Chapter 7 - The Enemy Who Wanted Me Delivered
The recording ended.
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
Not Damian.
Not Marcus.
Not Hazel.
The words remained in the room.
Tell Hazel the truth about her father.
Hazel stared at the dark screen.
"My father?"
Her voice was barely audible.
Damian looked at her.
And that was the moment she realized something.
He knew.
Maybe not everything.
Maybe not the whole truth.
But he knew something.
"You knew my father?"
Damian didn't answer.
That silence hurt more than anything else.
Hazel stood.
"You knew him."
"Hazel—"
"No."
Her voice shook.
"You don't get to do that."
Damian stopped.
"Do what?"
"Look at me like you're protecting me while keeping everything from me."
The room went quiet.
Because she was right.
Damian had protected her.
But he had also kept secrets.
And secrets were the one thing Hazel could no longer survive.
"I deserve to know."
Damian looked at the screen.
Then back at her.
"Your father was not who you thought he was."
Hazel felt cold.
"What does that mean?"
"It means your family is connected to something bigger than Wyatt's debt."
She laughed softly.
A broken sound.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because it's true."
"No."
She shook her head.
"My father was a mechanic."
Damian said nothing.
"He fixed cars. He worked late. He came home tired."
She looked at him.
"He wasn't involved in your world."
Damian's expression changed.
Not much.
But enough.
Hazel noticed.
"What?"
He looked away.
"Hazel."
"What?"
A long pause.
Then he said:
"Your father saved my life."
Everything stopped.
She stared.
"What?"
"Twelve years ago."
Damian walked toward the desk.
"There was a shooting."
Hazel listened.
"My father was trying to take control of everything. I was nineteen. I thought I could stop him."
His voice became quieter.
"I was wrong."
Hazel watched him.
For the first time, Damian was not talking about business.
He was talking about himself.
"I was trapped."
He looked at the photograph of the baby.
"Your father found me."
"Why would he help you?"
"Because he didn't care who I was."
The answer surprised her.
"He saw someone hurt."
A pause.
"And he helped."
Hazel's eyes filled.
She remembered her father.
The way he always helped strangers.
The way he never walked away from someone who needed him.
"But why didn't you tell me?"
Damian looked at her.
"Because I didn't know who you were."
"What?"
"I didn't know your last name until Wyatt disappeared."
Hazel froze.
"Then why protect me?"
Damian's answer was immediate.
"Because your father once protected me."
The simplicity of it made her chest tighten.
Before she could respond, Marcus entered.
His face was serious.
"We have movement."
Damian turned.
"Where?"
"The north gate."
Hazel immediately looked toward the window.
"Frankie?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Worse."
A cold silence followed.
"How many?"
"Ten vehicles."
Damian's expression became unreadable.
"Who?"
Marcus looked at him.
"Antonio Romano."
Hazel felt the air leave her lungs.
"Your father came here?"
"No."
Marcus hesitated.
"He didn't come alone."
Damian immediately moved.
"Lock down the estate."
Every guard in the room moved.
Hazel watched.
The man who had been calm moments ago became someone completely different.
Focused.
Dangerous.
Controlled.
She had seen rumors about Damian Romano.
Now she understood why people feared him.
But she also saw something else.
He wasn't afraid for himself.
He was afraid for her.
"Damian."
He stopped.
She stepped closer.
"What does your father want?"
His eyes met hers.
"You."
The answer was too simple.
Too terrifying.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"But you have a guess."
A pause.
Then:
"Yes."
Hazel waited.
Damian looked toward the security cameras.
"My father doesn't chase people."
The words were quiet.
"He collects things he believes belong to him."
A chill moved through her.
"I don't belong to anyone."
"I know."
The way he said it made her believe him.
Then the alarms sounded.
Not the outside alarm.
The internal one.
The one that meant someone had already entered.
Marcus immediately checked his tablet.
His face changed.
"Impossible."
Damian looked at him.
"What?"
Marcus turned the screen around.
The security feed showed the main hallway.
A man walking slowly through the estate.
Older.
Silver hair.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Like he owned the place.
Hazel looked at Damian.
Because she didn't need to ask.
She knew.
Antonio Romano.
Damian's father.
The man who was supposed to be dead.
He stopped in front of the camera.
And looked directly into the lens.
Then he smiled.
Damian's phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
Then Antonio's voice came through.
"Hello, son."
Damian's face hardened.
"Leave."
A quiet laugh.
"You still give orders like you are in control."
"Where are you?"
"Closer than you think."
Hazel felt a hand close around her arm.
Damian.
Protecting her.
Antonio continued.
"I came for the girl."
Damian's grip tightened.
"You will not touch her."
A pause.
Then Antonio said something that made Hazel's blood run cold.
"That is exactly what you said twelve years ago when her father begged you to protect her."
Damian froze.
Hazel looked at him.
"What does he mean?"
No answer.
Antonio continued.
"Tell her the truth, Damian."
The call became quiet.
Then:
"Tell her why her father died."
Hazel stopped breathing.
Damian's eyes closed for one second.
A single second.
But she saw it.
Pain.
Guilt.
Something he had carried for years.
"Where is he?" Damian asked.
Antonio laughed.
"You still don't understand."
A pause.
"I don't want revenge."
"Then what do you want?"
The voice became colder.
"I want Hazel delivered to me."
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Hazel looked at Damian.
"Delivered?"
His expression was empty.
Because he understood something she didn't.
Antonio was not asking.
He was demanding.
Marcus checked the cameras again.
Then suddenly stepped back.
"Boss."
Damian looked.
"What?"
Marcus pointed at the screen.
"The north gate."
The camera showed Antonio standing outside.
But he wasn't alone.
Someone was beside him.
Someone Hazel recognized.
Her heart stopped.
Because the person standing next to Damian's father was holding an old photograph of Hazel's family.
And when the person lifted their face toward the camera...
Hazel whispered:
"No..."
May you like
Because the person beside Antonio Romano was her missing ex-boyfriend...
Wyatt.
