Chapter 6: The Truth Victor Hid
Lena hated how easily doubt entered her mind.
That was the cruelest thing about betrayal.
It did not need proof.
It only needed a possibility.
Leon Mercer knew that.
He had built his entire life around it.
“Don’t listen to him,” Victor said from behind her.
Lena turned.
Victor stood at the entrance.
His suit was torn.
A cut ran along his cheek.
But he was alive.
Leon smiled.
“Perfect timing.””
Victor looked at Lena.
“What did he tell you?””
She held up the note.
“He said you killed my father.””
The room became silent.
Victor did not answer immediately.
And that scared her.
Because innocent people usually responded quickly.
Angrily.
Victor looked down.
“I didn’t kill him.””
“But you knew what happened.””
His silence was enough.
Lena felt something crack inside.
“You knew.””
Victor looked at her.
“Lena—”
“You knew something.””
“I knew your father was investigating the Black Crown.””
“And?””
“And I tried to stop him.””
The words hit harder than she expected.
“Stop him?””
Victor stepped forward.
“Because he was getting close to people who would kill him.””
“You mean Leon.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you tell him?””
Victor looked away.
That answer hurt more than anything.
Because she knew.
Fear.
Pride.
Power.
The same things that ruined everyone.
“I thought I could handle it,” Victor said.
Lena laughed bitterly.
“Everyone powerful says that right before someone innocent pays the price.””
Victor accepted the accusation.
No defense.
No anger.
Just silence.
Leon watched them with satisfaction.
“See?””
He spread his hands.
“He’s exactly who I told you he was.””
Victor looked at him.
“You’re enjoying this.””
“Of course.””
Leon stepped closer.
“You spent years pretending you were different from me.””
He smiled.
“But we are the same.””
“No.””
Victor’s voice was low.
“We’re not.””
“Really?””
Leon laughed.
“You built an empire.””
“I protected people.””
“You threatened enemies.””
“I stopped criminals.””
“You made people disappear.””
The words echoed.
Lena looked at Victor.
For the first time, she saw the question she had been avoiding.
Who was Victor Romano before she met him?
The man who saved her?
Or the man everyone feared?
Victor saw the uncertainty in her eyes.
And something in him changed.
He looked tired.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
“You deserve the truth.””
Leon’s smile faded slightly.
Victor continued.
“Your father found evidence that Leon was using my organization to create his own network.””
Lena listened.
“He was planning attacks. Extortion. Murders. He wanted chaos because chaos made him powerful.””
Victor looked at Leon.
“I confronted him.””
Leon smiled.
“And failed.””
Victor ignored him.
“Your father disappeared before I could get him out.””
Lena whispered:
“Disappeared?””
Victor nodded.
“I searched for months.””
“Then why did everyone think he died?””
Victor looked at the floor.
“Because Leon made sure they did.””
Leon clapped slowly.
“A beautiful story.””
He looked at Lena.
“But ask him the important question.””
She did.
“What question?””
Leon smiled.
“Ask him why he never told you.””
The answer was obvious.
Because he was afraid.
Because he wanted to protect himself.
Because maybe some part of him believed he had the right to decide what happened to her.
Lena looked at Victor.
“Why?””
Victor’s eyes met hers.
“Because your father left something behind.””
“What?””
“A list.””
“What list?””
“Names.””
The warehouse went quiet.
“People inside my organization who worked with Leon.””
Lena understood.
“And my father’s evidence?””
Victor nodded.
“It could destroy them.””
Leon’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Lena noticed.
Fear.
Real fear.
For the first time.
“What evidence?”” she asked.
Victor looked at her.
“I don’t know.””
Leon moved suddenly.
Too suddenly.
He fired.
Victor pushed Lena down.
The bullet struck the wall.
Dmitri fired back.
Leon disappeared through the side exit.
The chase began.
But Lena stayed frozen.
Because something else had happened.
When Leon fired, he was not aiming at Victor.
He was aiming at the folder.
The one with her name.
The one her father left.
Victor picked it up.
A single page had fallen out.
A page neither of them had seen.
At the bottom was a message.
Not from her father.
From someone else.
*Victor Romano is not the only Romano who knows the truth.*
Lena looked at Victor.
“Who is the other one?””
Victor’s face changed.
For the first time tonight, he looked afraid.
“Clara.””
His fiancée’s name.
“The woman at the ballroom?””
Victor nodded.
“She was never just my fiancée.””
A cold feeling spread through Lena.
“Then who is she?””
May you like
Victor stared at the message.
“She is the daughter of the man who started the Black Crown.””
