Chapter 5 - The Man I Thought Had Betrayed Him
The gunshot never came.
Luca's weapon remained raised, but his finger moved away from the trigger.
He looked at Dorian.
Then at me.
“You still don't understand.”
Dorian's voice was cold.
“Put the gun down.”
“I can't.”
“Luca.”
“They know about the vault.”
Dorian's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“Everyone.”
I stepped back.
“What does that mean?”
Luca lowered his weapon.
“I've been feeding information to the people following you.”
Dorian moved forward.
“Why?”
Luca looked broken.
“Because they have my daughter.”
Silence filled the vault.
“You have a daughter?” I asked.
He nodded.
“She was taken three months ago.”
Dorian's face changed.
“Why didn't you come to me?”
Luca laughed bitterly.
“Because they said they'd kill her if I did.”
“So you betrayed me.”
“I tried to give them enough information to keep her alive.”
Dorian stared.
“You gave them Alina's location.”
“I didn't know they had access to the hospital.”
“You gave them the nursery location.”
“I didn't know they would come that far.”
“You gave them the bank.”
“I had no choice.”
Dorian's anger was terrifying.
But I saw something else.
He understood.
Luca lowered his head.
“I am sorry.”
Dorian stared at him.
Then he said, “Where is she?”
Luca looked up.
“Warehouse seventeen.”
Dorian turned to me.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“This is not negotiable.”
“You promised me a choice.”
He stopped.
I stepped closer.
“Then let me make it.”
“You could get hurt.”
“Yes.”
“I can't guarantee your safety.”
“I don't need guarantees.”
I touched his hand.
“I need you to come back.”
Something softened in his eyes.
“All right.”
We went to Warehouse seventeen with a small team.
The place was empty.
No daughter.
No enemies.
Only a speaker in the center of the room.
It clicked on.
Marcel's voice filled the darkness.
“Dorian.”
Dorian stared into the shadows.
“You're getting sentimental.”
Marcel laughed.
“And you are getting weak.”
“You've said that before.”
“I was right.”
A light came on.
A video played.
I saw myself leaving the doctor's office.
The ultrasound folder.
The date.
Then my sister.
Then Luca's daughter.
Then one final image.
My mother.
Alive.
I gasped.
“No.”
Dorian grabbed my hand.
The video showed my mother entering a train station years ago.
A man met her.
He was not Richard.
He was not Marcel.
It was someone I had never seen.
Then the screen went black.
Marcel spoke again.
“Your mother is alive.”
My chest tightened.
“Where is she?”
“Ask the man beside you.”
Dorian stared at the screen.
“What does that mean?”
Marcel laughed.
“Your wife has been living inside a lie.”
The speaker cut off.
I looked at Dorian.
“What does he know?”
“I don't know.”
“You always say that.”
He said nothing.
We searched the warehouse.
Nothing.
Then Luca's phone rang.
He answered.
His face went pale.
“My daughter.”
“Where?”
“Back room.”
He ran.
We followed.
A little girl was tied to a chair.
Alive.
Terrified.
Luca dropped beside her.
“Oh, God.”
Dorian cut the ropes.
She clung to her father.
“Did they hurt you?”
She shook her head.
“They said to give you this.”
She handed Dorian a folded note.
Dorian opened it.
It contained one sentence.
DIVORCE HER AND YOUR CHILD LIVES.
I stared.
“They know about the divorce?”
Dorian nodded.
“What happens if you don't?”
He looked at me.
“They kill the baby.”
I felt the world tilt.
“No.”
Dorian took my shoulders.
“Alina.”
“We can't let them.”
“We won't.”
“How?”
“I have an idea.”
“What?”
He looked at Luca.
“Go public.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“My entire history.”
“You'll destroy yourself.”
“I'll destroy their leverage.”
He explained.
The network survived because everyone feared exposure.
If Dorian publicly released evidence before they could blackmail him, they would lose control.
The divorce would no longer matter.
Neither would the threat.
“But they'll come after us.”
“Yes.”
“Then what's the plan?”
Dorian looked at me.
“You.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Listen first.”
He explained that my mother's records could be released through an independent legal channel.
The prosecutor could not suppress them.
Every name would become public.
Every financial record.
Every connection.
The network would collapse.
But Dorian had to testify.
That meant admitting his role in the organization.
He could face prison.
I stared at him.
“You could go to jail.”
“Yes.”
“For years.”
“Yes.”
“And you're willing to do that?”
He looked at me.
“If telling the truth keeps you and our child alive, yes.”
I cried.
Not because I was afraid of prison.
Because I was finally seeing the man underneath the reputation.
Dorian had spent years trying to become untouchable.
Now he was willing to become vulnerable.
For us.
I took his hand.
“You're not doing this alone.”
He looked at me.
“What are you saying?”
“I'll testify too.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You have nothing to do with my organization.”
“I have everything to do with the truth.”
He shook his head.
“I won't let you risk yourself.”
“This is our child.”
His expression broke.
“Our child.”
He repeated the words like he was learning how they sounded.
Then he pulled me into his arms.
For the first time in months, I stopped wondering whether I should leave.
I only wondered whether we could survive staying.
Behind us, Luca held his daughter.
And somewhere in the city, Marcel Vane realized his greatest mistake.
May you like
He had given Dorian something worth fighting for.
But he had also given Alina a reason to stop being afraid.
