Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Was Never Supposed To Matter
Wyatt was alive.
Hazel stared at the security monitor.
Her mind refused to accept what her eyes were seeing.
The man standing beside Antonio Romano was the same man she had buried in her thoughts for months.
The same man whose empty apartment she had cleaned out.
The same man who had left her with a debt she never created.
The same man who had promised her he would come back.
Wyatt Brooks.
Alive.
Standing inside the Romano estate.
Damian looked at the screen without moving.
Hazel looked at him.
"Did you know?"
The question came out quieter than she expected.
Damian turned.
"No."
She searched his face.
For a lie.
For hesitation.
For anything.
But she found nothing.
And somehow, that hurt more.
Because Damian Romano could read everyone.
But Wyatt had fooled them both.
"Open the gate."
Marcus looked at him.
"Boss?"
"You heard me."
Hazel immediately stepped forward.
"No."
Damian looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because if he wanted to find me, he could have."
She pointed toward the screen.
"He has been alive this whole time."
Her voice broke.
"He let me think he was dead."
The room became silent.
Damian understood.
Because this wasn't just about danger.
It was betrayal.
The kind that didn't leave scars anyone could see.
The kind that stayed inside.
Marcus looked at Damian.
"Are you sure?"
Damian nodded.
"Open the gate."
The security doors slowly unlocked.
Seconds later, Antonio Romano entered the estate.
And beside him walked Wyatt.
Hazel couldn't move.
Wyatt looked older.
Different.
Not physically.
Something else.
The confidence was gone.
The man who used to smile easily now looked like someone carrying a secret too heavy to hold.
His eyes found hers.
And for a moment, Hazel saw pain.
Then anger replaced it.
"You shouldn't be here."
Those were the first words she said.
Not I missed you.
Not where were you.
Not why.
Just:
"You shouldn't be here."
Wyatt stopped.
His expression changed.
"Hazel..."
"Don't."
The single word silenced him.
Damian stood beside her.
Not touching her.
Not controlling her.
Just there.
A reminder that she wasn't alone.
Antonio watched the scene with a small smile.
"Interesting."
Nobody looked at him.
He continued.
"After all these years, she still has the same fire."
Damian's expression turned cold.
"Don't talk about her like you know her."
Antonio looked at his son.
"I know more about her than you do."
The room changed.
Hazel felt it.
That sentence meant something.
Something deeper.
She looked at Damian.
But he wasn't looking at her.
He was looking at his father.
"Why is she important?"
Antonio smiled slightly.
"Ask Wyatt."
Everyone turned.
Wyatt looked down.
Hazel felt something break.
Because she wanted him to deny it.
She wanted him to say Antonio was lying.
But he didn't.
"What did you do?"
Wyatt closed his eyes.
"Hazel..."
"What did you do?"
Her voice became stronger.
"You disappeared. You left me with Frankie Sullivan. You let people threaten me."
Wyatt swallowed.
"I was trying to protect you."
She laughed.
A painful laugh.
"Protect me?"
"You don't understand."
"No."
She stepped closer.
"I don't."
The anger in her voice shook the room.
"Because you never trusted me enough to tell me anything."
Wyatt looked away.
And that was the answer.
Hazel felt tears forming.
"You knew."
A pause.
"You knew something would happen."
Wyatt said nothing.
"You knew someone would come after me."
Still nothing.
Damian watched carefully.
Because he knew silence could reveal more than words.
Finally, Wyatt spoke.
"I found out what my debt was really connected to."
Hazel stared.
"What?"
"The money wasn't borrowed from Frankie."
Damian's eyes narrowed.
"Then who?"
Wyatt looked at Antonio.
Nobody spoke.
Antonio answered.
"Me."
Hazel froze.
"You?"
Antonio smiled.
"The debt was never about money."
Damian stepped forward.
"Explain."
Antonio looked amused.
"Still protecting her."
A pause.
"Just like her father asked you to."
Hazel turned to Damian.
"My father asked you?"
Damian didn't answer.
Antonio continued.
"Your father knew the truth before anyone else."
"What truth?"
Antonio looked directly at Hazel.
"That you were the key."
The words made no sense.
Hazel shook her head.
"I'm not anything."
Antonio smiled.
"That is exactly why you were useful."
Damian's expression darkened.
"Enough."
Antonio ignored him.
"Your father hid something before he died."
Hazel felt cold.
"What?"
"A record."
The room went silent.
"A record of everything."
Antonio looked around.
"The money. The names. The agreements. The people who controlled this city from the shadows."
Marcus stepped forward.
"You're talking about the archive."
Antonio smiled.
"So you know."
Hazel looked between them.
"What archive?"
Nobody answered.
And again, she was the only person in the room who didn't understand.
Damian noticed.
His face softened slightly.
"We'll explain."
Antonio laughed.
"No."
He looked at Hazel.
"I will."
Damian immediately moved.
"No."
Antonio smiled.
"Still afraid she will know what you did?"
Hazel looked at Damian.
"What does he mean?"
Damian didn't respond.
Her heart sank.
Because she was starting to understand.
There was something Damian wasn't telling her.
Something bigger than Wyatt.
Bigger than Frankie.
Bigger than the debt.
Antonio walked closer.
"Your father didn't die because of a random accident."
Hazel froze.
"What?"
"He died because he found something."
Damian's voice became sharp.
"Stop."
Antonio looked at him.
"Tell her."
Silence.
Hazel looked at Damian.
"Tell me."
Damian looked away.
That was the moment she knew.
He had been carrying this.
All this time.
Antonio continued.
"Your father found out who ordered the attack twelve years ago."
Hazel's eyes filled.
"Who?"
Antonio looked at Damian.
And said:
"Ask the man standing beside you."
The room became completely still.
Hazel slowly turned toward Damian.
"No."
Damian's face changed.
Not guilt.
Not exactly.
Something worse.
Regret.
"Damian?"
He took a breath.
"Hazel..."
Before he could finish, alarms suddenly exploded through the estate.
Everyone turned.
Marcus checked his device.
His face changed.
"What happened?"
"The archive room."
Damian immediately moved.
"What about it?"
Marcus looked up.
"Someone opened it."
Damian froze.
"Impossible."
"The room was sealed."
A pause.
Then Marcus whispered:
"Someone used Hazel's father's access code."
Hazel felt the blood leave her face.
"My father's code?"
Nobody moved.
Because everyone understood the same thing.
Her father had not only left a secret behind.
He had left a way back in.
Damian grabbed his weapon.
"Nobody moves until I say."
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
A few seconds later, Damian's expression changed.
Hazel watched him.
"What?"
He slowly lowered the phone.
And looked directly at her.
"Your father left one final message."
Hazel stepped closer.
"Where?"
Damian's voice became quiet.
"Inside the archive."
They moved through the estate.
Every guard was alert.
Every hallway felt different.
Like the house itself was hiding something.
When they reached the archive room, the door was already open.
Damian stopped.
Because the security system showed something impossible.
The room had been opened from the inside.
Marcus checked the cameras.
Then suddenly stepped back.
"Boss."
Damian looked.
"What?"
Marcus pointed at the screen.
The camera footage showed the person who entered the archive.
A person who had been waiting inside before they arrived.
Hazel looked at the monitor.
And her heart stopped.
Because standing inside the archive room was someone she recognized.
Someone who should have been impossible.
May you like
Someone who whispered her name through the camera...
"Your mother."
