Chapter 6 - The Promise Made Before Midnight
The video froze on Damian’s computer screen.
The face remained hidden in the shadows.
But Damian knew.
Hazel could see it.
The way his eyes changed.
The way his shoulders became completely still.
Like a man who had spent years preparing for a moment he never wanted to happen.
"Who is it?"
Her voice was quiet.
Damian didn't answer.
"Damian."
He closed the laptop.
Too quickly.
That scared her more than the video.
Because Damian Romano never avoided anything.
Not enemies.
Not threats.
Not danger.
But this?
This was different.
Marcus looked at him.
"You knew he was alive."
Hazel turned.
"What?"
The room became silent.
Damian's eyes moved toward Marcus.
A warning.
But it was too late.
Hazel had heard.
"Who is alive?"
Nobody spoke.
Her heart started beating faster.
"Damian."
Finally, he said:
"My father."
The words hit the room like a gunshot.
Hazel stared.
"Your father?"
Damian looked away.
"I was told he died twelve years ago."
"But he didn't."
"No."
His voice became colder.
"He didn't."
Hazel looked at the frozen image.
The person outside her room.
The person who had access to the estate.
The person Wyatt warned him about.
"Your father is inside this?"
Damian didn't answer immediately.
And that was answer enough.
Hazel stepped back.
"This is impossible."
"I know."
"Then explain it."
Damian looked at her.
For a moment, the cold expression disappeared.
And Hazel saw something underneath.
Pain.
Real pain.
"My father, Antonio Romano, built the organization before me."
Hazel listened.
"Everyone believed he was killed during a war with another family."
"But you never believed it."
Damian was silent.
That silence confirmed it.
"Why?"
He looked at the photograph again.
"Because nobody ever found a body."
Hazel felt a chill.
"Then why did you tell everyone he was dead?"
"Because it was safer."
"For who?"
Damian's eyes met hers.
"For me."
The answer was unexpected.
Because Hazel had spent days seeing Damian as someone untouchable.
A man who controlled everything.
A man nobody could hurt.
But now she realized something.
Even Damian Romano had things he was afraid of.
Marcus placed the tablet down.
"There is something else."
Damian looked at him.
"What?"
Marcus hesitated.
"The access logs."
He opened a file.
"The person who entered Hazel's hallway last night didn't use a stolen code."
Damian's expression hardened.
"What did they use?"
Marcus looked at him.
"Your code."
Silence.
Hazel felt her stomach tighten.
"Someone has your access?"
Damian stared at the screen.
"Only three people have that code."
Marcus nodded.
"You."
A pause.
"Me."
Another pause.
"And him."
Hazel looked between them.
"Antonio Romano."
Nobody spoke.
The name felt like a shadow in the room.
Then Damian's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Nobody else moved.
"Who is this?"
A voice came through.
Old.
Calm.
Confident.
A voice that sounded like it belonged to someone who had never lost control.
"You're asking the wrong question, Damian."
Damian's grip tightened.
"Antonio."
Hazel froze.
The voice laughed softly.
"I see you still remember me."
Marcus immediately reached for his weapon.
Damian stopped him.
"Where are you?"
The voice ignored the question.
"You found the girl."
Damian's eyes moved toward Hazel.
A cold feeling moved through her.
The girl.
Not Hazel.
Not Miss Brooks.
The girl.
"Stay away from her."
A pause.
Then Antonio spoke.
"That's exactly what I told Wyatt."
Hazel stopped breathing.
Damian's expression changed.
"What did you say?"
"Your little maid knows nothing."
The voice became quieter.
"But she is the reason everything started."
Hazel looked at Damian.
"What is he talking about?"
Damian didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
Or because he did.
And didn't want her to.
Antonio continued.
"Ask Wyatt why he chose her."
The call ended.
The room remained silent.
Hazel looked at Damian.
"Why did he say that?"
No answer.
"Damian."
He looked at her.
And for the first time since she met him, she saw uncertainty.
Not fear.
Not weakness.
Uncertainty.
That scared her.
Because if Damian Romano didn't know what was happening...
Who did?
Hours passed.
Nobody slept.
The security team searched every entrance.
Every camera.
Every possible exit.
But Antonio Romano had disappeared.
Like he had never been there.
Hazel sat in the study.
The same room where everything started.
The same sofa where she had fallen asleep beside Damian.
Except now, she couldn't relax.
Too many secrets surrounded her.
Wyatt.
Frankie.
Damian's father.
The hidden files.
The mysterious debt.
And one question that wouldn't leave her mind.
Why her?
Damian returned after checking the security perimeter.
He stopped when he saw her awake.
"You should sleep."
She almost laughed.
"That seems impossible here."
He understood.
Then he sat across from her.
Not as a mafia boss.
Not as the man everyone feared.
Just Damian.
"I need to tell you something."
Hazel looked at him.
"About my father?"
"No."
A pause.
"About Wyatt."
Her heart tightened.
"What about him?"
Damian reached for the file from the flash drive.
He opened a document.
"I found another record."
Hazel stood.
"What record?"
"One that Wyatt created before he disappeared."
He turned the screen toward her.
At the top was a title.
PROTECTION AGREEMENT.
Hazel frowned.
"What is that?"
Damian scrolled down.
Then stopped.
Hazel read the first line.
And felt the world shift.
Because the document wasn't about money.
It wasn't about debt.
It wasn't about Frankie Sullivan.
It was about her.
Subject: Hazel Brooks.
Her hands went cold.
"Why would Wyatt create a file about me?"
Damian didn't answer.
She kept reading.
The next sentence made her breath stop.
If anything happens to me, Damian Romano must protect her.
Hazel looked up.
"Why would Wyatt trust you?"
Damian stared at the screen.
Because he had just found the answer.
A hidden attachment.
A recording.
A message Wyatt had locked away.
Damian clicked it.
Wyatt appeared again.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Someone was standing behind him.
Someone Hazel recognized.
Someone she never expected.
Damian leaned closer to the screen.
Because the person beside Wyatt was the same person who had accessed the estate.
The same person who had warned Hazel not to trust Damian.
The recording started.
Wyatt looked directly into the camera.
"If Damian is watching this, then he already knows."
A pause.
Then Wyatt whispered:
"The truth about Hazel's family."
Hazel stopped breathing.
"My family?"
Wyatt continued.
"Damian... you need to know who she really is."
The screen flickered.
The person behind Wyatt stepped forward.
Only half of the face appeared.
But Damian recognized him.
And his expression changed instantly.
Because the person in the recording was supposed to be dead.
The video continued.
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And the person whispered one sentence before the screen went black...
"Tell Hazel the truth about her father."
