Chapter 5 - The Ghost Behind the Romano Empire
Gabriel Romano was supposed to be dead.
Alessio had attended his funeral as a teenager.
He remembered the black casket.
The flowers.
His father's broken expression.
The priest saying the man had died peacefully.
Now Evelyn was telling him that none of it had been true.
"Where is he?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"I don't know."
"But you know he's alive."
"Yes."
"How?"
"He contacted me six years ago."
Lily stared at her mother.
"You talked to him?"
"I was terrified."
"What did he want?"
"You."
Lily's breath caught.
"Me?"
"He wanted to know whether you were still engaged to Alessio."
Alessio's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
Evelyn looked at him.
"Because the marriage would unite two pieces of something he spent years building."
"What pieces?"
"Your family and mine."
The old ledger contained transactions.
But there was another purpose.
Gabriel had created a hidden network involving shipping companies, construction firms, restaurants, and private security companies.
The network extended beyond crime.
It was designed to infiltrate legitimate businesses.
And whoever controlled the Romano heir controlled the network.
Lily was the bridge.
Her father's records gave access to one half.
Her engagement to Alessio gave access to the other.
"I was never supposed to be your enemy," Lily whispered.
Alessio looked at her.
"No."
"You were supposed to become my husband."
"Yes."
"So Gabriel could use us."
"Yes."
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"What happens now?"
Alessio took her face gently in his hands.
"Now nobody uses us."
The investigation became dangerous.
Every day brought another revelation.
Enzo was found hiding in a cabin three hours outside Boston.
He had agreed to speak.
Alessio sat across from him.
"Why did you betray me?"
Enzo looked exhausted.
"Because Gabriel threatened my family."
"Gabriel is dead."
"You believed that."
Enzo laughed bitterly.
"I saw him."
"When?"
"Three months ago."
"Where?"
"At the old Romano estate in Connecticut."
Alessio leaned forward.
"What did he say?"
"He said you would destroy everything if you married Lily."
"Why?"
"Because he believes Lily's father stole something from him."
"What?"
Enzo swallowed.
"The original ownership records."
Alessio frowned.
"What ownership records?"
"The legal documents that prove who owns what."
That changed the case.
Gabriel wasn't after money.
He wanted control of the legitimate businesses.
The restaurants.
The warehouses.
The properties.
The shipping routes.
The assets that could make a criminal empire look respectable.
And Lily's father had hidden the records.
"Where?" Alessio asked.
Enzo looked at him.
"Inside the Romano family crest."
Alessio froze.
The crest hanging above the fireplace.
A heavy brass wolf.
He returned to the estate.
The crest came off the wall.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Inside was a bundle of legal documents.
And one final letter.
To my grandson, Alessio.
He opened it.
Gabriel's handwriting.
You have become exactly what I feared.
A man who thinks love is weakness.
A man who believes control is protection.
A man who trusts nobody.
But if you are reading this, then you have met the woman who can change you.
Protect Lily.
Not because she carries your heir.
Because she is the only person who will tell you when you are wrong.
Alessio sat down.
For years, he had believed his grandfather was a monster.
Now he wondered whether Gabriel had become one because nobody stopped him.
Then the letter continued.
I am not asking for forgiveness.
I am asking you to end what I began.
At the bottom was an address.
An abandoned monastery.
Lily read it.
"We go together."
Alessio shook his head.
"No."
She gave him a look.
"Don't."
"Nina—"
"Lily."
"Whatever."
She crossed her arms.
"You promised I wasn't going to be locked away."
He smiled despite himself.
"I did."
"Then we're going."
He sighed.
"Fine."
The monastery stood on a remote hill.
Fog covered the road.
When they arrived, the doors were open.
Inside, they found no guards.
No traps.
Only Gabriel.
He sat in a wheelchair near the altar.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakably alive.
Alessio raised his weapon.
Gabriel smiled.
"Put it away."
"You have five seconds."
"I have spent fifteen years waiting for this conversation."
Lily stepped forward.
"You killed my father."
Gabriel looked at her.
"Yes."
The word destroyed the room.
Alessio stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because Daniel found the truth."
"What truth?"
Gabriel lowered his eyes.
"That I had been betraying my own family."
The old man confessed everything.
He had created the network.
He had manipulated Vincent.
He had ordered Daniel's death.
Then he had faked his own death because he was being investigated.
But one thing he hadn't expected.
Daniel's daughter survived.
And became engaged to the one man capable of dismantling everything.
Alessio.
"You could have killed me," Gabriel said.
"I wanted to."
"Then why didn't you?"
Alessio looked at Lily.
"Because I finally learned the difference between power and cruelty."
Gabriel smiled sadly.
"You became a better man than I was."
Suddenly gunfire erupted outside.
Gabriel looked alarmed.
"He's here."
"Who?"
May you like
Gabriel's eyes widened.
"Martin Shaw."
