CHAPTER 6: THE TRAITOR BESIDE US
CHAPTER 6: THE TRAITOR BESIDE US
The message remained on Dominic Romano’s phone for almost five minutes.
He did not move.
He did not blink.
He simply stared at the photograph.
Because the person in that picture was impossible.
A person who had stood beside him for years.
A person who knew his habits.
His security systems.
His weaknesses.
His daughter.
Elena woke up slowly.
She noticed the silence first.
Not the machines.
Not the hospital lights.
The silence.
Her father was standing near the window.
Still.
Motionless.
Like a statue carved from stone.
“Dad?”
No response.
She frowned.
“Dad.”
This time he turned.
But Elena immediately knew something was wrong.
“What happened?”
Dominic placed the phone face down.
“Nothing.”
She stared at him.
There it was again.
The same thing he had done her entire life.
Protect her through silence.
But Elena was no longer eighteen years old.
She was not the girl who packed a suitcase and ran away because she believed she understood everything.
She had spent one night in darkness.
One night abandoned by the man she trusted.
And she had learned a painful lesson.
Secrets did not disappear.
They grew.
They became monsters.
“Show me.”
Dominic remained quiet.
“Dad.”
A pause.
“Show me.”
Finally, he handed her the phone.
Elena looked at the photograph.
At first, she did not understand.
Then her eyes widened.
“No…”
The person standing outside the hospital.
The person captured by the security camera.
Was someone she knew.
Someone she had trusted.
Someone who had comforted her when she cried about Ryan.
Someone who had listened when she talked about her marriage.
Her lawyer.
Her father's closest advisor.
Marcus Vale.
Elena looked up.
“Marcus?”
Dominic said nothing.
Because he knew.
Her reaction was the answer.
“You know him.”
She nodded slowly.
“He helped me with my company.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Dominic’s expression darkened.
“Three years.”
Elena noticed.
“What?”
“Three years ago was when Victor started moving.”
Her stomach tightened.
“No.”
Dominic looked at the phone again.
“Maybe.”
“No.”
Her voice became louder.
“Marcus saved me.”
“From what?”
Elena stopped.
The question hit her.
From what?
She remembered.
The time Marcus helped her negotiate a difficult contract.
The time he warned her about a suspicious investor.
The time he told her:
“Some people smile because they are planning something.”
She thought he was protecting her.
But what if…
He was just controlling the board?
Two floors below.
Ryan Carter sat alone under security watch.
He looked exhausted.
Older.
For the first time in years, he looked exactly like what he was.
A man who had made terrible choices.
One of Dominic’s men entered.
“Stand up.”
Ryan looked up.
“Why?”
“You have a visitor.”
Ryan frowned.
“I don’t have visitors.”
The man stepped aside.
And Ryan froze.
Because the person entering the room was the last person he expected.
Marcus Vale.
Ryan stood immediately.
“You.”
Marcus smiled.
A calm, professional smile.
The same smile that convinced investors to trust him.
The same smile that convinced Elena he was a good man.
“You look terrible, Ryan.”
Ryan stared.
“You work for Victor.”
Marcus closed the door.
“Careful.”
Ryan laughed.
“You’re not even denying it.”
Marcus sat down.
“I never liked wasting time.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“You ruined my life.”
Marcus tilted his head.
“No.”
A pause.
“You ruined your own life.”
Ryan’s fists tightened.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
The honesty shocked him.
Marcus continued.
“But I gave you exactly what you wanted.”
“Power?”
“Yes.”
Ryan laughed bitterly.
“And now?”
“Now you are discovering the price.”
Ryan looked at him.
“Why are you here?”
Marcus leaned back.
“To offer you one last opportunity.”
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
“What opportunity?”
“Survival.”
Meanwhile…
Dominic reviewed every file connected to Marcus Vale.
Every transaction.
Every meeting.
Every conversation.
The more he looked…
The worse it became.
Marcus had been close to Elena for years.
Too close.
He had access to information.
But there was one thing Dominic could not understand.
Why?
If Marcus was working for Victor…
Why protect Elena?
Why save her?
Why warn her?
Unless…
Dominic stopped.
A terrible possibility appeared.
Maybe Marcus was not protecting Elena.
Maybe he was protecting something else.
A secret.
A secret involving Elena.
“Dad.”
Dominic looked up.
Elena held another document.
“What is this?”
He took it.
A company registration.
A signature.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“Ryan’s files.”
Dominic read carefully.
Then slowly looked at her.
“Elena…”
“What?”
“This company belongs to you.”
She frowned.
“What?”
The document showed a corporation created twenty years ago.
The owner:
Elena Romano.
Her hands went cold.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice was quiet.
“It is real.”
“I never created this.”
“I did.”
She stared.
“You?”
Dominic nodded.
“When you were eighteen.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew one day you might need something that belonged only to you.”
Elena looked at the papers.
A company.
Assets.
Investments.
Hidden accounts.
A life she never knew existed.
“How much?”
Dominic looked away.
“Enough.”
“That is not an answer.”
A pause.
“Enough that Victor wanted it.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“So this was never about Ryan.”
Dominic shook his head.
“Ryan was only the door.”
“And I was the key.”
“Yes.”
The realization hit her.
Victor did not want to destroy her.
He wanted access to something she never knew she owned.
That night.
Ryan sat across from Marcus.
“What do you want me to do?”
Marcus placed a file on the table.
“Tell Dominic Romano that you escaped.”
Ryan frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Dominic will follow you.”
“And then?”
Marcus smiled.
“Then Victor gets what he wants.”
Ryan opened the file.
Inside was one photograph.
His face changed.
Because the photograph was from twenty years ago.
A young Elena.
Standing beside Dominic.
And beside them…
A woman Ryan had never seen.
But he recognized the name.
Because it was written underneath.
Isabella Romano.
Elena’s mother.
Ryan looked up.
“Her mother?”
Marcus nodded.
“She knew the truth.”
Ryan stared.
“But Elena’s mother died.”
Marcus smiled.
“Did she?”
Across the city…
Elena sat awake.
Unable to sleep.
Her life had become a puzzle.
Every answer created five more questions.
Her husband was a traitor.
Her best friend was an enemy.
Her father had hidden an empire.
Her lawyer might have betrayed her.
And now…
Her mother.
A woman she believed was gone.
Might still hold the biggest secret of all.
Dominic entered the room.
He noticed she was awake.
“You should rest.”
She looked at him.
“Is Mom alive?”
He stopped.
The question was simple.
But the effect was devastating.
For several seconds…
Dominic Romano said nothing.
And Elena knew.
Before he answered.
The truth was going to hurt.
“Dad.”
His eyes closed briefly.
Then he whispered:
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Elena stared.
“My mother is alive?”
Dominic nodded.
“But she cannot come back.”
“Why?”
His face became darker.
“Because Victor Hale has been keeping her hidden for twenty years.”
Elena felt the world shift.
Twenty years.
The same amount of time she had spent hating her father.
The same amount of time she believed she was alone.
Her family was never gone.
They were just buried under lies.
Then Dominic’s phone rang.
One message.
One location.
One sentence.
His face changed completely.
Elena saw it.
“What?”
Dominic looked at her.
“It’s your mother.”
A pause.
“She wants to see you.”
Elena’s heart stopped.
“Where?”
Dominic looked at the message.
Then answered:
“Somewhere Victor Hale will never expect.”
A cold silence.
“His old mansion.”
But neither of them knew…
That Marcus Vale was already there.
Standing in the darkness.
Watching the same building.
Waiting.
Because tonight…
The Romano family would finally reunite.
May you like
And tonight…
Someone would betray them.
