Chapter 12 - The Price of Roman's Blood
Sadi carried the ledger.
Roman carried nothing.
Victor smiled.
“Put it down.”
Sadi placed it on the marble counter.
The same counter where she'd spent two years trying to disappear.
Victor pushed Mateo forward.
“Open the account.”
“No.”
Victor cocked the weapon.
Roman spoke.
“Take me instead.”
Sadi turned.
Victor laughed.
“There he is.”
Roman continued.
“You've wanted Costa Holdings for years.”
“True.”
“I'll sign it over.”
“Roman, no,” Sadi said.
He looked at her.
“It's a building and some companies.”
“It's your family.”
“My family isn't paperwork.”
Victor's smile faded.
That answer had defeated him before negotiation even began.
Sadi saw it.
Victor valued ownership.
Roman valued people.
Victor would never understand the difference.
Sadi opened the ledger.
“Fine.”
Roman stared at her.
“Sadi.”
“I'll unlock the reserve.”
Victor pushed Mateo toward her.
“Do it.”
Sadi sat at her old terminal.
The system connected.
She typed.
The Ghost returned.
Not the frightened woman Arturo had controlled.
Not the invisible cashier Gina had humiliated.
Something new.
Her.
Victor watched numbers appear.
Three hundred million.
Then more.
Hidden assets.
His eyes widened.
“Transfer everything.”
Sadi did.
A confirmation appeared.
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Victor smiled.
Then his phone began vibrating.
Once.
Again.
Again.
He checked.
His face changed.
The funds weren't entering his account.
They were being distributed.
Victim trusts.
Restitution accounts.
Federal seizure escrow.
Luca's plan.
Victor raised the gun.
“What did you do?”
Sadi stood.
“Finished the transfer.”
“I'll kill him.”
“No.”
Victor stared.
“No?”
“You won't.”
“Why?”
“Because every camera in this dealership is live.”
The showroom lights came on.
Outside stood federal agents.
Police.
Investigators.
Roman had coordinated it during the drive.
Victor looked around wildly.
“You think this ends me?”
Roman answered.
“Yes.”
Victor fired.
Roman shoved Sadi down.
The bullet hit glass.
Agents stormed the entrance.
Victor ran toward the service corridor.
Mateo tackled him.
The gun fell.
Marcus reached them first.
Victor was restrained.
For six years he had controlled people through hidden rooms, false deaths, money, and fear.
Now he lay facedown on a dealership floor beneath fluorescent lights.
Ordinary.
Small.
Sadi expected triumph.
She felt only exhaustion.
Then she saw Roman.
Blood.
Again.
“Roman?”
He looked down.
The bullet had grazed his arm.
“Seriously?”
Sadi nearly screamed.
“You've been shot twice since I texted you.”
“Technically the first wound happened before.”
“That doesn't help.”
Mateo laughed.
Sadi started laughing too.
Then crying.
Roman pulled her gently against him.
She buried her face in his chest.
“I hate this week.”
“It has been unusually busy.”
She laughed harder.
Victor was taken away.
Arturo was found alive in a vehicle downstairs.
He asked for Sadi.
She went.
Not because he deserved it.
Because she needed the choice to be hers.
Arturo looked at her.
“It's over?”
“Victor is arrested.”
“The money?”
“Gone.”
A faint smile.
“Good.”
Sadi sat.
“Why didn't you tell me you were my father?”
“Because by the time I wanted to, being my daughter was dangerous.”
“You don't get credit for protecting me from dangers you created.”
“I know.”
That answer mattered.
He didn't ask forgiveness.
Sadi wasn't ready to give it.
Maybe she never would.
But she no longer needed hatred to survive.
As she left, Arturo called after her.
“Sadi.”
She turned.
“I am sorry about Mateo.”
“He's alive.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't understand.”
She looked back.
“You don't get to mourn the years you stole from us.”
Arturo lowered his head.
Sadi walked away.
Outside, Roman waited.
“So,” he said, “are you still resigning?”
“Yes.”
He looked genuinely offended.
She smiled.
“From cashiering.”
“That seems reasonable.”
“I have conditions.”
“Of course you do.”
“Better salary.”
“Done.”
“You don't know the number.”
“I'm afraid to ask.”
“An office.”
“Done.”
“No one moves my chair.”
Roman almost smiled.
“I'll put it in the corporate bylaws.”
Then Marcus approached.
His expression killed the humor.
“Roman.”
“What?”
“Victor wasn't working alone.”
Sadi's stomach dropped.
Marcus handed him a recovered phone.
One conversation remained undeleted.
Victor had sent hundreds of messages to a contact saved only as L.
Roman opened the final exchange.
Victor: SHE FOUND THE LEDGER.
L: THEN YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.
Victor: AND ROMAN?
The final reply had arrived minutes before Victor's arrest.
L: LEAVE MY BROTHER TO ME.
Roman stared at the screen.
Sadi whispered, “Brother?”
Then a new message arrived from the same number.
Roman opened it.
May you like
Three words appeared.
HELLO, LITTLE BROTHER.
