her.
“My little girl.”
She cried against his shoulder.
“You left me.”
“I was protecting you.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
He nodded.
“You're right.”
Mara cried harder.
Gabriel stood back.
Samuel looked at him.
“You're Gabriel.”
“Yes.”
“I owe you everything.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“No.”
Samuel smiled.
“You have your father's heart.”
Gabriel froze.
Mara looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Samuel told them the truth.
Victor had manipulated the family for decades.
Gabriel's father had wanted to expose him.
Samuel helped.
When Victor discovered it, he threatened Mara.
Samuel disappeared.
But he left evidence.
Enough to destroy Victor.
The final evidence was hidden inside the Ror family trust.
Only Gabriel could access it.
They returned to Chicago.
Gabriel opened the trust.
Billions.
Companies.
Accounts.
Everything Victor had tried to control.
And one document.
A succession clause.
If Gabriel chose a wife, she would receive equal authority over the trust.
Mara stared.
“This was written decades ago.”
“Yes.”
“Your family planned for this?”
“My grandfather believed a wife should have power.”
Mara laughed.
“He didn't know me.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“He might have.”
Silence.
Mara realized what he meant.
“You're not serious.”
He reached into his pocket.
Not a ring.
A key.
“To the trust.”
He placed it in her hand.
“What is this?”
“Equal access.”
She stared.
“You trust me that much?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because when everyone around me wanted something, you wanted nothing.”
Her eyes filled.
“And now?”
“Now I want you.”
She looked at him.
“You're impossible.”
“I know.”
She kissed him.
Then Samuel walked in.
He looked amused.
“Finally.”
Mara laughed.
“Dad.”
Samuel smiled.
“I've been waiting eight years to see that.”
That night, Gabriel asked Mara to marry him.
No audience.
No diamonds.
No business contract.
Just them.
He knelt beside her.
“I don't know how to give you a normal life.”
“I don't need normal.”
“I don't know how to promise safety.”
“I know.”
“I don't know how to forget what I was.”
“You don't have to.”
He held out a simple ring.
“But I know how to choose.”
Mara looked at him.
“Yes.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
The moment should have been peaceful.
Then the lights went out.
A shot came through the window.
Samuel fell.
Mara screamed.
May you like
Gabriel grabbed her.
And Victor disappeared into the night.
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