Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO SAVED HIS LIFE AND THE LITTLE BOY WHO CALLED HIS HOUSE A CASTLE DISAPPEARED—AND ROMAN DISCOVERED THE TRAITOR HAD BEEN SITTING AT HIS OWN DINNER TABLE
Naen woke in darkness.
Her head hurt.
Her hands were tied.
Then she heard crying.
“Mommy.”
Every part of her became alert.
“Leo?”
“I’m here.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Come toward my voice.”
“I can’t. My hands.”
Naen’s heart broke.
“They tied you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
She forced calm.
“Remember our dinosaur game?”
Leo sniffed.
“What dinosaur?”
“The one that stays very still when predators are close.”
“Which one?”
Naen had no idea.
“You’re the dinosaur expert.”
“Triceratops?”
“Perfect.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Leo.”
“Okay.”
Even terrified, her son could argue taxonomy.
Good.
He was still himself.
A door opened.
Light flooded the room.
Naen squinted.
A man entered.
Not Carlo.
Younger.
Expensive suit.
Roman’s cousin Julian.
Naen recognized him from company photographs.
Julian smiled.
“Mrs. Walker.”
“Ms.”
He blinked.
“Really?”
“If you kidnap someone, get their title right.”
Julian laughed.
“I understand Roman’s fascination.”
Naen’s stomach tightened.
“Where are we?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“What do you want?”
“Roman.”
“Then you kidnapped the wrong people.”
“No.”
Julian crouched.
“You are exactly the right people.”
Naen stared.
Julian had been overlooked his entire life.
Roman inherited leadership.
Roman inherited companies.
Roman inherited loyalty.
Julian inherited nothing but a famous surname.
Carlo promised him control if Roman died.
The stabbing failed.
Now Carlo had been arrested.
Julian needed leverage.
“You think Roman will trade his empire for me?”
Naen asked.
Julian smiled.
“I think he’ll trade it for the boy.”
Naen’s blood went cold.
Leo heard.
“Mom?”
“Don’t listen.”
Julian walked toward Leo.
Naen lunged despite tied hands.
“Touch him and I will kill you.”
Julian stopped.
There was no fear in her voice.
He smiled.
“Roman chose well.”
“He didn’t choose me.”
“That’s not what everyone says.”
“Everyone is stupid.”
Julian laughed again.
Then left.
Naen immediately moved toward Leo.
They pressed back-to-back.
She worked at his ropes.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Is Roman coming?”
Naen swallowed.
“Yes.”
“You know?”
“No.”
“Then why say yes?”
“Because he will.”
Across the city, Roman was becoming exactly what Naen feared.
Cold.
Silent.
Dangerous.
Dante watched him study surveillance.
“Boss.”
Roman did not answer.
“We’ll find them.”
“If Leo is hurt—”
“Don’t.”
Roman looked at him.
Dante had served him twelve years.
He had never spoken to Roman that way.
“Don’t become stupid because you’re scared.”
Roman’s jaw tightened.
“I’m not scared.”
Dante stared.
Roman looked away.
“I’m terrified.”
There.
Truth.
The security breach came from an internal credential.
Julian’s.
Roman stared at the access log.
“My cousin.”
Dante nodded.
Julian had helped coordinate security after Carlo’s arrest.
Roman trusted him.
Naen had once asked Roman whether family was involved.
He had said possibly.
He had never considered Julian seriously.
That failure now had Naen and Leo.
Roman’s phone rang.
Julian.
“Hello, cousin.”
Roman’s voice became ice.
“If they’re hurt—”
“They’re fine.”
“I want proof.”
Video arrived.
Naen sat beside Leo.
Tied.
Alive.
Roman saw Naen look directly at the camera.
Then she moved her fingers.
Three.
Two.
One.
Repeated.
Roman stared.
“What?”
Dante asked.
Roman replayed it.
Naen’s hand.
Three.
Two.
One.
Then she touched the floor.
“She’s telling us something.”
“What?”
Roman remembered their conversations.
Laura operations.
Inventory codes.
Table numbers.
Naen thought in systems.
“Three-two-one.”
Dante searched properties connected to Julian.
Nothing.
Roman looked at the video background.
Concrete.
Industrial lighting.
A faded red stripe.
Naen tapped floor again.
Three-two-one.
Roman suddenly understood.
“Laura vendor route.”
Dante stared.
“What?”
“Delivery route 321.”
It belonged to Barton Coastal.
Carlo’s company.
An old refrigerated distribution center outside the city.
Police surrounded it within an hour.
Roman went despite orders not to.
Inside, Julian panicked when he saw lights outside.
“How?”
Naen smiled.
“You underestimate waitresses.”
He slapped her.
Leo screamed.
Julian grabbed him.
Naen became something else.
She kicked Julian’s knee.
He fell.
Leo ran.
A guard grabbed Naen.
The door exploded inward.
Police entered.
Roman followed.
He saw Leo first.
The boy ran toward him.
Roman caught him.
“Naen!”
“Mom!”
Roman handed Leo to Dante and moved deeper.
Naen fought the guard.
Roman reached them.
The guard released her.
Roman nearly killed him.
He wanted to.
Then Naen shouted.
“Roman!”
He stopped.
Her lip bled.
Hands bruised.
But alive.
Roman crossed the space.
For one second they simply stared.
Then Naen stepped into him.
Roman wrapped his arms around her.
Hard.
She buried her face against his chest.
“You took too long.”
His voice broke.
“I know.”
“I’m kidding.”
“I’m not.”
Leo joined them.
Roman knelt.
The three held each other on a dirty warehouse floor.
Dante looked away.
Julian was arrested.
So were six men.
The kidnapping exposed the remaining network.
Carlo had financed the attack.
Julian arranged the second attempt.
David laundered payments.
Viktor performed the stabbing.
But there was another name.
Roman’s attorney, Gregory Shaw.
The man who had advised Roman since his father died.
Gregory had hidden contracts.
Destroyed audit trails.
Fed information to Carlo.
Roman confronted him with federal agents present.
Gregory looked almost disappointed.
“You’re dismantling everything your father built.”
Roman answered:
“I know.”
“Your father would be ashamed.”
Roman thought.
Then smiled.
“Good.”
The cooperation agreement was not painless.
Roman surrendered interests.
Paid penalties.
Provided records.
Several illegal operations closed.
Men who had once feared his name began calling him traitor.
Roman did not care.
For the first time, he could imagine a future that did not require a gun beside his bed.
Naen and Leo returned home.
Not Roman’s estate.
Their apartment.
Roman did not argue.
That was growth.
Three days later, Roman arrived with pizza.
Leo opened the door.
“Roman!”
“Is your mother home?”
“No.”
Roman froze.
Leo laughed.
“She’s in the kitchen.”
“You’re terrifying.”
“I’m five.”
Naen appeared.
“Same thing.”
Roman held up pizza.
“Peace offering.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Smart.”
They ate.
Leo fell asleep.
Roman helped carry him to bed.
When they returned to the kitchen, Naen poured wine.
Roman watched her.
“What?”
she asked.
“I almost lost you.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
“No.”
Naen sat.
“You almost lost me.”
Roman looked confused.
“There’s a difference.”
She continued.
“You keep thinking protecting people means preventing anything bad from reaching them.”
Roman listened.
“You can’t.”
“I should have—”
“No.”
She touched his hand.
“You gave Julian access because you trusted family.”
“I was wrong.”
“You’re allowed to be wrong.”
“People almost died.”
“And then you fixed what you could.”
Roman looked at her hand.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“This.”
He gestured between them.
Naen’s heart accelerated.
“Neither do I.”
“I think about you constantly.”
“That sounds inconvenient.”
“It is.”
She smiled.
Roman continued.
“I think about Leo.”
“He’ll be thrilled. He already thinks you’re his rich dinosaur friend.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Roman looked at her.
“I don’t want gratitude.”
“Good.”
“I don’t want you to feel obligated because of the job.”
“I don’t.”
“I don’t want—”
Naen kissed him.
Roman froze.
Then kissed her back.
Slowly.
Carefully.
When they separated, Roman stared.
“That was efficient.”
Naen laughed.
“Shut up.”
He kissed her again.
Their relationship began quietly.
No announcement.
No moving in.
No expensive gifts.
Roman learned boundaries.
Badly.
He once sent a car because it was raining.
Naen sent it back.
He bought Leo a gaming console.
Naen made him return it.
He bought Naen diamond earrings.
She stared.
“Roman.”
“What?”
“Do you know me at all?”
He looked worried.
The next week he brought her a secondhand cookbook from 1948 about restaurant operations.
Naen kissed him in the doorway.
Roman finally understood.
Thought mattered more than price.
Six months passed.
Laura became profitable enough that Roman offered Naen general manager.
She accepted.
Then refused his suggested salary.
“It’s too high.”
“You’re insane.”
“It creates a conflict.”
“You’re running my best-performing restaurant.”
“I want market rate.”
Roman stared.
“Most people negotiate upward.”
“I’m negotiating independence.”
He understood.
“Market rate plus performance bonus.”
“Deal.”
A year after the alley, Naen stood in Laura during the anniversary dinner.
Employees surprised her with a torn-apron cake.
She laughed until she cried.
Roman arrived late.
“You’re late,” she said.
“Fire me.”
“You don’t work here.”
“Convenient.”
Leo, now six, ran over.
“Roman!”
He jumped.
Roman caught him.
Naen watched.
Something warm hurt in her chest.
Roman had never asked Leo to call him anything else.
Never tried replacing Evan.
Never demanded a role.
He simply showed up.
School events.
Doctor appointments when invited.
Dinosaur museum.
One disastrous camping trip.
Consistency.
That was love before anyone named it.
Later, Roman took Naen to the alley where they met.
It had changed.
New lights.
Clean pavement.
A security camera.
“You renovated an alley?”
“I own the building.”
“Of course.”
Roman looked nervous.
Naen had never seen that.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have a question.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“If you kneel, I’m leaving.”
Roman stopped.
“You knew?”
“You’ve touched your jacket pocket seventeen times.”
He laughed.
Then did not kneel.
He took out a ring.
Naen stared.
“I’m not asking you to marry me tonight.”
She blinked.
“That’s a strange use of a ring.”
“I’m asking whether marriage is something you might want someday.”
Naen’s eyes filled.
Roman had learned.
Choice first.
No trap.
No spectacle.
No debt.
“Someday?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“I hope.”
Naen smiled.
“Yes.”
Roman exhaled.
Then:
“Can I kneel now?”
She laughed.
“No.”
He kissed her.
The future looked almost simple.
That should have warned them.
Because two weeks later, Naen opened Laura’s office and found an envelope.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph.
Roman’s father.
A younger Carlo.
And a woman Naen recognized immediately.
Her own mother.
May you like
On the back were six handwritten words:
ASK ROMAN WHO KILLED YOUR FATHER.
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