Chapter 5 - The Man Behind the Wedding
The first shot shattered the kitchen window.
Vincent grabbed Maya and shoved her behind the stone counter.
Adrian fired toward the hallway.
Isabella screamed.
Richard laughed.
"Vincent!"
His voice echoed through the house.
"How does it feel to finally understand who your family really is?"
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
"Come out."
"Still giving orders."
A second shot struck the wall.
Maya's hands shook.
Vincent leaned toward her.
"Stay here."
"No."
"This isn't negotiable."
She looked him in the eye.
"You don't get to choose everything anymore."
For a second, he almost laughed.
Then he moved.
Adrian covered him.
The hallway erupted with gunfire.
Maya crawled toward Isabella, who was hiding beneath a table.
"Are you hurt?"
Isabella shook her head.
"Not yet."
"We have to get out."
Isabella looked at her.
"You really are the girl from the photographs."
"What?"
"My father showed me."
Maya frowned.
"He knew?"
"Richard knew everything."
A shadow crossed the doorway.
Vincent raised his weapon.
Richard stood there.
Older.
Elegant.
Calm.
The uncle who had spoken to Vincent at the wedding.
The man who had seemed disappointed but protective.
He smiled.
"I expected better from you."
Vincent stared.
"You killed my father."
"I did what was necessary."
"You tried to kill my mother?"
Richard's smile faded.
"That woman was a weakness."
"And Maya?"
Richard looked at her.
"An inconvenience."
Maya felt the words cut through her.
Richard continued.
"You were never supposed to find out who you were."
"Then why chase me?"
"Because Marcus became impatient."
Vincent's face hardened.
"Where is he?"
Richard laughed.
"Still useful."
"Where?"
"Dead."
Maya's breath caught.
"What?"
Richard shrugged.
"People like Marcus always think loyalty means love."
He looked at Maya.
"He wasn't loyal to you."
"He was terrified of you."
Richard nodded.
"He should have been."
Vincent stepped forward.
"Why the marriage?"
"To unite the families."
"No."
Richard's gaze sharpened.
"To eliminate you."
He revealed the truth.
The wedding contract contained a succession clause.
If Vincent died during the marriage ceremony or within twenty-four hours after it, control of the Torino shipping network would pass to Richard.
"And the Morettis?"
"Would be blamed."
Vincent stared at him.
"You used Isabella."
Richard laughed.
"Everyone was useful."
Isabella rose.
"You're a monster."
Richard looked at her.
"No. I'm a survivor."
Then Maya saw something.
A tiny red light near the ceiling.
A recording device.
Her father had once told her that the safest witness was a silent one.
She understood.
She moved subtly toward Vincent.
"Your speech is very detailed."
Richard frowned.
"You think I'm scared?"
"No."
She smiled.
"I think you're talking too much."
He noticed the camera.
His face changed.
He raised his gun.
Vincent fired first.
Richard fell behind the doorway.
Adrian rushed forward.
The house erupted again.
When it finally went quiet, Richard had escaped through a back exit.
But the camera remained.
And everything had been recorded.
Every confession.
Every name.
Every detail.
Vincent looked at Maya.
"You knew."
She nodded.
"My father taught me."
Vincent stared at her for a moment.
Then he pulled her into his arms.
It wasn't the cold protection he'd given her before.
It was something warmer.
Something desperate.
Maya froze.
His heartbeat was pounding.
He whispered, "I thought I was going to lose you."
She rested her hands against his chest.
"You didn't."
He looked down at her.
"No."
His voice dropped.
"Not tonight."
Neither of them noticed Isabella watching.
She smiled sadly.
Then she said, "You know, for two people who claim not to trust each other, you look remarkably married."
Maya stepped away quickly.
Vincent's ears turned slightly red.
Adrian laughed.
"Finally."
Vincent glared.
"Not one word."
They returned to the mansion before dawn.
The recording was sent anonymously to federal investigators.
Within hours, Richard's remaining allies began abandoning him.
But the danger wasn't over.
Marcus was supposed to be dead.
Yet Maya couldn't stop thinking about Richard's words.
People like Marcus always think loyalty means love.
That morning, a package arrived.
Inside was Maya's father's original ledger.
And a note.
May you like
Your father didn't die because he knew too much.
He died because he knew who you really were.
