Chapter 5 - The Man Who Took the Bullet for Me
Roman shoved me behind a concrete column as bullets tore through the room.
I heard glass breaking.
Men shouting.
Then Roman fired.
One shot.
Two.
Three.
The room fell silent.
Victor had disappeared.
“Roman?”
“Stay there.”
“You're bleeding.”
“It's not mine.”
Then he stepped into the light.
A dark stain spread across his shirt.
My heart stopped.
“Roman.”
He looked down.
“So it is mine.”
He nearly fell.
I caught him.
For one terrifying second, the feared man everyone obeyed looked human in my arms.
“Get me out,” he whispered.
I pressed both hands against the wound.
“You're not dying.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
“You're impossible.”
“So I've been told.”
His eyes closed.
“No.”
I slapped his cheek.
“Roman.”
He opened them.
“Keep talking.”
I almost laughed through my tears.
“About what?”
“Anything.”
“You threatened me on my wedding day.”
“I know.”
“You terrified me.”
“I know.”
“You still haven't apologized.”
He looked at me.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making you think you had no choice.”
My throat tightened.
“You saved me.”
“I'll do it again.”
His voice weakened.
“Every time.”
We got him to a private clinic.
The bullet had passed through his shoulder.
It wasn't fatal.
But the doctor warned that he had lost enough blood to make another injury dangerous.
While Roman recovered, I learned that Victor hadn't acted alone.
Three city officials had been connected to him.
Two union leaders.
A federal contractor.
And someone inside Roman's organization.
The final name shocked everyone.
Marcus Reed.
Roman's most trusted security chief.
Marcus stood in the clinic doorway.
“I can explain.”
Roman looked at him.
“Do it.”
Marcus sighed.
“I've been working with Victor.”
I stood.
“Why?”
“Because Luca asked me to.”
Roman froze.
“What?”
Marcus removed a small envelope.
“Luca knew Victor had infiltrated the family.”
He handed it to Roman.
Inside was a photograph of Luca.
On the back were handwritten instructions.
Protect Evelyn.
Trust no one.
Marcus looked at me.
“Luca knew your father wasn't responsible.”
“Then why didn't he tell Roman?”
“Because Victor was watching.”
Roman closed his eyes.
Marcus continued.
“I stayed close to Victor so I could feed him false information.”
“What about Grant?”
“He knew.”
I stared.
My brother had been part of this too.
Not willingly.
But silently.
“How many people knew?”
Marcus shrugged.
“Too many.”
Roman looked at me.
“And that's exactly how families destroy themselves.”
Three days later, Roman left the clinic.
He refused to rest.
I forced him to sit in the garden.
“You're terrible at recovery.”
“I have a business.”
“You have stitches.”
“They're temporary.”
“So is your business.”
He looked at me.
“What does that mean?”
“Maybe you don't have to keep doing this.”
He was silent.
“Roman.”
“I've spent my entire life building something people would fear.”
“Why?”
“So nobody could hurt my family again.”
“And did it work?”
He looked away.
“No.”
I sat beside him.
“My brother tried to protect me by controlling me.”
“Your brother failed.”
“My father tried to protect me by lying.”
“He failed.”
“You tried to protect me by frightening me.”
He looked at me.
“I failed too.”
I smiled faintly.
“Yes.”
He laughed.
Then he reached for my hand.
He stopped halfway.
“May I?”
I looked at his hand.
Then placed mine in it.
“Yes.”
We sat silently.
It was the first time we had touched without fear between us.
That evening, Grant arrived.
He looked at Roman.
“I need to tell you something.”
Roman frowned.
“About Victor?”
“No.”
Grant looked at me.
“About our father.”
My heart sank.
“What now?”
Grant placed a key on the table.
“This opens the room beneath the family chapel.”
Roman sat upright.
“What room?”
Grant whispered,
“The one my father used to hide people.”
“Who?”
Grant looked at me.
“Your mother.”
I stopped breathing.
“My mother died seventeen years ago.”
“No.”
Grant shook his head.
“The woman buried in that grave isn't Mother.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“She helped our father fake her death.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor wanted her dead.”
Roman stood.
“Where is she now?”
Grant looked toward the window.
“She's been alive all these years.”
May you like
Then he added the words that changed everything.
“And she knows where Victor keeps the original ledger.”
