Chapter 5 - The Night the Mafia Boss Chose the Baker
Gabriel had the deed.
The original.
The one that could prove the trust's ownership.
Without it, our legal claim was vulnerable.
Callum's team tracked it to a warehouse.
He planned to go alone.
I refused.
“No.”
“You're staying here.”
“You just admitted you love me.”
“I know.”
“Then stop trying to lock me in a room.”
He stared.
“Marin.”
“I know the warehouse district better than you.”
“That's not enough.”
“I know the old bakery maps.”
He paused.
That was enough.
We went.
The warehouse was dark.
Too dark.
Callum entered first.
I followed.
A trap.
Lights came on.
Twenty men.
Gabriel stood at the center.
The deed sat on a table.
“Welcome.”
Callum pointed his gun.
“You're finished.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You still think this is about money.”
“What is it about?”
“Legacy.”
He looked at me.
“Your grandmother destroyed mine.”
“What?”
“She chose your family over ours.”
Gabriel explained that Callum's father had planned to expose him years ago.
My grandmother helped.
My father helped.
They created the trust as insurance.
Gabriel wasn't trying to steal the fortune.
He wanted revenge.
He wanted the Whitlocks and Mercers to destroy each other.
Callum stepped forward.
“You killed my father.”
“Yes.”
“My mother?”
“She knew too much.”
“You killed Marin's father.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Collateral.”
I fired the first shot.
Everyone froze.
I had never held a gun before.
Callum looked at me.
“You okay?”
“I think so.”
“Stay behind me.”
We fought our way through the warehouse.
Gabriel escaped.
But we recovered the deed.
Outside, Callum leaned against the car.
“You shot him?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“I was aiming at his hand.”
“That is somehow worse.”
I laughed.
He stared at me.
“What?”
“You could have died.”
“So could you.”
“I know.”
He pulled me closer.
“Don't do that again.”
“You don't get to say that.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because you're my—”
He stopped.
I looked up.
“Your what?”
He sighed.
“My problem.”
I laughed.
“Coward.”
He smiled.
Then he kissed me.
It was brief.
Soft.
But it changed everything.
We returned to the mansion.
Neither spoke about it.
Until later.
I found him in the kitchen.
“You kissed me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to.”
“That's not a reason.”
“It is for me.”
I stared.
“And now?”
He stepped closer.
“Now I'm trying very hard not to do it again.”
I smiled.
“Why?”
“Because if I do, I'm afraid I won't stop.”
My heart raced.
I reached up.
Then kissed him.
This time, neither of us stopped.
Weeks passed.
The bakery reopened.
Callum sent no expensive gifts.
Instead, he came early one morning.
He put on an apron.
He burned a tray of croissants.
I laughed so hard I cried.
“You're terrible.”
“I own a shipping empire.”
“You can't bake.”
“Clearly.”
He tried again.
This time he made bread.
It was terrible.
I ate it anyway.
One morning, I walked into the bakery and found him standing behind the counter.
“You're early.”
He smiled.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because I missed you.”
I froze.
“You saw me yesterday.”
“I know.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“I didn't say it did.”
He leaned closer.
Then someone entered.
Daniel.
The cousin.
He placed an envelope on the counter.
“Callum.”
Callum turned.
“What do you want?”
Daniel smiled.
“The truth.”
He tossed the envelope toward me.
Inside was a photograph.
Callum's father.
My father.
My grandmother.
And Gabriel.
But the date was twenty-five years earlier.
The photo had been taken before any of them supposedly knew each other.
On the back was a message.
THE BAKERY WAS NEVER THE REAL SECRET.
I looked at Callum.
“What does that mean?”
He didn't know.
Daniel smiled.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What is the right one?”
“Why did your grandmother choose you?”
I felt cold.
“Choose me for what?”
Daniel walked away.
Callum looked at me.
“We're going to find out.”
That night, I dreamed about my grandmother.
She stood in the bakery basement.
She held my hand.
And she said:
“Don't trust the man with the silver ring.”
I woke up sweating.
Callum had a silver ring.
I stared at the ceiling.
May you like
For the first time since we met, fear entered my heart.
What if the man I was falling in love with was the one person my grandmother had warned me about?
