Chapter 9 - Roman Costa’s One Unbreakable Rule
Roman brought everyone back to his estate.
This time Mom came too.
Nobody argued.
The danger had changed.
It no longer lived in rumors.
It had names.
Documents.
Money trails.
And a closing scheduled in less than thirty hours.
Elena contacted federal authorities through a former prosecutor she trusted.
Not because Roman wanted them involved.
Because I did.
That distinction mattered.
“You're sure?” Roman asked.
“Yes.”
“Once they enter, we lose control.”
“You mean you lose control.”
His eyes met mine.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
One eyebrow lifted.
I continued.
“My entire life, men like Dad have controlled what happens because everyone is afraid of consequences becoming public.”
I pointed toward the files.
“I want everything public enough that he can't bury it.”
Roman nodded.
No argument.
That was his rule.
I began to understand it gradually.
He didn't confuse protection with possession.
If I made a decision he disliked, he told me.
Then he let me make it.
Dad had spent twenty-four years telling me what was “best.”
Roman asked what I wanted.
The irony was almost offensive.
That night, I found him in the kitchen.
Mrs. Bell had gone to bed.
Roman was making coffee.
“At midnight?”
“I have problems.”
“I've noticed.”
He gave me a mug.
I sat at the island.
“What's your unbreakable rule?”
He looked at me.
“Mrs. Bell mentioned you have one.”
“She talks too much.”
“I like her.”
“Everybody does.”
“So?”
Roman leaned against the counter.
“If someone chooses to leave, they leave.”
I waited.
“That's it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His expression shifted.
“Luca.”
His brother.
“He wanted out?”
“Yes.”
“And your father wouldn't let him?”
“No.”
The word carried history.
Roman looked into his coffee.
“My father believed loyalty imposed by fear was still loyalty.”
“And you don't?”
“No.”
“What do you believe?”
“If someone stays because they're afraid to leave, they haven't chosen you.”
The sentence hit harder than he knew.
My entire family suddenly reorganized itself inside my head.
Mom stayed because she was afraid.
Gregory obeyed because approval felt safer.
Employees tolerated Dad because he controlled their paychecks.
I remained because I'd spent years hoping to earn love retroactively.
None of it was loyalty.
It was fear wearing better clothes.
“What happened to Luca?”
Roman’s fingers tightened slightly around his cup.
“He discovered Victor was taking money.”
A chill ran through me.
“From your family.”
“Yes.”
“Like Miller Development.”
“Yes.”
“Luca planned to expose him.”
Roman nodded.
“Victor found out.”
I understood why Roman had gone cold when he saw Victor’s photograph.
History was repeating.
Only this time, the person finding the numbers was me.
“Roman.”
“Yes.”
“Is that why you're helping me?”
He considered the question.
“Partly.”
“What’s the other part?”
“You asked for help.”
“That simple?”
“It should be.”
No one had ever made it sound simple.
My eyes burned.
I looked down.
“Don't be nice to me right now.”
“I wasn't trying to be.”
“That somehow makes it worse.”
A hint of amusement crossed his face.
Then his phone rang.
The moment vanished.
He listened.
“Where?”
His expression hardened.
“When?”
He ended the call.
“What?”
“Daniel Mercer is missing.”
My stomach dropped.
“Missing how?”
“His wife reported him gone two hours ago.”
“Victor?”
“Possibly.”
“Stephen?”
“Also gone.”
The house seemed suddenly too quiet.
Roman walked toward the study.
I followed.
Elena joined us.
The federal contact had been informed, but authorities were still verifying evidence.
We didn't have time.
The Boston closing was the next afternoon.
“If Daniel and Stephen disappear,” I said, “Dad becomes the easiest person to blame.”
Roman nodded.
“Victor cleans the structure.”
“Could Dad be in danger?”
Roman looked at me carefully.
“You still care.”
“He’s my father.”
“That wasn't criticism.”
I hated that I cared.
I hated that some part of me still saw the man who taught me to ride a bicycle when I was six.
The man who once stayed awake all night when I had pneumonia.
People were easier when they were entirely cruel.
Dad wasn't.
He had simply chosen cruelty often enough that love could no longer excuse it.
“I don't want him hurt.”
“I know.”
“Can we find him?”
“Yes.”
Roman called his security chief.
This time I didn't object.
One hour later, Dad’s car was found abandoned near Greenwich.
No sign of him.
His phone lay inside.
Mom began to panic.
Gregory turned pale.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Sadie.”
Dad.
His voice sounded strained.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Are you safe?”
A bitter laugh.
“Now you care?”
“I made mistakes.”
“Mistakes?”
“Listen to me.”
A noise behind him.
A door.
Voices.
He lowered his tone.
“Victor is going to kill the Boston deal.”
“Victor?”
“He never wanted the property.”
“Then what does he want?”
Dad breathed heavily.
“Roman.”
I looked at Roman.
“He wants Roman blamed for everything.”
“Why?”
“Because this started before you were born.”
My father’s next words barely came through.
“Sadie, Roman’s brother didn't die because he discovered Victor stealing money.”
Roman moved closer.
Dad whispered:
“Luca Costa died because he discovered who Victor was working for.”
The line went dead.
May you like
And Roman’s face told me there was a part of his brother’s story even he had never known.
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